Issuu

MAHTOG H ALL, NYC GOTHAM

Gotham Hall

NEW YORK CITY

A RICH HISTORY & ARCHITECTURAL MASTERPIECE

As the gala guests passed through the brass doors, they entered the Grand Ballroom of Gotham Hall, a space that commands attention with its lavish details. The stunning gilded ceiling above the inlaid marble floor features a unique 3,000-squarefoot stained-glass domed ceiling.

Originally the Greenwich Savings Bank Building, constructed between 1922 and 1924, the building served as the bank's headquarters until 1981. Inside, the banking room features regal granite walls and limestone Corinthian columns that enhance the hall’s grandeur.

In 2001, the building was transformed into Gotham Hall. The building was designated as a New York City landmark in 1992 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005, ensuring its historic charm continues to captivate guests today.

In the heart of New York city, celebrities, dignitaries, and philanthropists like you have made this magnificent venue a sanctuary for celebration and intrigue. Cheers to everyone who joined us at the FCIF’s 2024 Gala and supported our cause!

Board of Directors

Chairman of the Board

Charlie Dilks CCA Global Partners, Inc.

Vice-Chairman

Scott Humphrey World Floor Covering Association

Treasurer Kennedy Frierson The Dixie Group

Corporate Secretary Piet Dossche Dossche Holding Company

Fund Distribution Chair

Roger S. Marcus American Biltrite Inc.

Fund Development Chair Will Young Engineered Floors

Ralph Boe ArrowStar RJBOE Enterprise

Lisa Browning National Floorcovering Alliance

Brian Caress Industry Volunteer

Brian M. Carson AHF Products

Jonathan Cohen Stanton Carpet

Ted Dlugokienski, Abbey Carpet Co., Inc.

Carrie Edwards Isaac Shaw Industries Group

Steve Feldman Floor Covering News

Emily Finkell EF Floors & Design

Amie Gilmore The International Surface Event

Jeff Golden JG Media Group/ProInstaller

Philip Gutierrez Abbey Carpet Company

Kemp Harr Floor Focus Magazine

Max Holland FEI Group

Kevin Jablon Spartan Surfaces

Doug Jackson Cali Floors

Tanja Kern Floor Trends BNP Media Flooring Group

Raymond Mancini, Jr., UCX

Paul Murfin Taylor Adhesives

Sam O’Krent O’Krent Floors

Ed Perrin Karndean Design Flooring

Amy Rush-Imber Floor Covering Weekly

Bob Weiss All Surfaces

Zack Zehner Mannington Mills

BOARD MEMBER EMERITUS

Howard Brodsky CCA Global Partners, Inc.

Keith Campbell Mannington Mills

Larry Nagle N.L. Nagle, Inc.

EX-OFFICIO MEMBER

Andrea Blackbourn Floor Covering Industry Foundation

Welcome

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Floor Covering Industry Foundation, thank you for your support of the FCIF Gala.

Gotham Hall provided a stunning backdrop to a beautiful evening of celebration and friendship as we honored three deserving individuals for their contributions to our industry. A delicious dinner followed by a talented musical ensemble that entertained the entire gathering.

We are grateful to an industry that cares and provides the financial support necessary to make a life altering medical event more financially manageable. Across the entire country, the foundation has been fortunate to be able to help so many of those in need that have worked or presently work in the flooring industry. Whether it be an installer, a clerical employee, a retail sales associate, or factory worker, we have provided support due to an unanticipated financial need. And there will always be a need.

A very active board volunteers their time to ensure that the needs of the foundation can be properly managed. Our governance is sound, and the commitment exists from all involved to carry out the foundation’s work now and into the future.

Once again, thank you!

Charlie Dilks Chairman of the Board Floor Covering Industry Foundation

Honoree

SY COHEN

Charmian & Founder, Stanton Carpet

Sy Cohen, the founder and currently executive chairman of Stanton Carpet, has been an industry fixture for more than 50 years, launching the company for which he is known in 1980. But his roots are in retail.

Cohen founded Country Carpet in 1972 as a trade showroom on Long Island selling moderate to betterend carpet products to interior designers. As the business flourished Cohen saw the opportunity to offer more decorative, proprietary products for his clients. In 1978 he visited Domotex Germany to source products and deliver on his vision.

Among the first products were wool flatweaves from Denmark and Belgium, a perfect fit for his clients. Cohen started supplying proprietary products to differentiate and accelerate Country Carpet's growth. “The good thing was it was proprietary; the bad thing was you had to buy a lot of it,” Cohen recalled.

