Furniture Icon John Bassett, III to Speak at AWFS®Fair
ANAHEIM, CA – March 9, 2015 – Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers® (AWFS®) is pleased to announce that John Bassett, III will be a Special Guest Speaker at the 2015 AWFS®Fair in Las Vegas, sharing his personal story of standing up to China’s dumping of cheap furniture into the American market, as portrayed in the New York Times bestseller, “Factory Man,” written by Beth Macy.
A dynamic storyteller and passionate individual, Mr. Bassett will share how his company faced extreme challenges when China began dumping cheap furniture into the American market in the 1980s. His story reveals how he discovered exactly who in China was producing it, his relentless commitment to his employees and his successful pursuit of political support for enforcement of anti-dumping duties.
Mr. Bassett is a third-generation furniture man, with a total of 53 years in the industry, first at Bassett Furniture Industries founded by his grandfather, J.D. Bassett, Sr., and since 1983 at the helm of Vaughan-Bassett—currently the largest wooden bedroom furniture manufacturer in the U.S.
Mr. Bassett is a past president of AFMA (now AHFA). He was named Furniture Today’s Manufacturer of the Year in 2001 and InFurniture Magazine’s Man of the Year in 2003. In 2013 he was inducted into the American Furniture Hall of Fame and in 2014 was named UNCG’s Entrepreneur Extraordinaire.
“Factory Man” was published in 2014 and the book spent seven consecutive weeks among the Top 25 best-selling hardcover, non-fiction books in the U.S. The story is now headed for television. Tom Hanks’ production company and HBO have bought the broadcasting rights and intend to develop the story into a miniseries.
AWFS is proud to present and honor Mr. Bassett, in the show’s first ever featured Special Guest spot. Mr. Bassett will kick off the second day of the show, speaking on Thursday, July 23, at 8:00 a.m. at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The event is free and open to all show attendees.
About AWFS The full-scale international AWFS®Fair, scheduled for Wednesday – Saturday, July 22-25, 2015 in Las Vegas, has become a critical hub for international commerce in the woodworking industry. The AWFS®Fair brings together the entire home and commercial furnishings industry, including manufacturers and distributors of machinery, hardware, plastics, lumber, construction materials and other suppliers to the furniture, cabinet manufacturers and custom woodworkers.
For more information on the AWFS®Fair, please visit: AWFSFair.org.