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Alexander “Sandy” Bryant, owner of Orangeburg Furniture Exchange, Orangeburg, S.C., is this year’s winner of Southern Home Furnishings Association’s (SHFA) Willis Award of Merit.
The award, presented annually for more than 50 years, recognizes a home furnishings retailer doing business in the SHFA area who in the opinion of the Willis Award Committee, contributes most unselfishly to the industry, the community and to God. SHFA serves retailers in the states of North and South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Georgia and Tennessee.
The Furniture Exchange has been a fixture in Orangeburg for almost 60 years. In 1949, Sandy Bryant’s father Doug Bryant Sr. purchased a small furniture store in North, S.C., and soon moved the operation to its present home. After graduating from Orangeburg High School and the University of South Carolina where he earned a degree in business, Sandy Bryant joined his father and brother Doug Jr. in running the business. He became sole proprietor in 1987.
Bryant’s support of the home furnishings industry includes many years tenure as a member of the executive committee of SHFA which he served as president in 2006/2007, and now holds the post of Executive Committee Chairman. His name and face are well known in the Orangeburg community and philanthropic circles were he is active in numerous organizations and supports charitable causes throughout the region.
Traditionally, the Willis Award Committee hosts a dinner and presentation of the Willis trophy, an engraved silver bowl. August 12 is the date of the 2008 event honoring Bryant at the country club of Orangeburg.
The Willis Award of Merit was created in 1954 by the Willis family of Virginia Beach, Va., as a memorial to John Willis, Jr., and his son, Benjamin J. Willis, Sr.
The selection committee, comprising past recipients of the award, plays an active role in assuring a progressive future for the home furnishings industry. A scholarship fund at High Point University encourages young people to make home furnishings their career.