A Rep That Drives Us All Nuts ... With His Good Works

There is a rep I work with at a factory who absolutely drives us all nuts with his persistence. The guy is tireless in his pursuit of good causes. I would wager a guess that many reps and retailers, no matter what territory or factory you represent know this guy.

And even though he drives us all nuts, he is one of the unsung heroes in our industry. This guy finds people and causes that are in need of promoter and then he promotes like there is no tomorrow --- which in some cases is actually the case.

One time he was promoting the Ronald McDonald house and I think he actually might have dressed up like Ronald. Another time someone at the factory fell on hard times due to a medical issue, and this guy took up a collection among all at market to help.

The guy I'm writing about is Marty Libowsky, the "ambassador of good will" as nicknamed by his latest crusade, Habitat for Humanity. Marty is encouraging furniture retailers and manufacturers to consider partnering with Habitat affiliates and ReStores in their area to identify good, used product that can be donated. This then would be recycled to build Habitat homes for families in need.

If you are a local retailer, imagine the marketing campaign of having people donate their used furniture to Habitat for a tax deduction and a discount on new furniture from your store. The retailer also agrees to coordinate with Habitat to get the furniture out of the customer's home when they make the delivery on the new items.

Everybody wins. The customer gets new furniture and a write off. The retailer sells new items. Habitat for Humanity gets a much needed donation to help a family in need. Many companies and individuals have found the partnership with Habitat for Humanity to be deeply rewarding in helping build affordable housing in their communities for families who may not otherwise have an opportunity to own their own home. To find a location near you go to www.habitat.org/restores.

Thank you Marty for your efforts to make our world a better place, even if you drive us nuts in the process.

At the recent Presidential Gala, IHFRA honored a number of reps who are helping others inside and outside of our industry. They make us proud that fellow members of our profession are so giving of time, talent and treasure.

From time to time, I would love to spotlight these unsung heroes. If you or someone you know is doing inspiring work to help others, please drop me an email at meroot@mikeroot.com with details and contact information. I will contact them to see if they would like to share their stories. There are a lot of people in our industry doing great things that no one ever notices. Rather than highlighting the bad stuff, I would love to share inspirational stories of rep, retailers or factory personnel that are giving the furniture industry a good name by the unselfish giving work they are doing.

You are always welcome to leave a comment below about good things people are doing in our industry. Thanks for reading!