August2017_MonthlyUpdate

MONTHLY UPDATE: AUGUST 2017 

MON T H LY U PDAT E 

President’s Note Bew White and William White 

July has been another great month for Summer Classics and Gabby! Gabby is up 50% for July, making it the very 

first time that the business will either 

beat or come very close to Summer 

Classics’ wholesale numbers.. Retail is 

up 25% compared to last year and 18% 

for this month. 

July has been a busy month of shows, 

wrapping up with the Las Vegas Market, 

where Gabby and Summer Classics 

are sharing showroom space for the first 

time. Summer Classics, which has been 

in Atlanta since 1979, has just left its 

Atlanta showroom space. July marked 

the last showin the Gardens area of 

Atlanta. 

Panoramic view of Chicago Architectural Tour during Annual Sales Meeting 

We have more somber news to report. We were saddened to learn of the passing of our longtime colleague Patrick 

Cicchetto, manager of the Richmond store, last week. Patrick has been with us since the Richmond store opened, 

and was a great friend to many. Patrick’s colleagues descibe him as hard working, dedicated, kind, loyal, caring and 

giving. Reada tribute on the following page. 

The Garden Party starts Monday, August 7, where we will 

welcome some of our largest customers to town. We’re excited 

that Contract and Gabby will be a part of the event for the 

first time, and we expect this to be our biggest Garden Party 

yet. Ken Dewitt will speak on the EOS operating system and 

we will have a design symposium panel of opinion leaders and 

stylemakers in the industry led by Ellen Mcgauley, Homes 

Editor of Coastal Living. Michael Young will be here to 

emcee the whole event. Chris and the team have been giving 

the showroom a fantastic new makeover in preparation of 

the event. White Label and Essentials will have a special tent 

behind the showroom this year. 

There’s more great things ahead, including key hires to move 

the business forward, a three-year business plan and new 

quarterly rocks. 

Good-bye Gardens in Atlanta! 

Sell, sell, sell. . . . 

William and Bew 

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CICCHETTO, Patrick, age 60, of Glen Allen, Va., passed peacefully and went to be with 

the Lord on Friday, July 28, 2017. Patrick was born in Elizabeth, N.J. and lived most of his 

life in Roselle Park, N.J., before moving to Glen Allen in 1991. Patrick served his country 

in the U.S. Army. He was a manager at Summer Classics for nine years and also a former 

Treasurer of the IFDA. He was a parishioner of St. Michaels Church in Glen Allen. He 

also enjoyed gardening and was a master gardner. He is survived by his beloved wife of 26 

years, Donna Cicchetto; his sisters, MaryAnn Skorenki and Marlene Cicchetto; brother, 

Terry Cicchetto; and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. He was 

preceded in death by his parents, John and Theresa Cicchetto; brothers, Robert and John 

Cicchetto; and sister, Helen Fischel. 

Tom Livingston remembers Patrick. . . 

Professionally, Patrick was a dedicated and loyal team member. He always put the business ahead of himself, and 

treated and guarded the business as if he was the owner. He believed in and embraced integrity, even when he knew it 

was not in his own personal best interest. He was passionate about his team and took his role as their leader very seriously. 

Personally, Patrick loved his wife and his family! He talked about them frequently at work, but he also considered 

the SC family as part of his family. He embraced vulnerability, openness, and honesty in all of his relationships 

– one rarely had to ask Patrick “how he felt.” He loved a good laugh and had a witty personality. Most importantly, 

Patrick enjoyed life, lived life faithfully to a higher standard, and knew his destination. He will be missed! 

Accounting 

Crushing Your Rocks 

Janet Roberson, CFO 

So here we are at the beginning of August, which probably 

means something different for each of us depending on 

our particular job with the Company. Maybe it represents 

the launch of new products, preparing for Garden Party, or 

preparing to implement a new Syspro module. 

But one thing it means for all of us is the establishment of our 

next set of Company, Departmental and Individual Rocks. 

At the last Quarterly Meeting with the Accounting team 

we had a lot of discussion around “Is that a rock? Is it just 

part of my role? Or is it a to-do?” So here are some guidelines 

to help you 1) Decide if it’s a Rock, and 2) Make sure you’re 

completing your Rocks every quarter. 

What is a Rock? 

