HIGH POINT — Doug Brackett, widely hailed as a behind-the-scenes leader in bringing together and strengthening the industry, is ready to leave the daily grind and will retire on Jan. 4 as executive vice president of the American Furniture Manufacturers Assn. — a group he helped create.
"The world's changed very rapidly," Brackett said. "It needs a younger set of legs to keep up with what's going on. There are so many places you need to be nowadays.
"The thing I'm going to miss most is the relationships with the folks in the industry. This is a very creative industry with a lot of creative people in it. The challenges and stimulation you receive … are going to be very hard to replace."
Brackett, 63, is open to the idea of working part-time with the AFMA or a furniture company if he can set his own hours. "If I wanted to work 9 to 5, I wouldn't be retiring," he said.
He has been a key participant in a number of important transitions, most recently the shift from a High Point market led by the International Home Furnishings Marketing Assn. to the newly formed International Home Furnishings Market Authority.
Brackett will relinquish his seat on the Market Authority board to Andy Counts, who also will take on Brackett's AFMA post. Counts has been the association's vice president of environmental affairs, secretary and treasurer.
"The most important thing about Doug is that he provided us with continuity," said Albert Prillaman, Stanley president and chief executive officer and outgoing AFMA president.
Creating a unified voice
Some 20 years ago, Brackett was a critical player in the merger of the southern and northern factory associations. He headed the Southern Furniture Manufacturers Assn., which merged with the National Assn. of Furniture Manufacturers in 1983 to create AFMA. Typically, Brackett deflects credit, saying the two who put the most work into the merger were Don Belgrad of Schnadig and Alex Bernhardt Jr. of Bernhardt.
It was "sort of silly" to have two major factory groups, said Brackett. The two butted heads occasionally, he recalled, and when merger talks began, "It was kind of bitter for awhile."
But after discussion, no one could come up with a good reason why the two hadn't merged already, he said, and once the decision was made things went smoothly.
"He always had his members' interests at heart," said Prillaman. "He asked, 'What's the best way to serve my members?' "
"Doug's depth of industry knowledge has been a tremendous asset," said Ed Gerken Jr., Norwalk chairman and a past AFMA president. "His leadership and his ability to build a strong staff have been very beneficial to the industry. His knowledge of the personalities of the people in the companies … has enabled him to guide AFMA to a strong position of leadership as a trade association representing the broad and diverse interests of the furniture industry. His retirement will leave a big void in that depth of knowledge."
AFMA also will miss Brackett for the person he is, said Nancy High, AFMA's vice president of marketing services and head of its Decorative Accessories Division.
"Doug is enormously dedicated to his family," she said. "His three children are the light of his life. Doug is really in his element at the multi-generational family gatherings that are always held at his home on holidays. His wife, Pat, has always been by his side at industry functions."
Brackett acknowledged his wife's support and help, noting that she took it upon herself to make new AFMA members and spouses feel welcome. "She should have been on the payroll about half the time," he said.
Gerken agreed that AFMA will miss Brackett, but "he's also built up a very capable and knowledgeable staff…. I'm optimistic about the future."
John D. Bassett III, president and CEO of Vaughn-Bassett, led a good-natured "roast" for Brackett last month. "I told them that he has bailed out more furniture executives from jail than any man alive," Bassett said.
One year stretches to 35
Brackett grew up near Hickory, N.C., and came to High Point to earn a bachelor's degree in business administration from what is now High Point University.
After a two-year hitch in the Army, Brackett joined SFMA in October 1966, intending to stay a year as a replacement for a staffer drafted to serve in Vietnam. That man fell in love with flying helicopters, he said, and found a new career.
Brackett found a career too, taking over the top SFMA staff post in the late '70s.
If he could have his wish, every manufacturer would join AFMA and every retailer would join the National Home Furnishings Assn. Lots of people on both sides are "free-riding off the efforts of others," he said. "The industry would be stronger if everyone had their shoulders to the wheel."
Brackett won't be sitting around after his retirement. He long has been a supporter of the YMCA and Habitat for Humanity and wants to do more to help them. He would love to see manufacturers and retailers provide excess inventory to support the lower-income families Habitat serves.
"These are folks who need every dime," he said. "They aren't going to buy much furniture anyway."
| Brackett |
| The late Nat Ancell, left, of Ethan Allen was one of many industry leaders who relied on Doug Brackett. |
| Pat Brackett, with her husband, Doug, at an AFMA event last year, has worked to make the association's new members and spouses feel welcome. |
| Brackett in 1967, a year after he joined the staff of the Southern Furniture Manufacturers Assn., fresh out of the Army. |