The strategy was working, Country Carpet was selling exclusive products, gaining higher margins while exciting the client base. The challenge: selling the inventory through one showroom. Cohen began to contact his dealer friends and a few agents throughout the Northeast. He knew instinctively better end flooring showrooms could sell his product. A new idea was born. Tapping his roots from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Cohen formed Stanton Carpet in 1980.

In the beginning the product portfolio was small, two wool/acrylic blends and a flatwoven wool/nylon. Within a year Cohen added three more products and never looked back. Throughout the last four and a half decades, Stanton grew into a decorative powerhouse, supplying over 800 carpet products across multiple brands. Stanton utilized a combination of organic growth with instrumental launches like "The Wilton Gallery" in the mid ‘90s and strategic acquisitions including Antrim, Rosecore and Crescent to fuel its growth. Today, the company also offers decorative hard surface products.

Stanton, under Cohen's leadership, has been a true pioneer and frequently credited with being the first and still the most formidable supplier of high-end woven products to the better-end retail community around the U.S. and Canada.

Honoree

DAN FRIERSON

Chairman & CEO, Dixie Group

For nearly six decades, Dan Frierson has been one of the flooring industry’s most prominent executives, a career that dates to 1966 when he first joined Dixie Yarns, to the present as chairman of The Dixie Group. Following in the footsteps of his father, J. Burton Frierson, who came to Dixie in 1925, Dan Frierson paid his dues in the beginning, working every job in the plant and operations during the early years before being appointed CEO in 1980 and chairman in 1986.

In the early 1990s, it became clear that Dixie’s customers would be heading overseas searching for lower cost alternatives to apparel manufacturing. To ensure the survival of the company, Frierson led the challenge of transforming the business from a textile company to a carpet company. Dixie purchased Masland Carpets in 1993; as Frierson recalled, “We had been selling them yarn for 40 years and we had talked in the ’80s about maybe trying to get together.” This gave Dixie a foothold in the carpet business.

From 1993 to 2000, Dixie made more than a dozen carpet-related acquisitions and divested its textile and apparel assets. The big one came in 2000 when Dixie acquired Fabrica International. The deal helped secure Dixie’s brand as a luxury floor covering manufacturer and further burnished Dan Frierson’s credentials as a leading flooring executive who was not afraid to take risks. The Dixie Group has been a staunch supporter of FCIF for many years. Frierson received two degrees from The University of Virginia, a B.A. in History and an M.B.A. Frierson lives with his wife of 60 years in Chattanooga, Tenn., and has five children and nine grandchildren.

Honoree

ROGER MARCUS Chairman & CEO, Amerian Biltrite

Roger Marcus’ floor covering industry career spans nearly 60 years, presiding over his family business, American Biltrite, for the past four decades. The Marcus family story begins after World War II when his father, Robert, as president of American Tile Co., took the company that would later be known as Amtico from manufacturing rubber heels and soles to rubber flooring. The major move came in the early 1950s when they started making thermoplastic vinyl floor tile. The company would be the first to chemically emboss, cut, and register VCT tile. The company would soon develop the first no-wax floor tiles in 1969.

All the while, Roger was rising through the ranks, beginning as a sales rep in 1967 upon graduating from Boston University. He became CEO in 1983 and oversaw the merger of Congoleum in 1992. As CEO of Congoleum, he was involved in launching a litany of innovative products, including DuraStone, DuraCeramic, Ultima and ArmorGuard. At one time the company was doing over $250 million.

Roger has also donated his time and efforts to associations that forward the industry. He has served multiple terms as president of the Resilient Floor Covering Institute, and has been chairman of the Floor Covering Industry Foundation’s grant committee for many years. In addition, his company has been a corporate donor to FCIF since the beginning, and Roger personally planned the first three FCIF galas. His combined impact of donations and fundraising equal a lifetime impact of over $1 million to FCIF.

Our Mission

The Floor Covering Industry Foundation gets families back on their feet when battling catastrophic injuries, severe disabilities, or other life-altering medical crises. Founded in 1981 by industry leaders, the 501(c)3 charitable non-profit helps those who have worked in the floor covering industry by providing direct grants for medical care and other basic needs.

What a night to remember! Thank you for joining us at the 2024 Gala at Gotham Hall, where your generosity ignited hope and made magic happen for those in our flooring industry family.