Rocks are just priorities. These are the 3-7 things you must 

accomplish in the next 90 days. EOS teaches us there is no 

magic formula for constituting what is or is not a Rock but 

if it is something that takes longer than 14 days (those are 

called to-dos) and up to 90 days to complete then it’s probably 

a Rock. Also if getting it done in the next 90 days is one of the 

most important things for the Company, the Department or 

for you then it’s probably a Rock. 

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Completing the Rock 

When it comes to Rocks, it’s a zero sum game. Rocks are either 

finished in the allotted time or they are not. For this reason 

it’s very important to set your Rocks to level at which you can 

(or need to) complete them by the deadline. Some projects 

just take longer than 90 days and that’s perfectly acceptable. 

The key to achieving your Rocks for larger projects is to set 

the quarterly Rock to a milestone within the overall project. 

The completion of work to that particular point in the bigger 

Rock is then the Rock for that particular quarter. The next 

phase or completion of the entire project then becomes a Rock 

for the next quarter. 

Make Rocks S.M.A.R.T. 

Rocks need to be S.M.A.R.T. – specific, measurable, 

attainable, realistic and timely. Make a detailed project plan 

with steps, resources needed, milestones and deadlines. If 

others are needed to help you complete your Rocks make 

sure you seek their help in advance and be considerate of the 

constraints on their time (chances are they have their own 

Rocks to complete). If you are getting off track, seek the help 

of your Manager or be ready to IDS your Rock in your Level 

10 meeting.

Marketing and Design News 


July has been a busy month in our department! And it started with the completition of four big catalogs by our talented 

graphic design team––Private Label, White Label, Gabby Supplement and the big Summer Classics Catalog. That’s in 

addition to other sales materials in preparation to our big summer markets. Now the team will be focused on getting all 

the marketing materials and promotions ready for garden party. 

The summer markets have been a huge success all the way around. The new Summer Classics products had their debut in 

Chicago, where there was great response to some of the new designs including the Newport Collection, the Woodlawn 

and the Delray Woven, as well as new accent tables and bar carts. The Gabby Atlanta showroom was especially hot 

this July with a wide range of new introductions, including media centers, tables and great new upholstery pieces. 

The Summer Classics design team is looking ahead to 2019 designs, while the Gabby team is awaiting new samples for 

October High Point and working towards their April High Point collections. 

The beautiful design of the showrooms help to enhance our wonderful new products––kudos to the entire team who 

makes that happen. The creative direction and setup teams do an incredible job of making our showrooms into such 

incredible spaces. 

Digital promotions continue to remain strong––we had large followings around both Summer Classics and Gabby at 

Market, and both Instagram accounts continue to grow. Our digital Facebook ads have record-setting numbers. Our 

StyleMakers, who are big influencers in the design world, continue to create a buzz around our brands in the social 

spaces. And traction on our Contract, Summer Classics and Gabby blogs continues to grow––and we’re adding a new 

retail blog. Cheers to a successful Garden Party! 

Summer Market Success 

The Front of the Chicago Market 

Summer Classics’ last market in Atlanta 

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Artist Carrie Pittman showcased her work at the 

Gabby showroom in Atlanta


Contract Update Don Smith, v.p. sales of SC Contract 

This month kicked off with the Texas Restaurant Association trade show attended by Mark Rodell and Sara 

Kaiser. This was a great show to connect with restaurant owners and purchasers in the state of Texas. It was 

a great show and generated several leads. Later in the month, we attended the Association of Veterans show 

where we were able to connect with senior living facilities and state departments. Don Smith and Angela 

Kelman attended this show in Orlando, FL. 

A few contract reps visited market in Atlanta and were able to work with current customers and develop new 

partnerships. This was a great opportunity to introduce current commercial designers to Gabby! Throughout 

the country the reps attended various NEWH networking events and were busy seeing customers. 

This month was a huge shipping month for the contract division! We installed resorts, multi-family, senior 

living, country clubs, restaurants, and hotels across the country. As we get to the end of the summer, we are 

determined to install many additional projects and work with our customers to start planning for 2018! 

Thanks to Susan Ray, we were able to interview several designers in the commercial design industry. This 

included Stacy Garcia, who graciously provided us with an interview for the Summer Classics blog! Stacy is 

a trend forecaster and lead designer in the hospitality industry, so this was great for the brand! These were 

all part of a great social media campaign this month that continued to build our followers on Instagram and 

Facebook! 

Texas Restaurant Association 

National Veterans Association 

Belmont at Berkley install 

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Sales Schon Duke, v.p. Sales 

Momentum is the key word that describes the wholesale sale team coming out of our 2017 National Sales 

Meeting that was held in Chicago at the merchandise mart to review next year’s strategies and opportunities. 

