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From Home Furnishing Business

Wogie Badcock Finalist for NRF Award

August 8, 2014  by in Industry, Special Events   

NRF celebrated the nominees for their grassroots advocacy and engagement on federal, state and local issues at the July 30 Retail Advocates Summit in Washington. Retailers met with congressional staff to discuss issues such as internet sales tax, patent litigation reform, data security and rules of overtime. They also heard from NRF speakers and enjoyed the Retail Champion gala. The NRF established the America’s Retail Champions program this year to honor retailers who make their mark on public policy debates and decisions. A total of 44 retailers ranging from mid-size store owners to online sellers were nominated for the national recognition based on their willingness to speak up on the retail industry’s priorities.

“Wogie is not only a great advocate for the members of the NAHFA, but for retail as a whole,” said North American Home Furnishings Association CEO Sharron Bradley in congratulating Badcock on behalf of the association. “He is a member of the NAHFA’s government relations action team and has worked for decades with previous associations to raise the voice of retailers in the states in which his company and dealers do business and in Washington, D.C. We applaud his nomination for Retail Champion. It is a well-deserved honor.”

Badcock is known in the home furnishings industry for his personal advocacy efforts, and he encourages staff across the 79 corporate stores and 228 dealer-owned stores in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, George and Virginia to get involved as well. Mulberry, Fla.-based Badcock Furniture & More stores are either members or involved in the NAHFA and NRF as well as the retail associations and chambers in their states.

“We try to make it easy for our dealers to be involved in government affairs,” Badcock said. “That’s what my department deals with; we tell them when they need to take action and what they need to do. You want to be involved in the state issues as well as the federal issues. You find gray areas and try to make them black and white.”