RUG INDUSTRY HONORS RETAIL
EXCELLENCE WITH ANNUAL ROY AWARDS

Winners gather with Mart officials by the dramatic fish tanks of the Georgia Aquarium.

ATLANTA -- The Georgia Aquarium was the scene of the annual Retailer of the Year Awards on Monday, July 16. This year's ROY winners came from all sections of the country and included floor covering stores, rug specialists and furniture stores. All were exemplars of retail excellence in terms of integrity, creativity and community service.
 

Rug/Floor Covering Store
Fred and Pat Nasseri of the Gallery of Oriental Rugs, Wilmington, NC.

Rug Specialist
Krimsa Fine Rugs & Decor
San Francisco, CA

Furniture Store
Lillian August, Norwalk, CT

Creative Selling
Abington Rug Outlet
Abington, VA

Outstanding Merchandising
Jordan's Furniture
Boston, MA

The ROY Awards are sponsored annually by AmericasMart Atlanta. The announcement of the winners is the highlight of an evening marked by feasting on cuisine provided by Wolfgang Puck caterers and followed by Las Vegas style gaming.

 Winners of the annual Oriental Rug Importers Association silent auction were also announced. ORIA members donate rugs to the auction and retailers bid on them during the Atlanta market. Proceeds go to the ORIA Charitable Fund.

HONORING THE WINNERS

Jim Hall, president of Abingdon Rug, Abingdon, VA, won the ROY award for Creative Selling.

Fred and Pat Nasseri of the Gallery of Oriental Rugs, Wilmington, NC won the ROY award in the category of rug/floor covering store.

Larry Lieberman, general merchandise manager for Lilian August, is congratulated by AMC president Jeff Portman. The Lillian August stores, headquartered in Norwalk, CT, won in the furniture store category.

AND A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL

Buyer Maria Conran and Walter Creamer from Bloomingdales of New York City, graciously shared their ringside seat with Rugnews.com for the awards ceremony.

Scott Hayim, president, and Jon Womak, vice president of Rug Decor stores, the franchize arm of CCA Global.

Kevin Malkiewicz, executive director of rug leasing for AmericasMart, left, with Mark Ferullo, vice president of
828 International Trading; Igor Yakovenko of Air Base
Carpet Mart, New Castle, DE, and Bob Patterson, whose card says his title is  "gentleman, scholar, sales counselor,
your friend & mine."

Seated., from left, are Jill Wood, rug buyer for Finesse Home Living, Edmunton, Ontario, Canada; Ray Hashemi, Feizy vp of sales for Division II, and Lucy Murse of Rugs as Art, Sarasota, FL. Standing: John Murse of Rugs as Art and independent sales agent, Melanie Hayim.
 

The Atlanta Rug Market is truly an international event. From left: Myriam Ragolle of Ragolle, NV, Waregem, Belgium; Annemie Verhelst of Ragolle, John Morrison, vice president of marketing for Dynamic Rugs, and Erik Vrijmoed of Ragolle.
 

Frank Eways, president of Frank S. Eways of Charlottesville, WV; Shahin Medghalchi of Heriz Oriental Rugs, Santa Fe, NM, and Jeff Gonzalez, vice president of Surya Rugs.

John Shepherd, president of 828 International Trading with Chas Sydney, senior vice president of leasing and new business development for AmericasMart Atlanta.

Rizwan Ansari, president of Rizzy Rugs; Asha Choudhary, ceo of Jaipur Rugs, and Shakeel Ansari, ceo of Mat the Basics.

Ed McRae and Bill Roach, both regional vice presidents of Karastan Rug & Home. We're not going to call them old-timers, BUT they admitted that together they have 87 years of service in the rug business.

The fish at the Georgia Aquarium had a swimmingly good time at the ROY gala.

COMING TOMORROW:

MORE PEOPLE PIX AND MOVIES
FULL BUSINESS COVERAGE ON MONDAY!