It was a great time to share and learn. The presentation circled around best practices as a sales professional 

and a sales rep., particularly focusing on the importance of the sales experience with the dealer and 

how we all have an important role to play. There is a seismic shift happening in the furniture industry and 

we talked about how to capitalize on these changing times. The reps had 4 separate break out meetings 

that focused on topics such as 

1) Anti- trust law 

2) Bew’s top 5 SC sale differences 

3) Core values of the company 

4) E-cat functions. 

We ended the day with a Chicago architectural river cruise and dinner. It was a jam-packed day of learning 

and fun. 

The next day we focused on new product and operational support for our dealers. We had very candid 

and productive meetings between operations and sales to develop plans to improve service to our valued 

dealers. The new products for 2018 Summer classics are a range of more than 100 items. They are spot on 

to the market trends and continue to look more design oriented to what is going on inside of the home. 

Summer Classics continues to lead the fashion and merchandising in the outdoor industry. The new 2018 

products for Summer Classics are a breath of fresh air in a stale industry... 2018 is going to be an amazing 

year as we build off the momentum from 2017! 

The big MO.... is alive at Summer Classics and Gabby! 

Scenes from the Architectural cruise in Chicago 

Celebrating our AWESOME interns on 

National Intern Day 

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SC Home Update Marianne Minogue, v.p. SC Home 

“Bittersweet memories may hurt, but they’ve made us who we are. We can never go back, but we wouldn’t 

trade the memories for anything.” ~ Susan Gale 

July has been a bittersweet month for us. This month we lost a dear team member and manager to our Richmond 

store unexpectedly. Patrick Cicchetto had been with us since 2008 where he was able to build on his 

success and contribute to our team in knowledge, passion and fun. He will be remembered with fondness 

and we will miss him dearly. 

Retail continues to GROW! With an exceptional July in sales and continued strive to exceed each month 

and year, the teams are gearing up for an amazing second half of the year. 

Up 25% to LY…we plan to blow that number away while delivering an exceptional client experience and here 

are some shared successes from July: 

A submission from an Atlanta client: 

“FYI – my wife and I were in the Roswell Ga store this week to buy replacement cushions for our SC furniture. 

We were assisted by Lisette Milner, who was very helpful with our purchase. Yesterday, my wife 

missed a call from Ms. Milner. I told her, “I bet she is going to tell you some of the fabrics we picked were 

discontinued.” To my surprise, Ms. Milner had called to tell us. “Thank you for your business, and to let her 

know if there was anything else we needed.” I’m contacting you to say – Thank you! It is a rarity these days 

to experience outstanding customer service, and when you do, you don’t forget it. We have purchased your 

products for years, both at our home and lake house, and will make sure we spread the word that Summer 

Classics is the place to go.” 

A great email from the Property Brothers design team: 

Lizzie, 

The furniture arrived and it looks so lovely! Just wanted to let you know that Alyssa from Summer Classics 

has been a CHAMP. She deserves all praise!! Thank you, Kelly 

We are gearing up for Garden Party and all the new looks you’ll see in our showroom. We are looking forward 

to seeing each other at Garden Party and continuing to work together to make Summer Classics Home 

shine for us all! 

And congratulations to Juston Fisher of the Charlotte store for celebrating 10 years with Summer Classics! 

A “Luau” we participated in with local designers 

and sponsors in Nashville as part of CEU’s 

and networking which has been a huge success 

to the Nashville store which is up over 60% in 

business this month! 

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Beautiful Louisville Installation 

Louisville’s mascot “Woody” who was purchased 

by a client and as you can see was successfully installed 

with 2 very happy clients! 

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Beautiful Majorca Installation from the Pelham Store 

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H. R. News 

Janet Ward, v.p. human resources 


It seems to be that time of year when everyone is juggling busy schedules at work along with 

the demands of personal life like family vacations, kids out of school, etc. Things can add up 

pretty quickly and overwhelm us when we least expect it and cause us to react in inappropriate 

ways…ways we would not ordinarily be prone to if we were not under stress. Personality 

studies acknowledge this by actually detailing personality characteristics by type while under 

stress. Awareness is the first step in overcoming these behaviors in keeping us from reacting in ways we will regret. As 

the old proverb goes “Know thyself.” If you are aware that you are under stress, you can proactively take steps to reduce 

or manage it better. So take time to take stock of your stress levels which are evidenced by such things as muscle aches 

and pains, teeth grinding, headaches, more colds or viruses, indigestion, and the list goes on. One recommendation is to 

keep a stress journal to aid you in discovering your stress patterns and reactions so you can better deal with them. Some 

other health coping strategies include: 

