Hundreds gathered at the beautiful Ballroom of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago on Wednesday, Sept. 22, to spotlight top designs, recognize manufacturing excellence and honor an outstanding sales representative.

Then, ICFA members and their guests assembled again on Thursday, Sept. 23, for the annual Apollo Awards dinner honoring the industry's top retail stores and paying tribute to the year's Lifetime Achievement honorees.

Awards presented Sept. 22-23 included:

Apollo Awards
The Apollo Awards recognize retail excellence in the sales and marketing of outdoor furnishings. Finalists must demonstrate outstanding accomplishments and commitment to customer service. Winners in two categories, single store and multi-store, were selected through an online ballot.

Outdoor Elegance, of LaVerne, Calif., was the single store winner.

Yard Art Patio & Fireplace, with four stores in and around Irving, Texas, was the multi-store category winner.

Design Excellence Awards
The competition recognizes products for their overall design, as well as their marketability, innovation, color, construction and imaginative use of materials. Merchandise Mart Properties Inc. co-sponsors the awards. Category winners included:

Cast Metal: Varenne Barstool from Veneman's Roger Thomas Collection.
Complementary Casual Products: Cushion Storage Chest by Povl Eskildsen for Gloster.
Fabric: French Twist Collection from Shuford Mills/Outdura.
Outdoor Lighting: Phatty Conversation Table Lamp by Andy Morter for Shady Lady.
Outdoor Rugs/Carpeting/Flooring: Peacock Ocean Aqua Outdoor Rug, from Sawgrass Mills/The HammockSource.
Rattan/Wicker/Woven Materials: Gigi Lounge from JANUS et Cie.
Resin/Fiberglass: Brio MPG Cushion Sectional by William Vanderminden for Telescope Casual Furniture.
Shade Products: Plantation MAX Parasol by Dougan Clarke for TUUCI.
Tubular Materials: Color Glass Dining Table from Telescope Casual Furniture.
Wood Furniture: Topaz Stackable Carver by Ciani Design for Jensen Leisure.
Wrought Iron/Wrought Aluminum: Amelie Dual Spring Rocking Loveseat by Shaun Sweeney for Woodard.

Lillian B. Winchester "Best of Show"
The Lillian B. Winchester "Best of Show" award was selected from among the 11 category winners listed above.

Topaz Stackable Carver by Ciani Design for Jensen Leisure.

Lifetime Achievement
The prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award is reserved for individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the casual furniture industry and to their individual communities. The 2010 honorees were:

Larry Shaw (1928-2009). Larry Shaw was co-founder with William Lyon of the Lyon-Shaw wrought iron outdoor furniture

Ron Ball. Ron Ball is a sales representative for O.W. Lee in Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Georgia and for Windham Castings in Texas and Oklahoma. His 43-year career in sales began with General Electric in 1967 when he served as a sales representative in West Tennessee for the consumer electronics division. In the mid-1970s, he began a 20-year stint with Samsonite Furniture, which was purchased by Sunbeam in 1995. Ball started as a territory salesman for Tennessee and Kentucky and departed the company in the mid-1990s as vice president of sales and marketing. From Sunbeam/Samsonite, he went to work for Winston/ Lyon-Shaw and later picked up the Pompeii and Brown Jordan lines. Ball eventually became the Southeast regional sales manager for Winston/Brown Jordan. In 2005 he made the shift to O.W. Lee and then added Windham Castings.

Manufacturer Leadership
One manufacturer was honored in each of eight categories for the design and quality of their products, along with their merchandising, customer service, ethics, communications and trade relations. Winners were:

Tropitone Tubular Materials Furniture
O.W. Lee Company Wrought Iron/Aluminum
Laneventure Rattan/Wicker/Woven Materials
Gloster Wood Casual
Treasure Garden Shade Products
Shady Lady Outdoor Lighting
Ancient Mosaic Studios Complementary Casual Products
Gensun Casual Living Cast Metal

Manufacturer of the Year
From among the eight category winners listed above, a top "Manufacturer of the Year" was selected. Both the category winners and the Manufacturer of the Year were selected in online voting.

Sales Representative of the Year
This new award was designed to recognize and honor an outstanding sales representative within the casual furnishing industry. Candidates were selected based on leadership, professionalism, exceptional service, communication skills, knowledge and product training expertise. The inaugural winner of the new ICFA Sales Representative of the Year Award for 2010, determined through online voting, is:

Bryan Echols, Echols Enterprises Inc. Bryan Echols is a sales representative for Classic Cushions & Umbrellas, Lloyd/Flanders and Meadowcraft. After a short stint in the banking industry, he entered the casual furniture industry as a sales representative for Samsonite in 1992. In 1997 he went to work for Lloyd/Flanders in North and South Carolina, a territory he still holds today. He later added Meadowcraft and Classic Cushions.