WithIt Honors 5 with WOW Awards

January 27, 2014  by in Las Vegas, Market   

The awards recognize the leadership achievements of individuals or companies that embody the mission of WithIt. 

Susan Gravely, founder and chief executive of VIETRI was presented the 2014 Legacy Award celebrating her lifetime contributions to the industry.

"One of the greatest aspects of what I have been able to do in my life has been to meet people from all over the world," Gravely said. "When we were growing up in Eastern North Carolina, we had a globe. My father would point to Rocky Mount, N.C., and then draw a line to China, or Zimbabwe or France or Italy, and would say, 'Look how small the world is! You are only a plane ticket or a phone call away, so go explore!' My father had a heart attack at 60, and my mother and sister and I were celebrating him on a trip to the Amalfi Coast where we ate off these wonderful plates that were mixed and matched. Thirty-one years later, I will say to all of you that we worked hard together to build the business and I am very proud that tabletop is being celebrated as part of the home furnishings industry. That means a great deal. I  am honored to be recognized by this wonderful organization."

Interior designer, author and business consultant Mary Knackstedt was honored with the Mentoring  Award, given for an executive or organization that has fostered advocacy, development or promotion of women.

"I was really surprised when I was nominated for this, because so much of what I have done I thought was a secret because no one ever talked about it and they didn't really want people to know what the catalyst was that helped make them successful," Knackstedt said. "As an industry, our strength is in working together, everyone from the person working on the bench making the furniture, to the communications people, to the distribution people and designers—all of the players that really make this the great industry that it is. And we have an opportunity to really make it even greater in the future if we all work together. WithIt is great in the fact that they bring everyone together, from all the different areas of the industry, and we have a chance to really share and understand what each other is about."

Russell Bienenstock, publisher of Furniture World earned the Education Award, which he accepted on behalf of "all the editors and contributors at Furniture World and the Bienenstock family.”

The award honors an executive or company which has developed programs to educate associates, retailers or consumers about home furnishings.

"I would like to invite all of you here tonight to come see the Furniture Library when you visit High Point, a wonderful, one-of-a-kind resource for the industry offering more than 5,000 volumes on furniture design," he said. "Whether you own a library on a big scale, or you are writing articles that go out to the industry in general, or whether you are just helping somebody—a retailer or a furniture designer or wanna-be furniture designer who has called our office, there is an opportunity to be helpful, and that is what education is all about."

Leah Kirkland, MicroD, Inc., received the 2014 Young Leadership Award, honoring a woman under 40 who has demonstrated outstanding achievement and the potential to become an industry leader.      

"The nominees in this category are incredibly talented and I am honored and humbled to be considered among them," Kirkland said. "I remember sitting at WOW Awards in the past and thinking how incredible each of the women who were honored were, and how I was blessed to be a part of it. I am very lucky to have a great team that makes me look good, and I appreciate the support of my team, my mentors, the leadership of my organization, and of course, this group which I feel had helped me grow into the woman that I am."

Retailer Karrie Forbes, executive vice president of marketing at Mattress Firm, was honored with the 2014 Leadership Award, an honor WithIt created to recognize the contributions of a woman who has demonstrated successful leadership in her company, WithIt, and/or the industry.

"This is a truly amazing evening that brings the whole industry together," Forbes said. "I am very honored by this award. I have had so many great mentors across all the different organizations, our vendors, our agencies, people here at Market who have helped us grow, helped me grow and helped this whole industry. I think there is so much upside and opportunity as we continue to really take this industry to a new level. Specifically in the mattress world, we want people to have improved lives by understanding that better sleep can really make a big difference, and to really connect with consumers in a different way."