1. Know your limits and stick to them. Don’t put on the cape and try to do and be everything for everyone. 

2. Seek peaceful environments. After work, turn the TV off if it makes you anxious, go for a walk outdoors, see friends 

who are comforting or make you laugh, which brings me to the last one… 

3. Laugh! Humor is the greatest tool to handle stress. By laughing at the world, and most importantly ourselves, we 

remind ourselves that all the little things (and sometimes big things) are only made bigger by the way we view them. 

Remember, stress can also push us to unhealthy behaviors if we aren’t careful and many of these actually increase instead 

of decrease stress, thereby making things worse. Remember, you never saw Superman smoke a cigarette after battling a 

super villain. 

Flash Floods 

The Corporate showroom parking lot as well as several areas around Birmingham experienced flash flood waters recently. 

Whether you are at home or at work, it is important to know how to respond to this emergency situation. Here are 

some tips offered by the National Weather Service: 

• If you come upon flood waters, stop, turn around and go another way. Climb to higher ground. If is moving swiftly, 

even water six inches deep can knock you off your feet. Many people are swept away wading through flood waters, 

resulting in injury or death. 

• Stay away from flooded areas. Even if it seems safe, flood waters can still be rising. 

• Never try to walk, swim, drive, or play in flood water. You may not be able to see on the surface how fast flood water is 

moving or see holes and submerged debris. 

• If you are in a vehicle and become surrounded by water, if you can get out safely, do so immediately and move to higher 

ground. Vehicles can be swept away in two feet of water. Do not try to drive through flood waters. Your car can hit 

something or get stalled out. Most flood fatalities are caused by people attempted to drive through water or people playing 

in high water. 

• Watch out for snakes in areas that were flooded. Flood waters flush snakes from their homes. 

• Stay away from creek and stream banks in flooded and recently flooded areas. The soaked 

banks often become unstable due to heavy rainfall and can suddenly give way, tossing you 

into rapidly moving water. 

• Throw away all food that has come in contact with flood waters. Contaminated flood water 

contains bacteria and germs. Eating foods exposed to flood waters can make you sick. 

• Be alert to Flood Watches in your area. Keep a watch out for conditions and be ready to 

respond quickly. Flash floods happen quickly and without warning. 

• When a Flood Warning is issued, this means that a flood is imminent or is happening in 

the area. This is the time to act quickly with safety as the first order or business. 

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NEW HIRES 

Please help me welcome the following employees to our team! 

W.I.T. Award Winners 

Our WIT Award winners for June are…… Dale Boehm of Sales and Andrew Stough of Operations! 


Here’s what Schon Duke, VP of SC Wholesale Sales had to say about Dale: Dale is always extremely positive about his position, 

peers and works extremely hard to achieve goals. He has built the Inside Sales Department into a significant part of the 

sale organization. His department alone in on track to write over $1 million dollars this year. We are lucky to have Dale on 

our team and he is a true professional! Dale exemplifies our core values... He is the real deal! 

As far as Andrew, Tom Livingston, our COO has these words to say: I would like to nominate Andrew Stough for the 

WIT award for the month of June. While Andrew embodies all the elements of D-E-S-I-G-N and G-W-C, his dedication 

to his company and to his team is exemplary. Andrew and his team are typically the last point of contact before an order 

ships to the customer – literally “THE point of the sphere”. His DEDICATION in regards to hours worked (in early and 

out late to make up for it), commitment to excellence, and commitment to professionalism (regardless of the circumstances) 

exceeds the bar in every way! The only thing about Andrew that exceeds his dedication level, is his quality of character and 

love for the Tide; I am proud to have Andrew as a member of the Operations team! 

Congratulations Dale & Andrew! 

Important Dates to 

Remember 

Aug 4th – WIT Award 

& Birthday Celebration 

Stephanie Osmers 

Retail Sales - San Antonio 

Janay Witherspoon 

Marketing 

Johnny Arguedas 

MIS 

Rachel Paster 

Accounting & Finance 

Jose Ramos 

Marketing 

Griffin Smith 

Sales 

Frieda Whitley 

Retail Sales – Showroom 

Nekesha Murdock 

Accounting & Finance 

Elizabeth Kees 

Sales 

Ana Mojica Olivo 

Cushions 

Jacqueline McKinney Cushions Remember to check our intranet site, 

Gather, at http://gwcgather.com for 

the latest news and information! 

