Regency Home gift honors Ashley's Wanek for patriotism
By Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, February 15, 2010
LAS VEGAS —
LAS VEGAS – Ashley Chairman Ron Wanek's market day got off to a heartwarming start Feb. 2 with a presentation he didn't expect.
One of Ashley's longtime customers, Regency Home Furniture in El Paso, Texas, and its owner, Paul Lannoye, presented Wanek with a series of limited-edition patriotic prints signed by Linda Hensen, an artist in Castle Rock, Wash.
The gift included a print of DetermiNation, which depicts an American eagle lifting a war-torn American flag.
Lannoye said he wanted to present the gifts because of Wanek's patriotism. The Ashley executive was the driving force behind the creation of a park in the company's hometown of Arcadia, Wis., which is filled with military monuments sculpted by Wanek. The park also contains one of the steel beams from the World Trade Center.
One of the limited-edition prints presented by Lannoye was inscribed “To Ron Wanek, a true patriot. God has blessed America because of people like you.”
The showroom presentation also included a Texas flag, flown over the Alamo on Jan. 26 in Wanek's honor.
Wanek, surprised and obviously touched by the event, said the art will be displayed at the company's welcome center in Arcadia.
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