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From Home Furnishing Business

ICFA Announces 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients

July 14, 2025  by Karen Parrish in Business Strategy, Industry   

Douglas Sanicola, owner of Outdoor Elegance in La Verne, Calif. with his wife, Sharon, and the first retail chair of the outdoor industry trade association, and Harold Hudson, vice president of strategic initiatives at Gabriella White and a past chair, will each receive the distinction as part of the evening program at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was created in 2002 to distinguish industry executives whose ideas have advanced the growth of the casual furniture industry and whose actions and accomplishments have served as role models or inspiration for others. Acknowledged by their peers, the honorees’ achievements must have stood the test of time.

In 2001, Douglas Sanicola found himself owning a nursery and outdoor furnishings business that used to belong to the F.W. Woolworth Company as a part of the lease option for two acres of property he wanted. That site became the home of Outdoor Elegance, the 24,000-square-foot showroom in Southern California that promotes a lifestyle of poolside luxury, hours of relaxation and enviable barbecue skills. The secrets to his unqualified success have been shared with his colleagues and benefited the industry from the day he joined the ICFA in 2011, through his tenure as the first retail chair of the ICFA Board of Directors in 2017. His continuing impact on the industry is immeasurable, as recognized by the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award.

“I wasn't sure about going into the casual furnishings business, but after I did my due diligence by traveling the California coast from south San Francisco to San Diego and visiting every store along the way,” Sanicola remarked, “I told my wife, ‘We are going to make a successful run at this because I understand marketing and merchandising. I had just finished a very lucrative financial career creating and selling the unique concept of 125 percent loans to a major national bank. That experience was like earning a Ph.D. in marketing, and I was ready to apply those skills to my new business.”

Sanicola credits good friend Terri Lee Rogers, vice president of O.W. Lee, for introducing him to the ICFA in 2011. He found the first meeting to be meaningful and highly educational. He immediately got involved, wanting to learn all he could about an industry he still considered unfamiliar despite his retail success. He served on the Retail Council, held several board positions, was among the judges for the Design Excellence Awards, and in 2017, he was named the first retail chair.

Sanicola encourages his outdoor furnishings retail colleagues to target selected interest groups with events, products and reasons for them to engage with their stores regularly. “Build word of mouth; always educate yourself about new products,” he advised. Ten years ago, nobody had a fire pit! Listen to your clients and never mislead them. Get a sense of their unique idea of comfort. I recently sold a chaise lounge to an elderly customer who just wanted a place to spend his last days in nature. I was privileged to help him,” he said.

Understanding and listening to the customer are integral to the success of Outdoor Elegance and the rest of the industry. “We are always changing up our showroom, introducing new products, and finding ways to offer experiences that delight our customers. Education is everything. We do not sell based on price; it is all about creating an outdoor living space that suits the consumer’s preferences for relaxation and hospitality. Whether they buy one piece a year or a full outdoor space with multiple seating areas and a professional kitchen, they get the same top-quality experience. We always give customers three business cards upon delivery – one to keep and one to give to their neighbors on each side who will be impressed by their cool new outdoor furniture!”

Sanicola enjoys looking back and seeing his footprint in the industry. “Our work is continuous,” he said. “We still face sticker shock from new customers and must ensure our sales teams understand how to sell our products’ value and differentiate them from the “big box” items. As the ICFA continues to provide exceptional opportunities for networking, education and collaborative marketing support, we will prevail.

“The Lifetime Achievement Award is an unexpected honor. I am thrilled to be the 2025 recipient, along with my dear friend, and fishing and hunting companion, Harold Hudson,” he said.

“I was driving in Pasadena after participating in the City of Hope’s West Coast Golf, Tennis & Pickleball Tournament, where I had received their International Home Furnishings Industry Group Lifetime Achievement Award, when I got a call from with some remarkable news. It was one of the few times in my life I was speechless.” And so, the current vice president of strategic initiatives learned he would receive the ICFA’s 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award.

“These two accolades, coming a few months apart, along with the immense honor of serving as the Chair in 2021, are three of the most significant industry accomplishments I could imagine. I am always grateful to serve and overwhelmed and humbled by this recognition from my colleagues,” he said. “When you add the privilege of working with Bew White, III, the owner and founder of Summer Classics, helping him build our company’s success for the past 31 years, and serving all our valued customers, my career has been full of joy.”

Hudson’s illustrious career path veered before delivering him to his home at Summer Classics. “I graduated from the University of North Alabama in 1981 with an accounting degree. My first job was in the defense industry in Huntsville, Ala., where I was the group controller. We wrote software for many U.S. Department of Defense weapons systems, and my unit was being relocated to La Jolla, Calif. This ‘southern boy’ did not want to leave the south.”

Hudson served active membership and board positions with the Hearth Products and Barbecue Association and Casual Furniture Retailers Association, the predecessor of the ICFA. He served on the ICFA Nominating and Executive Committees leading up to overseeing the Board of Directors. “Helping our retailer members get back to their pre-Covid level was my number one priority,” he remembered. “Our strategic initiatives for 2021 and 2022 promoted their recovery and compelled more retailers to join as they recognized the value of this dedicated support. We pledged to create and enhance the networking, educational and philanthropic opportunities that make ICFA engagement vital to professional success for every segment of our membership. It was a challenging time, but through the hard work of the board and our exceptional staff, we came back strong.”

As for the future, Hudson contends, “Seeing the changes in the last 30 years and trying to project into the next 10-20 years is hard. New mediums and more action chairs. The biggest question for the next 10-20 years is how many national football championships will Alabama win?" said the diehard ‘Bama fan in complete seriousness.

Hudson credits his family with providing the support that has made all his professional accomplishments possible. “My parents were educators. My father was a high school football coach and athletic director for 35 years. My mother was an eighth-grade English teacher. She passed away this past February at 94 years old. Two days before she passed, she corrected my English usage of lie/lay. They taught all of us to be honest and kind, and to maintain a strong work ethic.”

Howard married his best friend, Amy Hudson, 32 years ago and the couple has two adult children. In his leisure time, Harold enjoys reading, gardening, flyfishing, home improvement projects and pestering his wife. He plans to obtain his Master's Gardener license.

Harold's words of wisdom for those starting careers in the casual furnishings industry and hoping to earn a legacy like his are simple and uncharacteristically succinct: “Listen to the customer. I like to talk, but when it comes to a customer, shut up and listen, and take care of their needs the best way you can. This advice will serve you well in business and any other relationships you value.” The mantra for his life? “Fear God, tell the truth, make a profit.