Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Decorating Den Names Franchise Leaders
June 3,
2015 by in Designer Weekly 
Decorating Den Interiors franchise owners Catherine and Jerome Pulcine, of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, were named Franchise of the Year, the highest award presented by the home furnishings franchise company.
“Catherine and Jerome have added exceptional leadership to our company since joining us,” said Jim Bugg Jr., president and CEO. “Their exceptional dedication and service through cooperation with other franchise owners, suppliers and management are excellent examples of this award’s criteria.”
The Pulcine’s converted their 14-year-old previous business, CPI Interiors, into a Decorating Den Interiors franchise in early 2012.
“Becoming part of Decorating Den Interiors was an excellent business decision for us,” Jerome said. “Our client base dramatically improved and our new supplier network offered us an even wider variety of top quality home furnishings products. Along with the addition of online business systems and shared camaraderie with our more than 300 franchise partners, our business continues to grow and prosper. We are extremely honored that Mr. Bugg selected us for this honor.”
Other top business awards presented at the company’s 46th annual conference and supplier market held recently in Jacksonville, Fla., were:
° Region of the Year was the South Florida Region managed by Judy Underwood and Cliff Welles, owners of Decorating Den Interiors in Bonita Springs, Fla. The award, the highest honor the company bestows on a region, recognizes outstanding achievement of a role-model region.
° Top Salesperson of the Year was Tonie VanderHulst, who with her husband Peter owns Decorating Den Interiors in Redlands, Calif.
° The franchises with the top retails sales by their entire team were the Pulcines for being the highest in Canada, and the Lisa and Tony Landry franchise, of Arlington, Texas, for highest in the U.S.
° Rookie of the Year was Dana Johnson, of Gonzales, La., who had the highest sales for the first 12 months in business.
° The top decorator, who is not a franchise owner, was Dawn Taylor, of the Landry franchise in Arlington, Texas.
° The highest regional growth award went to Lisa Delorenzo, manager of the New Jersey region for its increase over the previous year’s sales.
° Field Manager of the Year was Terry Varner, franchise owner from Port Deposit, Md., who manages franchises in parts of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.