WINDOW COVERINGS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA


  
Window Coverings Association of America 

 

National Board of Directors
The personnel listed below comprise the WCAA National Board of Directors.

Instructions:
Click the name of the person you wish to contact or click company names to visit corresponding websites.
Items in Blue are Links.

Untitled Document
Membership Benefits Mission Statement & Code of Ethics Board of Directors Bylaws and Constitution History FAQs

WCAA National President

Bob Hipps

Bob Hipps

Hipps & Company, Inc

Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Allied Member ASID
#1519391

HunterDouglas
Certified Professional Installer
Window Fashions Institute; Bronze

Lutron Certified Shading System
Sr. Technician

CEDIA
Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association

LEED for (CI) Commercial Interiors

Recognized nationally and internationally as a leader in the shading motorization industry, Hipps and Company, Inc, of Fort Lauderdale, FL, has been a proud member of WCAA since 1987.

Hipps and Company, Inc. is a third generation company serving the Southeastern United States, the Bahamas and the Caribbean Islands.

Specialties are motorized shading solutions, motorization, and automation.

Sales and Service offices are in Jacksonville, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

WCAA CWTC
Certified Window Treatment Consultant

WCAA CWP
Certified Workroom Professional

WFCP Specialist
Window Fashions Certified Professional

 

WCAA Vice President
Margi Kyle

Margi Kyle

The Designing Doctor, LLC

Cornelius, NC

Education
Margi graduated from the New York School of Interior Design and Sheridan College. She has been an Interior Designer in both the US and Canada for more than 30 years.

Teaching
She taught interior design at Sheridan College, Brampton, Ontario (20 years) and The Academy of Design in Toronto, Canada (5 years). Member of CMG, (The Color Marketing Group) for 15 years and traveled throughout Canada and the US forecasting color and lecturing on "The Direction of Color". Margi has developed and taught numerous CEU accredited courses.

TV Programs
Margi has hosted and produced her own TV shows: "Desperate Designs", "Dr. Decorator", "The Designing Doctor", and "Moments with Margi". She also co-hosted the national TV show "Let’s Build A House," and "Lunch Time Live" for 3 years in Toronto, Canada.

Author

  • Builder Architect magazine
  • Furniture World magazine
  • Toronto Star
  • Charlotte Observer Associate editor
  • Lake Norman Times magazine
  • Mandarin Homes magazine
 
Major Clients
  • The Designing Doctor, LLC (Margi's consultation company)
  • Co-designer of the first R2000 house built & decorated in Canada. (Environmentally responsible through energy efficiency.)
  • Hunter Douglas Window Fashions, Inc.
  • Tapestria
  • Furniture Land South
  • Drexel Heritage
  • Manager of color & design Para Paints, Canada
  • Vice President of WCAA (Window Coverings Association of America)
  • Veranda Magazine

 

WCAA Treasurer

Ed Hopkins

Ed Hopkins

Exciting Windows by Verticals

Verticals Etc began in 1993 as a factory outlet specializing in vertical blinds. Over the next decade the company evolved into a standalone business focused on quality, professionally installed window coverings.

Ed Hopkins purchased Verticals Etc. in 2003, and has built upon the fine reputation of the company by expanding the highly trained staff and quality product offerings.

With this emphasis in mind, Ed made the decision in late 2004 to join a new national network of dedicated window covering retailers called Exciting Windows!.

 

WCAA Past President

Beth Hodges Soft Furnishings

Beth Hodges, CWP, CWTC

Beth Hodges Soft Furnishings

Custom Home Furnishings Academy
Senior Instructor

Elberton, GA

WCAA CWTC
Certified Window Treatment Consultant

WCAA CWP
WCAA Certified Workroom Professional

WFCP Expert
Window Fashions Certified Professional, Expert

Beth Hodges is the owner of Soft Furnishings, a workroom located in Elberton, Georgia, which, after 22 years, is still based in the basement of her home. She operated Soft Furnishings for the first eight years as a one-person retail workroom. Now, Soft Furnishings has expanded to employ five people and provides a wide variety of wholesale workroom services around the country. The workroom has grown incrementally through Beth’s attention to customer service and her product knowledge. She attends shows and seminars regularly, and strives to keep Soft Furnishings’ methods up to date and at the very highest end of the current industry standards.

 

WCAA Executive Director

Jenna Abbott

Jenna Abbott

Sew Elegant by Jenna

Gold River, CA

Jenna Abbott was appointed the Executive Director of the Window Coverings Association of America in May 2009. Prior to her appointment, she was a National WCAA Director and the sole proprietor of Sew Elegant by Jenna, a “to the trade” workroom founded in 2001. Jenna believes the pursuit of education leads to a more efficient operation and a well rounded business owner and she strongly supports the mission of the WCAA. She is a founding member of the Northern California Chapter of the WCAA, and a proud alumnus of the Custom Home Furnishings Academy in Charlotte, NC.

