By:     Jackie Hirschhaut

High Point, NC – Jackie Hirschhaut, vice president of public relations and marketing for the American Home Furnishings Alliance, has received the “Golden Thinker” award from the North American Precis Syndicate.

The award recognizes individuals who have created the press releases that receive the most pick-up by America’s broadcasters.

The 2006 AHFA press release that garnered the most pick-ups – thus winning Hirschhaut accolades from NAPS – was the Outdoor Furniture Trends Report distributed to the media in February 2006.

“The number of placements a release has achieved is a great measure of its success,” states Dorothy York, NAPS president. “The results of your release have been absolutely extraordinary, with 187 placements.” NAPS reports that 63 percent of those placements were in the nation’s top 50 markets.

NAPS distributes press releases for most Fortune 500 companies, nearly all of the 100 largest national advertisers, all of the nation’s 20 largest PR firms, over 100 associations and many governmental agencies.

In addition to distribution to broadcasters through NAPS, AHFA mailed the 2006 Outdoor Furniture Trends Report to 1,200 newspapers and more than 200 magazines nationwide. The press release was titled, “2006 Forecast: Tranquil Skies Over Backyard Retreats, New Outdoor Furnishings Help Americans Create a Relaxing Oasis.” It received about 500 print placements with more than 148.5 million consumer impressions.

The Outdoor Furniture Trends Report is just one of many press releases on new home furnishings products and trends that AHFA distributes to print and broadcast media each year. The mailings are part of the organization’s highly successful public relations effort designed to inspire American consumers to take a greater interest in furnishing their homes – thereby dedicating a larger share of their disposable income to our industry’s products. Products featured in the press releases come from AHFA member companies.

The American Home Furnishings Alliance –located in High Point, N.C. and Washington, D.C. – is the largest association of home furnishings companies in the world and represents more than 250 leading furniture manufacturers and distributors, as well as 225 suppliers to the furniture industry worldwide.