IHA News Release

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

Housewares industry To Honor Leaders  at 10th Annual Charity Gala March 12

ROSEMONT, ILL (Dec. 20, 2006)—To celebrate its tenth year as an industry institution, the Housewares Charity Foundation (HCF) will honor two retail and housewares champions for their commitment to philanthropy with its 2007 Humanitarian Awards at the 10th Annual Housewares Charity Foundation Gala on Monday, March 12, 2007. The event will benefit The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the HCF’s legacy charity, and will be held at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers in conjunction with the 2007 International Home & Housewares Show.

Howard Lester, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Williams-Sonoma, will be honored as Lifetime Humanitarian and Jeffrey Siegel, chairman, president and CEO of Lifetime Brands will receive the Humanitarian of the Year award.

Howard Lester retired from a successful 15-year career in the computer business in 1975 before he acquired a small retail company in 1978. Williams-Sonoma, located in San Francisco, generated annual sales of $4 million from four retail stores and a mail order business. Lester held the positions of president, CEO and chairman of the board until 2001 when the company created a separate CEO role. He remained chairman of the board and resumed the additional position of CEO in July 2006.

Under his leadership, Williams-Sonoma Inc. has become a nationwide specialty retailer of high quality products for the home through seven distinct merchandise strategies—Williams-Sonoma, Williams-Sonoma Home, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, PBTeen, Pottery Barn Bed and Bath and West Elm—which are marketed in 569 stores, seven mail order catalogs and five e-commerce websites. Williams-Sonoma reported 2005 sales of $3.5 billion and currently employs more than 37,000 associates worldwide.

Lester has served on numerous boards—business, educational and non-profit. He currently serves as chair of the board of the Walter A. Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and in 1991, he endowed the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation within the Haas School. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center. He founded the Lester Family Foundation in 1994. In 2003, he was named Business Leader of the Year by the University of California.

Siegel joined Lifetime Brands (formerly known as Lifetime Hoan) in 1967 after his discharge from active duty in the U.S. Army. Prior to joining the Army, Siegel spent two years at the A&S Division of Federated Department Stores. Lifetime’s nine divisions design and manufacture a variety of products for the home including bakeware, kitchen knives, kitchen tools and gadgets, bar accessories; barbecue accessories; cutting boards, spice racks, pantryware, dinnerware, flatware, glassware and architectural bath accessories. Its 30 brands include Pfaltzgraff®, Farberware®, Sabatier®, Wallace®, Block®, Sasaki® Towle® and Hoffritz®, as well as licensed brands such as KitchenAid®, Cuisinart®, Calvin Klein® and Pedrini®. Siegel began his tenure at the company as a regional sales manager, and served in various other positions before being named president in 2000 and Chairman and CEO in 2002. During Siegel’s tenure, the company has experienced unprecedented growth both in sales and profits, and its 2006 sales should pass $600 million, or 500 times the level they were when he joined the company.

Active in professional and civic organizations, Siegel has served as an associate trustee for North Shore University Hospital for many years and currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Fashion Institute of Technology.  He was honored by the Fashion Institute with its Humanitarian Award for lifetime achievement in 2000. Siegel also serves as a director of both the International Housewares Association (IHA) and the Housewares Charity Foundation.  

10 Years of Industry Collaboration

“HCF is the industry at its best—a collaborative effort among manufacturers, retailers and allied industry partners giving back,” said Phil Brandl, president of the International Housewares Association and HCF event co-chairman. “In a relatively short period of time, the accomplishments are exceedingly impressive.”

Since the first Gala in 1998, HCF has contributed more than $5 million to breast cancer research alone. The cure and prevention of breast cancer has always been a strong focus of HCF. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), HCF’s legacy charity, has received more than $4.3 million over the years. It was founded in 1993 by Evelyn H. Lauder and is dedicated to funding innovative clinical and genetic research. In 2006, HCF made a $1 million contribution to establish a new Integrated Breast Cancer Research Laboratory at the University of Chicago Medical Center, in partnership with Carole and Gordon Segal, founders of Crate and Barrel, who were honored last year as Lifetime Humanitarians.

The honorees are selected for their humanitarian efforts and exceptional leadership.  Over the years, HCF has honored retailers including Bloomingdales, Boscov’s, Carson Pirie Scott, Crate and Barrel, Federated Merchandising Group, Fortunoff, Macy’s East, JC Penney, QVC, Sears Roebuck, Shopko Stores and Target Stores for their commitment to giving.  From the manufacturing community, the Foundation has honored individuals from All-Clad Metalcrafters, Bradshaw International, Conair, Meyer Corporation, Newell, Norelco, Salton and Wallace Silversmiths.  Good Housekeeping magazine is a permanent sponsor of the event.

Other charities that have benefited since the first annual Gala are Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation, Inc.; the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation; the Culinary Institute of America’s student scholarships; Habitat for Humanity International; the HCF September 11th Relief Fund; the James Beard Foundation scholarship program; JC Penney Afterschool Program; the Maxi Fund to Cure Juvenile Diabetes; the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis; the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund; the Race to Erase MS; St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Target House at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

To reserve seats for the 2007 HCF gala, contact Paul Murphy at 508-272-0717 or make reservations onsite at the Show Store on Level 2.5 of the South Building.