Welcome to our weekly roundup of employee comings and goings and other people-related news across the home furnishings and accents industries. Here’s the latest:
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While Top 100 retailer Broad River Retail promoted Manny Rodrigues to president and chief operating officer at the beginning of 2025, the roots of the move go back to late 2014.
The Fort Mill, S.C.-based retailer, which owns and operates Ashley stores in the Carolinas and northern Georgia, with plans for stores in Washington state, was looking for somebody to take on its human resources and risk management roles. Rodrigues had an offer to move to San Francisco to further his career, but he wanted to stay in the greater Charlotte, N.C., area.
Rodrigues met with then-CEO Jonathan Ishee and current CEO Charlie Malouf (who was a managing partner at the time) separately at a coffee shop to learn more about the company. Afterward, Rodrigues felt he could work well with Malouf and learn a lot along the way.
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City of Hope‘s annual West Coast Golf, Tennis and Pickleball tournament and awards dinner will return June 9 at the Coto de Caza Golf and Racquet Club in Orange County, Calif.
Organized by the International Home Furnishings Industry group, the event raises funds for cancer research and treatment and remains the largest fundraiser of its kind for the home furnishings industry on the West Coast.
This year’s honorees are Jeff Child of RC Willey and Harold Hudson of Gabriella White, parent company of Summer Classics and Gabby. Both are being recognized for their contributions to the industry and their philanthropic work.
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Decorating Den presented its annual Designer of the Year award and other design awards via a virtual ceremony last week, and The Sisters and Company franchise in Georgia won big, receiving five awards.
Barbara Elliott and Jennifer Ward-Woods, owners of The Sisters and Company Decorating Den Interiors franchise, which serves Stone Mountain, Ga., and greater Atlanta, were named Designers of the Year. Interior design journalists across the U.S. and Canada acted as the judges for the event, including our own Andrea Lillo, Executive Editor for Designers Today.