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Happy Birthday! 

 

NAME DEPARTMENT BIRTHDATE 

Hank Epperson Distribution 1-Aug 

Jacquail Rutledge Distribution 1-Aug 

Donovan Romero Facilities 3-Aug 

Jennifer Searls Sales 5-Aug 

Leslie Estes Accounting 6-Aug 

John Vigilante Retail WH - Raleigh 7-Aug 

Laura Purvis Retail Sales - Showroom 7-Aug 

James Oh Sales 8-Aug 

Willie Moore Marketing Operations 9-Aug 

Eric Surls Retail Warehouse - Richmond 9-Aug 

Chris Nelson MIS 10-Aug 

Susan Ray Public Relations 11-Aug 

Geoff Feagin MIS 11-Aug 

Shelley Glasgow Design 12-Aug 

Stephen Pitts Marketing Operations 12-Aug 

Kelly McGuire Sales 13-Aug 

Denise Jackson Customer Service 16-Aug 

Kimbi DeStafino Retail Admin - Corporate 17-Aug 

Tenley Cotton Cushions 19-Aug 

Rickey Green Distribution 22-Aug 

Tammy Fowler Cushions 25-Aug 

Tim Baldwin Sales 27-Aug 

Ralph Hoggle Cushions 28-Aug 

Kathleen Creech Retail Sales - Charlotte 3 30-Aug 

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Inspiring Thoughts 


These are words of wisdom from a blog post by Richard Simmons., the leader of the 

Center for Executive Leadership . . 

“You will never change your life, until you change something you do daily.” 

– John Maxwell 

“We all have a basic motivational drive, every human heart has something that 

drives them. It gets us through life. It moves us to do what we do. And for most of 

us, I believe, it is fear.” – Tim Keller 

“The closest I can come to one secret of success is this, a lot of little things done 

well.” – John Wooden 

“Every now and then go away, even briefly, for when you come back to your work 

your judgement will be surer; since to remain constantly at work will cause you to 

lose power.” – Leonardo da Vinci 

“The Christian shoemaker does his duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, 

but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.” 

– Martin Luther 

“The mark of maturity is the willingness to pass up immediate pleasure in favor of 

long term gain.” – Author unknown 

“Today, I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others 

can’t.” – Jerry Rice 

“It is critical to deal with bitterness, otherwise your past will always control your 

future.” – Author unknown 

“Our inclination is to buy things we don’t need, with money we don’t have, to 

impress people we do not like.” – Author unknown 

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Employee Spotlight 

Name: 

Carolyn Fynan 

City of Residence: 

Hoover 

Inhabitants at my residence: (pets/family/friends) 

Me and Karla and our two cats, Ollie 

and Laila 

Current position with SC: 

Human Resource Generalist 

What I like best about working for SC: 

The people 

Best job (other than SC): 

Director of Admissions with Brown 

Mackie College - Birmingham 

Worst job: 

I’ve never really had a bad job, I believe 

that, like life or where you live, where you 

work is what you make of it 

What traits define you: 

persistence, purpose, friendliness, 

trustworthiness 

Motto or Personal Mantra: 

“What lies behind us and what lies before 

us are tiny matters compared to what lies 

within us.” -Oliver Wendell Holmes 

What’s one thing you couldn’t live without? 

My kids 

What I fear most: 

Getting stuck in an elevator for hours or 

longer 

Proudest of: 

My boys, Justin, Jackson and Jonathan 

Best Memory: 

Watching my oldest son walk across the 

stage when he graduated high school 

Favorite sports or pastimes: 

Watching college football and grilling. 

People would be surprised to know: 

I was in the marching band in high school 

and played 4 different instruments. 

What would you most like to tell yourself at age 13? 

Buckle up 

Pet peeves: 

burnt popcorn smell and bad community 

coffee etiquette 

Before I die, I would like to: 

Travel to Taiwan and see where my mom 

grew up 

CORE VALUES 

Dedication | Enthusiasm | Synergy | Integrity | Goal-oriented | Nimble 

OUR BRANDS: 

WHOLESALE | CONTRACT SALES | PRIVATE LABEL | SC HOME STORES 

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August2017_MonthlyUpdate

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