New York – The September market cocktail gala – co-presented by the Home Fashion Products Association (HFPA) Foundation and Home Textiles Today – will bestow 5 honors as part of the 3rd annual scholarship fundraising event.
The new Home Excellence Leadership Award for an individual merchant who excels at merchandising in their product category/categories will be given to The Home Depot merchant Cynthia Castillo.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the honoree as “Cathy” Castillo.
She began her career with the home improvement giant as a sales associate and steadily moved up the ladder at the store level. She became a merchant at the company’s Expo Design Center, then moved into a similar role at the parent company. Her concentration as a merchant has focused on flooring and related services; she also has overseen merchandising for custom window, décor and paint.
Previously, HTT announced the two other awards.
The Home Excellence Award for Leadership for an individual supplier executive or executive team will be given to Lance Ruttenberg and Blake Ruttenberg of American Textile Company. The award acknowledges American Textile Company’s vision and culture of innovation.
The Home Excellence Award for allied to the industry will be given to Evan H. Margolin at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), who was instrumental in helping dozens of former 295 Fifth Avenue tenants relocate into new spaces along 5th Avenue after the former Textiles Building was converted into a luxury office space.
Two additional honorees will be announced soon:
- An award for a retail company demonstrating excellence in home textiles growth
- An award for a home textiles supplier or manufacturer for demonstrating excellence in expanding their business
Registration is now open for the annual September market gala at https://cvent.me/wn2DPo.
The lively cocktail gathering, which benefits the HFPA Foundation’s scholarship program, will take place at the Harvard Club on Wednesday, Sept. 18 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
The two-hour event will include hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction, an introduction to FIT’s home fashions program students, and the presentation of the 2024 Home Excellence awardees.
The Foundation, established in 1996, has provided scholarships to nearly 250 students since its inception. Currently, the Foundation awards scholarships to students enrolled in surface design or home product marketing courses of study at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and Thomas Jefferson University.
ProTecht is the headline sponsor of the HFPA Foundation fundraiser. Loftex and Lichtenberg are Gold sponsors. Rush and Company is a Silver sponsor.
Sponsors for the Home Excellence Awards include Supima (Platinum); Cotton Incorporated and Welspun (Silver); Cotton Egypt (Bronze).
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