IHA News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Deborah A.Teschke
Manager, Media Relations & Communications
847-692-0110

Gen. Colin L. Powell To Address Industry Breakfast at 2007 International Home & Housewares Show 

ROSEMONT, ILL (October 26, 2006)—Former Secretary of State Gen. Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.)  will make a repeat appearance as the featured speaker at the Industry Breakfast/International Housewares Association Annual Meeting during the 2007 International Home & Housewares Show, to be held March 11-13 at McCormick Place in Chicago.  Powell will speak on “Leadership:  Taking Charge.”

The Breakfast will be held on Tuesday, March 13.  Powell’s first appearance  at the Breakfast was at the 1999 Show and continues a tradition of world-renown Breakfast speakers, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former President George H.W. Bush, Madeleine Albright, Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, Sen. John Edwards and Publisher Steve Forbes. The breakfast will begin at 7:15 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the South Building. In addition to Powell’s presentation, IHA Chairman James L. Glenn, president/chief executive officer of Whitney Design, Inc., will briefly outline the Association’s accomplishment for the past year and its objectives for the future.

Powell served as Secretary of State during the first four years of President George W. Bush’s administration, the first African-American to hold the office. As Secretary of State, he was at the forefront in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and led the State Department in major efforts to solve regional and civil conflicts in such places as the Balkans, Cyprus, Haiti, Northern Ireland, Afghanistan and Iraq. Since returning to private life, he has become a strategic limited partner at Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm, and he is the author of the best-selling autobiography, “My American Journey.”  

“We are pleased and honored to welcome back Gen. Powell as our guest speaker this year,” said Phil Brandl, IHA president. “He is one of the most admired and respected men in America, an authentic hero, and he was serving our country during one of the most critical times in our history.”

Powell’s military career began in 1958 when he was commissioned into the U.S. Army as an infantry lieutenant. He served twice in Vietnam, earned a master’s degree in business administration from George Washington University, was selected as a White House Fellow and served in Korea and twice in Germany.

In the 1980s he served as senior military assistant to the secretary of defense and as assistant to the president for national security affairs. Powell attained the rank of General in 1989 and was appointed chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Oct. 1 of that year. He served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton.
He retired in September 1993, after 35 years of military service, and two years later wrote his autobiography, “My American Journey.” In 1997 he founded America’s Promise—The Alliance for Youth, a not-for-profit organization, based in Alexandria, Va., that is dedicated to improving the lives of the nation’s young people, particularly by improving their employability. Powell has received numerous U.S. military awards and decorations, including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal (with three Oak Leaf Clusters), the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart. His civilian awards include two Presidential Medals of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.

Tickets for the Breakfast are $500 for a table of 10 with preferred seating or $50 per person. They may be ordered online at www.housewares .org or by contacting Perry Reynolds, vice president, marketing and trade development, at 847-692-0109 or preynolds@housewares.org

IHA is the 68-year-old voice of the housewares industry, which accounted for (US$)$283 billion at retail worldwide in 2004. The non-profit, full-service association sponsors the world's premier housewares products exposition, the International Home & Housewares Show, and offers its 1,700 member companies a wide range of services, including industry and government advocacy, export assistance, State-of-the-Industry reports, point-of-sale and consumer purchase data through Housewares MarketWatch, executive management peer groups, a unique Web-based community at www.housewares.org and group buying discounts on business solutions services.