Furniture First Names New Board

May 5, 2013  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in on May 6, 2013

Buying group Furniture First has named two members to its board of directors to succeed two outgoing members.

Ken Paul of FrontRoom Furnishings in Columbus, Ohio, and Richard Talsma of Talsma Furniture in Hudsonville, Mich., were elected as the newest members of the board of directors and each will serve a two-year term. Retiring board members are Larry Schneiderman of Schneiderman's Furniture in Lakeville, Minn., and Jeff Winter of Discovery Furniture, Topeka, Kan.

Schneiderman and Winter were presented with plaques recognizing their contributions and service to the group. Outgoing Chairman Larry Smith of Smith Home Furnishings in Ponca City, Okla., was also presented with a plaque in thanks for his service during his 2011-2013 tenure. Smith will continue to serve as a board member.

Officers for 2013-2014 were selected on May 2 at the most recent board of directors meeting. The new chairman is Mike Kordik of Mike's Furniture in Joliet, Ill. Art Scholet of Scholet Furniture in Oneonta, N.Y., will serve as the new vice chairman; Chris Cooley of Michael Alan Furnishings in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., is the new secretary; and Beth Barnes of FurnitureLand in Delmar, Del., has been re-elected as treasurer.

Current board members with one year terms remaining include Barnes; Russell Blocker of Blocker's Furniture, Ocala, Fla; Randy Coconis of Coconis Furniture, South Zanesville, Ohio; Kloss of The Tin Shed, Highland, Ill.; Kordik of Mike's Furniture, Joliet, Ill.; and Smith of Smith Home Furnishings, Ponca City, Okla. 

Current board members with two year terms remaining include Nick Cardi, Cardi's Furniture in Swansea, Mass.; Cooley of Michael Alan Furnishings; and Scholet of Scholet Furniture.

Board member Randy Coconis was recently honored as Retailer of the Year at the Furniture Industry Gala Awards. Coconis has been a member of Furniture First since 1998, and is a previous recipient of Ohio's Furniture Retailer of the Year award, past treasurer of the Ohio Home Furnishings Association, and currently serves on the Board of the new North American Home Furnishings Association.