Dinner Cruise to Honor Value City Furniture's Simon Kaplan

May 19, 2011  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Community/Charitable Support on May 20, 2011 The City of Hope's National Home Furnishings Industry chapter will be honoring Value City Furniture's Simon Kaplan at its first dinner cruise around Manhattan in September.

The event, which has already garnered a great deal of support, will be held Sept. 10 aboard the Cornucopia Majesty.

"We've had tremendous interest from many of the major players who plan to attend this event, including the principals of Art Van and Broyhill," said Patrick Cory, managing partner at Cory Home Delivery Service and chairman of City of Hope€™s Northeast region. €œAnd it's not only from retailers, manufacturers, reps and suppliers from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. As soon as news of the event was announced, we heard from major retailers as far away as Boston, Michigan, even California, who plan to come to New York City to recognize Simon, support a great cause and enjoy the cruise and weekend activities."

The Saturday evening cruise will feature fine dining, dancing, entertainment and silent and live auctions. The Cornucopia Majesty will travel along the Hudson River for views of lower Manhattan including the first completed sections of the new World Trade Centers, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, Governor's Island, South Street Seaport and the Brooklyn Bridge. The program will include an official memoriam to mark the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2011.

"We are grateful to the industry for bringing this exciting event to life while continuing to support the lifesaving work of City of Hope,€ said Eddie Massood, president of Thomasville Home Furnishings of New Jersey and a chair of the NHFI's Northeast Event Committee. €œThe proceeds from this event will ensure that City of Hope will continue its efforts to detect, treat, and cure cancer, diabetes and devastating diseases. We look forward to continuing this industry€™s 47-year tradition of support for City of Hope from the National Home Furnishings Industry, which has raised
more than $40 million to date.€

In 1971, Kaplan founded Crest Furniture, Inc., dba Value City Furniture, and quickly expanded it from a single retail store to seven retail locations and four Ashley HomeStores. Kaplan is also president of Furniture Marketing Group (FMG) and helped increase membership and expand it as one of the largest volume furniture buying cooperatives with a combined retail annual volume exceeding $2.5 billion. In 2000, Kaplan participated in a campaign through FMG to raise more than $80,000 to support High Point University.

In 1998, Kaplan was honored by the Metropolitan Furnishings Association of New Jersey. In 2000, he was honored by FMG for his leadership. In 2005, he was named €œMan of the Year€ by the Greater New York Home Furnishings Association, and in 2002, he received the €œGreatest Employer Award€ from his own team of associates. Kaplan actively supports numerous charities in his community. As a WWII veteran, he has remained true to his core values throughout his personal and professional life:
honor, loyalty, truthfulness, commitment and dedication.

To register for the National Home Furnishing Industry Northeast€™s Spirit of Life
cruise, or book a room and pre-purchase tickets to a Broadway show, contact Beth Ida Stern at City of Hope or call her at (626) 560-9432.