Anaheim, Calif.—The World Floor Covering Association (WFCA) has announced the addition of two new members to its team. Freida Staten has joined as vice president, recruitment and affiliate relations, and Kay Wiley has joined as executive assistant to the CEO. In addition to the new hires, WFCA CEO Scott Humphrey also confirmed that the association has opened “WFCA East,” a new office space based in Dalton, Ga. The new hires began work at the Dalton location on Sept. 1.
Staten comes to the WFCA with over 20 years industry experience including 15 years at one of the largest flooring manufacturers in the world, Shaw Industries. Most of Staten’s career at Shaw was spent as a founding team member in one of the fastest growing sectors of the company, Shaw Flooring Network (SFN.) At SFN, Staten reported to Humphrey as manager of communications and events. With her designation as a certified meeting professional, Staten was responsible for the highly acclaimed bi-annual Shaw Flooring Network conventions and many additional customer events. Staten’s expertise in strategic communications and industry relations was essential in strengthening the partnership between Shaw and their aligned retailers.
In her new role, Staten has been tasked with increasing membership commitments with professional flooring dealers from across the U.S. and Canada. In addition, she will recruit members in the areas of manufacturing, installing, cleaning and inspecting. She will be evaluating current association member benefits and identifying additional tactics and programs to attract new members and make affiliation with WFCA even more rewarding for existing members. An extension of this role will include working hand-in-hand with the WFCA Affiliate organizations throughout the country to help them grow, increase membership and bring greater value to their constituencies.
Wiley has spent over 26 years in the industry working in various roles at Shaw Industries. She spent the last 12 years as a key team member of the Shaw Flooring Network where she oversaw vendor relations and the consumer finance program.
As executive assistant, Wiley will be responsible for all administrative responsibilities including scheduling, travel, and management of the WFCA-East office. In addition, she will work closely with Staten on membership recruitment and the programs tied to that initiative. Wiley will also be responsible for staffing and recording all activity at each WFCA board meeting across the country throughout the year.
The new WFCA-East office is located in the heart of the flooring capital, Dalton, Ga. The space brings the association closer to many manufacturers and retail members based in the area. Executives in the new office including the new hires and Humphrey will be more accessible to East Coast-based members and can more easily travel and attend events than has been possible in the past. The Dalton facility boasts extra offices for members to use, and a combination boardroom/conference room that can be utilized for meetings and training. Humphrey will split his time between the Anaheim and Dalton locations. The address of the new office is 855 Abutment Road, Suite 1, Dalton, Ga.
“I’m grateful to have Freida and Kay join the WFCA team,” said Humphrey. “They are each very gifted and bring unique talents to the table. It will be exciting to see the output of their collaborations with the talented executives in Anaheim. Now with our new office in Dalton and headquarters in Anaheim, we will be even more accessible to our members and the overall industry. I look forward to sharing even more exciting programs and announcements from the WFCA in the coming months now that we have our expanded team and facilities in place.”
For more information, call 800.624.6880 or visit WFCA.org.