Accreditations
WCAA Certified Window Treatment Consultant
WCAA Certified Window Treatment Consultant
WCAA Certified Workroom Professional
WCAA Certified Workroom Professional
Custom Home Furnishings Academy Advanced Window Treatment Career Professional Custom Home Furnishings Academy Installation Career Professional Hunter Douglas Certified Professional Installer

 

WCAA Directors

Jeanelle Dech, Interim WCAA Executive Director

Jeanelle Dech

Adaptive Textiles

Wester Chester, PA

WCAA Director

Jeanelle Dech is president of Adaptive Textiles™, a digital textile printing company in West Chester, PA, and is the founder and co-owner of Crab Apple Interiors, LLC, a retail design studio also in Pennsylvania. She shares over 20 years experience creating custom home furnishings, and has become known for her energizing and innovative approach to design and fabrication. Jeanelle is a regular speaker at IWCE and D&WC Conferences and teaches workroom and business classes at the CHF Academy and Temple University.

 
William J. Taylor

William (Bill) J. Taylor IV

Rowley Company

WCAA Director

William (Bill) J. Taylor IV is an owner and managing partner of the Rowley Company, serving as the Chief Executive Officer, which is a leading supplier to the window coverings industry. Prior to joining the Rowley Company in November of 2006 he was Executive Vice President of Microban International, Ltd., the branded leader in antimicrobial technology having global accountability for Strategic Business Development, Operations, R&D, Regulatory, and Quality Assurance for MBI.

Previously, he was Vice President, Global Operations for MBI. Prior to joining MBI in November 1995, Bill served as the Operations Manager for Clinitex Medical Corp. Earlier in his career, Bill was Supervisor of Plant Personnel, responsible for operations and human resource management at Anheuser-Busch. Bill also previously worked in the retail division of Nike, Inc. where he was responsible for managing the operations of concept stores including sales, marketing and inventory control.

Bill is a former world-class athlete who competed on several U.S. National Teams including three U.S. World Cross Country Championship Teams. Bill received a BAA in Exercise Science & Physiology from Central Michigan University and a MBA from the McColl Graduate School of Business at Queens University of Charlotte.

 

Ramon Hardy

Ramon Hardy

Accent Draperys & Interiors

WCAA Director

Ramon Hardy, Jr. is the co-owner of located in Richmond Va. Accent started as a home based business over twenty years ago and have grown into a 24, 000 sq. ft. facility that include a well equipped workroom, design center, and large showroom. We offer wholesale and retail services to our many clients.

Ramon shares his industry knowledge as a speaker at the D&WC Conferences and has been featured in the fun “Designer Sketch Races” held during the conferences. He is an active member in the local WCAA chapter.

Currently Ramon brings with him over 30 years of experience as a Battalion Chief with the Richmond Fire Department where he has focused on leadership management, team building and mentoring.

 
Linda Principe

Linda Principe

Linda Principe Interiors LLC

WCAA Director

Linda Principe has been the owner of Linda Principe Interiors LLC in Cranbury, NJ since 1988. Linda provides residential interior design services with a specialty in window treatments in the central New Jersey area.

Prior to owning her own business, Linda held several marketing positions in the financial sector. Linda has been a member of the WCAA since 1997 and joined the board of the WCAA Central NJ Chapter at its inception in 2005. Linda became Chapter president in 2008 and has spearheaded its growth to become the largest chapter in the country in 2009.

Linda is presently an instructor for the “Window Treatments” class in the Interior Design Certificate program at Mercer County Community College. Linda’s work has been included in Window Fashions magazine and she is a past Editorial Board member, featured writer and column coordinator. She has also been published in Design NJ magazine as well as several local newspapers.

 

Michele Williams

Michele Williams

The Scarlet Thread

WCAA Director

Michele Williams is the owner and Creative Director of The Scarlet Thread. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of South Carolina.

After a career in financial software development with Management Science America and Dun & Bradstreet Software, Michele decided to pursue a new career path in textiles.

 
Carolyn Silberman

Carolyn Silberman

D&WC Magazine

Wellington, FL

WCAA Director

 
 
Joe Jankoski

Joe Jankoski

Hunter Douglas

Upper Saddle River, NJ

WCAA Director

Joe Jankoski is the Vice President of Corporate Merchandising for Hunter Douglas and has been at Hunter Douglas since 1989. Joe has 35 years of window covering industry experience as he spent 15 years at Levolor before joining Hunter Douglas.

Joe is currently the President of the Window Coverings Manufacturing Association, and a Trustee for the Window Covering Safety Council. Joe holds an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University and resides in Morris Plains, New Jersey.

 
Debbie Green

Debbie Green

Dandelion Interiors, Inc.

Hendersonville, TN

WCAA Director

 
 


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