Durham CEO named to board

BLUFFTON, South Carolina – Luke Simpson, chief executive officer of Durham Furniture was elected to a three-year term on the board of directors of the American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA) at its recently concluded 2018 annual meeting here.

Simpson was named CEO of the Durham, Ontario-based solid wood bedroom specialist in November 2015. This is his first term on the AHFA board.

Durham is not the only Canadian furniture resource represented on the association’s governing body. Nathan Cressman, president of the Hanover, Ontario-headquartered Magnussen Home was also elected to a three-year term.

Richard Magnussen, the company’s CEO, served as chairman of the AHFA in 2017 after serving on its board for several years. He was first Canadian elected to the position.

Gat Caperton, CEO of Gat Creek Furniture of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, was elected as chairman for the 2019 calendar year.

Caperton acquired Gat Creek – originally named Tom Seely Furniture – from its founder in 1996. The 50-year-old company now employs over 150 artisans and sells its solid wood furnishings via 200-plus independent retail stores throughout the United States. Caperton has served on the AHFA board since 2013.

Jeb Bassett, senior vice president of Bassett Furniture’s wood division in Bassett, Virginia, was elected first vice chairman; and Jeff Cook, CEO of the High Point, North Carolina-based A.R.T. Furniture was elected second vice chairman.

AHFA’s 2018 chairman, Bill Wittenberg, CEO of Klaussner Furniture of Asheboro, North Carolina, moves to immediate past-chairman for 2019. All new officers assume their posts on 01 January.

Bill Zimmerman, Durham Furniture’s vice president of finance, serves on the board of directors of the Canadian Home Furnishings Alliance (CHFA).

Based in High Point, AHFA members include some 230 furniture manufacturers and distributors as well as about 150 suppliers to the furniture industry. It serves as the residential furniture industry’s advocate in Washington, D.C., on all legislative and regulatory matters and leads the development of voluntary environmental, product safety and construction standards for home furnishings. Membership is open to all manufacturers and distributors of home furnishings doing business in the U.S.