2013 Lifetime Achievement Awards Winner
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 2013 honoree was Ken Burrows, general manager of Pasadena Patio in Pasadena, Calif.
Burrows began his career in the outdoor furniture industry as a high school student, lacing woven furniture and grinding frames at Brown Jordan in Pasadena. Â He worked his way up to national sales manager in 1962 and became general sales manager for all five Brown Jordan furniture divisions in 1969.
In 1972, Burrows and Gary Stafford purchased Terra Furniture in City of Industry, Calif., where Burrows served as president in charge of sales and marketing. During his latter years at Terra, he also served as a sales representative in Southern California for Triconfort and Allibert. In 2010 he turned over his interest in Terra to Stafford, and for the last two years he has been at Pasadena Patio.
Burrows was a member of the ICFA Board of Directors from 2008 to 2009 and was also on the board of the Summer and Casual Furniture Manufacturers Association, including serving as second vice president in 2005-2006 and first vice president in 2006-2007. For the past 40 years, he has been a member of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association and was named a life director in 2000. He was elected to the Tournament’s Executive Committee in 1992 and served as the 111th Tournament of Roses Parade and Rose Bowl Game president in 2000.