9th annual Magowitz event raises $500,000
David Perry -- Furniture Today, December 19, 2011
PHOENIX - The ninth edition of the Seena Magowitz Golf Classic raised approximately $500,000 for pancreatic cancer research and brought together top mattress producers, retailers and suppliers.
More than 200 golfers took to the links at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and later joined 200 more event supporters at the gala awards luncheon that is the highlight of the event.
There they heard from the event's founder, Roger Magowitz, charitable advisor for Houston-based Mattress Firm, a major sponsor.
Magowitz said his devotion to the event stems from a question he poses to himself: "If not me, then who?"
| Bob Pearce, left, DreamFit; Nelson Bercier, Sit ‘n Sleep, Gardena, Calif.; Jerry
Wootten, DreamFit. |
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Kaci Prunty, left, Tempur-Pedic; Kim Vanek and Dave Brummett, both of
Mattress Firm, Houston. |
David Binke, left, Chris Henning and Dave Roberts, right, all of Comfort Solutions, with actor Gregory Itzin. |
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Phil Sherman, left, and Phil McCarty, right, both of Customatic Adjustable Bedz, with Roger Magowitz and Dr. Daniel Von Hoff. On the table are bobblehead versions of Magowitz and Von Hoff. |
"The ‘who' is each one of you in this room," he said in his address at the luncheon. "The ‘who' is your business and your friends. The ‘who' is an entire mattress industry united to fighting pancreatic cancer. I've never heard of any entire industry fighting a disease. We can beat this disease."
As his comments suggested, the mattress industry was broadly represented at the Seena Magowitz Golf Classic.
Attendees included top executives at producers Sealy, Serta, Simmons, Tempur-Pedic, Comfort Solutions, International Bedding, Englander, Southerland, Symbol, Sherwood, Carolina Mattress Guild, Pure LatexBliss and Glideaway, among others. The supplier contingent was represented by Protect-A-Bed, Leggett & Platt, Hickory Springs, Customatic Adjustable Bedz, Knickerbocker, Colonial LLC, Fabrictech and GBS Enterprises, among others.
Mattress retailers in attendance included Sit 'n Sleep, Gardena, Calif.; Sleep Doctor Mattress Stores, Caledonia, Mich.; Mattress Discounters, Jessup, Md.; Back To Bed, Itasca, Ill.; and Mattress Firm, Houston, among others.
The event honors Seena Magowitz, Roger Magowitz's mother, who succumbed to pancreatic cancer in 2001.
Also addressing the group was Steve Stagner, CEO of Mattress Firm, the honorary chairman of the event. "I'm blown away by this industry and the people in this room," he said, noting that the event brought competitors together on the eve of the holidays to focus on a cause that matters.
Stagner urged the industry to capitalize on every opportunity available to support the fight against pancreatic cancer. He said Mattress Firm is adding $50,000 to its donation for pancreatic cancer research this year.
Another speaker was Jerry Colangelo, a longtime sports executive and chairman of USA Men's Basketball, the group that fields the Olympic basketball team. He said he is impressed with the passion that Magowitz brings to the fight against pancreatic cancer.
Seena Magowitz Golf Classic officials Ray Bojanowski, second from left, and Roger Magowitz, second from right, with members of the Phoenix Suns Dancers. |
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Vince McBeth, left, and Roger Magowitz, both of the Seena Magowitz Golf Classic, with Kelly and Steve Stagner of Mattress Firm, Houston, and Napoleon McCallum, former NFL player. |
Ken Murphy, left, Mattress Firm, Houston, and Clive Goldin, Protect-A-Bed. |
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Michael Bassoff, left, TGen Foundation; Mark Quinn, Leggett & Platt, and Dr. Ramesh Ramanathan, Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center. |
"He is one of those guys you meet who knows how to get things done," Colangelo said.
He said he will supply a basketball signed by members of the upcoming Olympic basketball team for a $100,000 donation to TGen, the cutting-edge medical research center in Phoenix that is conducting key pancreatic cancer studies.
Dr. Daniel Von Hoff, physician in chief at TGen, introduced Dr. David Tuveson of the United Kingdom, who brings his investigational skills to pancreatic cancer research. In his address, Tuveson said solving pancreatic cancer is "mission possible."
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