Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Morris Furniture event raises $154,000 for Dayton Children's Hospital
August 26,
2016 by Jane Chero in Community / Charitable Support, Industry 
Morris Furniture recently hosted its annual vendor appreciation breakfast and was the presenting sponsor for the charity golf outing, Gem City Jam and Hoopla, which raised nearly $154,000 for the Dayton Children’s Hospital.
With 237 golfers and 285 dinner attendees, the outing was held at NCR Country Club. Morris Furniture Company guests enjoyed breakfast along with a presentation about the company’s recent growth and future expansion plans.
Larry Klaben, President and CEO of Morris Furniture, announced that this year’s golf outing was record-breaking for donations and the number of attendees. This year’s event raised $153,975.
The Gem City Jam and Hoopla has raised more than $1 million for Dayton Children’s Hospital over its nine-year existence.
Due to the excessive rain in the days prior to the scheduled golf outing, attendees were unable to hit the course. However, the staff at NCR, Morris Furniture employees and vendor partners enjoyed an abridged version of the planned event, complete with lunch and a live auction.
During the breakfast, one vendor sales representative and one vendor partner were recognized for outstanding service, dedication and support to the Morris Furniture Representative mission and brand.
Paula Higgenbotham of Tempur Sealy was on hand to accept the Vendor
of the Year award. Higgenbotham received the award for her commitment to the Morris Furniture and Better Sleep Shop partnership. Since 1999, Tempur Sealy has been the exclusive mattress vendor in all fourteen Morris Home Furnishings and Ashley Homestore locations.
Joining her Joining Paula from Tempur-Sealy were Roxanne Stevens, Region Sales Director, Great Lakes, Ray Fleckenstien, Consultant, Shane Pearson, Director National Accounts – Ashley, and Michael Kirby, National Account Executive.
Ashley Furniture Industries and Ashley Global Retail were selected as the Morris Furniture Company 2016 Vendor of the Year. Accepting the award were Myra Monnier-Stone, Marketing Specialist, Janet Pickett, Marketing Specialist, Vic Silva, VP Licensee Operations, Caroline Niccum, Marketing Specialist, Doug Strobeck, Regional Sales Director, Alan Ponce, Marketing Specialist, Keri Durkin, Senior Vice President, Licensee Operations, Scott Kruger, Vice President of Sales-Motion, and Troy Bichoff, Regional Sales Director.
Morris Furniture opened its first Ashley Homestore in 2003 on Mall Woods Drive in Dayton. At the time, it was one of the first 50 local licensee stores in the world. The partnership with Ashley Global Retail and Ashley Furniture Inds. has continued to grow since then.
Currently Morris Furniture owns and operates 10 Ashley Homestores in the central Ohio and Northern Kentucky.
The Gem City Jam and Hoopla golf outing had golfers representing over 50 company vendors and media partners.
The proceeds from this event will benefit the new cancer center, pediatric cancer endowment, a mobile intensive care vehicle, and the Soin Pediatric Trauma and Emergency Center.