NEWS
MAKERS
GARRETSON HEADS ELMAR'S SOUTHEAST BUSINESS
UNIT
Elmar Window Fashions®, Willow Grove, PA, announces Todd Garretson
as the new general manager of its Southeast Business Unit.
Garretson will lead the company’s sales efforts in the Southeast
region and will assist Elmar’s sales consultants in creating
strong business solutions to increase sales and store traffic.
FOREST GROUP NAMES WRIGHT VP SALES,
MARKETING
Forest Group USA, Cartersville, GA, announces the appointment of Steven
Wright as its new vice president of sales and marketing. He joins
the company with 15 years of sales and marketing experience from outside
the drapery hardware industry.
NEW REP TEAM ADDED FOR LOOMCO / MAEN
LINE FABRICS
LoomCo Fabrics/Maen Line Fabrics, Tampa, FL, has added a new sales
rep team for the state of Florida. It consists of Ray Wall and Wayne
Brett of Ray Wall Associates, Bonita Springs, FL.
The two will cover the entire state from Key West to the Panhandle.
Wall has been calling on the window coverings trade in the state for
more than 30 years.
COOPER, JACKMAN JOIN BLUE MOUNTAIN
Blue Mountain Wallcoverings, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, welcomes Malcolm
Cooper and Shannon Jackman to its design team. The two have a combined
total of more than 50 years in the wall coverings industry and are
both considered among the most respected authorities on color and
home design.
Cooper’s 30-year career has enabled him to work in various areas
of the wall coverings industry. He has held positions at Sunworthy
Wallcoverings, Borden Home Décor and has been the senior vice
president of design with the Imperial Home Décor Group.
Jackman is an experienced and successful home fashions designer. Her
career in the wall coverings industry has included positions at Borden
and Imperial as well as being chair holder in the Color Marketing
Group (CMG)
O'BRIEN NAMED MARKETING VP AT FSC HOME
INTERIORS
Kathy O’Brien has been named vice president
of marketing for the FSC Home Interiors Group, New York, NY. She
will be responsible for strategic analysis, planning, market research,
advertising, public relations and merchandising for independent
and national accounts for the Village and Gramercy wallpapers brands
of F. Schumacher & Co. for licensed products.
Most recently, O’Brien was a senior brand manager for Glidden
and Ralph Lauren Paint programs at ICI Paints. Prior to that she
was marketing manager for Krylon and Martha Stewart paint programs
at Sherwin Williams. She is a member of the Color Marketing Group
(CMG) and an industry member of the American Society of Interior
Designers (ASID).
IN MEMORIAM: BILL CONRAN
William F. Conran, regional sales manager
for Hunter Douglas Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ, died January 12,
2004, at his home in Clifton, NJ. He was 71.
Conran was a key player in the growth and development of the Hunter
Douglas North America business. During his 27-year tenure, he had
his hand in opening and developing most of the present Hunter Douglas
fabricators. Conran also was on the front lines in the launch of
every product Hunter Douglas introduced over the past three decades
from aluminum blinds to Duette® honeycomb shades to Silhouette
window shadings to Alouette™ Light Louvers.
“Bill’s integrity and dedication to Hunter Douglas, its
fabricators and dealers have been critical to our success over the
years,” said Marv Hopkins, president and CEO. “Bill was
loved and admired by his customers and treated everyone with respect
and dignity. He will be sorely missed, but the superb example of
his life and work will long endure for the Hunter Douglas family
and the window coverings industry.”
As a young man, Conran volunteered for military service and served
two distinguished tours of duty with the U.S. Marines during the
Korean War. Among other challenges, he and his unit fought through
encirclement by much larger enemy forces at the Chosin Reservoir
battle during the brutal first winter of that war.
After the Marines, Conran joined Levolor and then spent seven years
with Alcan, selling aluminum blinds and ceilings for its building
products division. When Hunter Douglas purchased the business from
Alcan in 1976, it acquired the services of Conran as well.
At Conran’s personal request, there will be no funeral or memorial
service. Contributions to a favorite cause in his name may be the
best way to honor him.
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