A special thank you to Steve Feldman for his exceptional leadership as chair of the planning committee—your vision brought this event to life!

As we celebrated our remarkable honorees, Dan Frierson, Sy Cohen, and Roger Marcus, we were reminded of the profound impact we can have together. Their unwavering commitment to philanthropy exemplifies the spirit of our mission: to support families grappling with catastrophic injuries and life-altering crises.

Every grant we provide is a lifeline—helping a flooring installer battling leukemia or a mother supporting her child through a serious illness. Your support ensures these families find the strength to rise again.

Thank you for standing with us, believing in our cause, and transforming lives. Together, we are a force for good, shining light into the darkest moments.

With deepest gratitude,

Andrea Blackbourn Executive Director, FCIF

Special

Meet Greg

“This grant is truly a blessing,” Greg shared. A dedicated member of the floor covering industry for 34 years, Greg’s life was forever changed in February 2024 when he received the devastating diagnosis: leukemia. As a shipping manager at a flooring resale store in North Georgia, he had spent decades building a career and a life, starting at just 15 years old, hanging gutters before finding his path in flooring at 21. But now, his future was overshadowed by mounting medical bills and an uncertain road ahead.

The constant flood of expenses from doctor visits and hospital stays began to drown him and his wife in financial strain. Facing this daunting reality, Greg felt the weight of each unpaid bill and the toll it took on their peace of mind.

Then, through the support of a friend, Greg learned about the Floor Covering Industry Foundation (FCIF). The grant he received didn’t just pay off overdue bills—it lifted a burden from Greg's shoulders, allowing him to focus on what truly mattered: his recovery.

“You don't understand how much I appreciate your help," he shared, "My wife and I have been very stressed. This is truly a blessing."

With the help of FCIF, Greg has regained a sense of hope and stability amid the chaos caused by his illness. His story is just one of many, a reminder of the life-changing difference FCIF can make.

A spirited flooring manufacturer sales representative and dedicated sports mom who lives in Kentucky, Carrie has spent 17 years in the flooring industry. In March 2021, her world was turned upside down when she received a breast cancer diagnosis. This marked the beginning of a challenging journey that included multiple surgeries—a lumpectomy, a full mastectomy, and an upcoming hysterectomy.

As Carrie bravely faced the physical and emotional hurdles of cancer, she also encountered the daunting financial burden of escalating medical bills. Thankfully, the Floor Covering Industry Foundation (FCIF) stepped in to lend a helping hand. “This grant helped my family pay off all my medical bills to date,” Carrie shared. “It also eased the strain of everyday living expenses while I was unable to work.”

With FCIF’s support, Carrie could focus on her recovery without the overwhelming stress of financial worries. “I was able to take time off work to heal,” she explained, expressing her gratitude for the foundation’s crucial assistance. “We are so very thankful for all the help.”

As she continues her path to recovery, Carrie’s appreciation for FCIF remains strong. “My family and I cannot be more thankful for what this financial support has done for us,” she says. Carrie's story is one of resilience, hope, and the transformative power of community support during life’s toughest battles.

Meet Carrie

PLATINUM

Informa-TISE

Stanton / Country Carpet

GOLD

CCA Global Partners

The Dixie Group

SILVER

AHF Products

American Biltrite

Cali Floors

Dossche Holding Company / IFC

Engineered Floors

Floor Covering News

Mannington Mills

Mohawk Industries

Shaw Industries

Spartan Surfaces

World Floor Covering Association

BRONZE

America's Floor Source

FEI Group

Floor Covering Weekly

Karndean Design Flooring

OTHER DONORS

All Surfaces

Broadlume

FCA Network

Floor Focus

JP Morgan

Nature

NFA

Rebel Carpets and Rugs

Roomvo

Southwind Building Supplies

Starnet

Tanja Kern

UCX

ccaglobalpartners.com

Simply Authentic

We thank the FCIF for their unwavering support of the flooring community & its families.

Congratulates

Dan Frierson

Roger Marcus

Sy Cohen

On their well-deserved recognition and thank them for their contribution to our industry.

IFC is proud and committed to supporting FCIF.

CLOUDLAND WALNUT

ENGLISH OAK

We are proud to support the Floor Covering Industry Foundation and grateful on behalf of the 24 Shaw families who have been served by the FCIF over the last two years.

THE DIXIE GROUP is a proud supporter of the Floor Covering Industry Foundation and their passionate efforts to extend a helping hand to those who need it most.