June 28, 2019 — Gift for Life, the gift and home industries’ sole charitable organization, has announced that Anne McGilvray, founder of the eponymous sales agency, will be honored during the 28th annual Party for Life. The event will take place in a new location—Atlanta—on Wednesday, January 15, 2020. McGilvray will be presented with Gift for Life’s Chuck Yancy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Anne McGilvray is founder of Anne McGilvray & Company, a Dallas-based sales agency operating in 43 states with eight permanent showrooms: two in Dallas and one in Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Seattle.
The female-owned and operated agency was formed in 1975 and today supports a sales force of nearly 150 representatives. Across its seven permanent showrooms products including apparel and accessories, books, gifts, home décor, paper and kids are showcased to eager buyers each season. The company founder remains active in the business, while daughters Liesl and Laurie have key leadership positions. In addition to the agency, McGilvray operates two beloved retail stores located in Dallas.
“For her trailblazing leadership, her contributions to the industry and her support of the creative community, we are pleased to honor Anne McGilvray,” said Matthew Katzenson, chair of the Gift for Life board. “For more than four decades she has been a force of goodwill and a helpful partner for tens of thousands of customers, vendors and sales representatives. Today, Anne and her family are a shining example of business success and generosity.”
Make plans now to attend Gift for Life’s 28th Annual Party for Life, benefiting DIFFA, on Wednesday, January 15, 2020, in Atlanta. Individual tickets are $125, and sponsorships ranging from $500 through $25,000 are available. For details, contact Steven Williams at swilliams@diffa.org, (212) 727-3100.
Gift for Life was founded by Peter Schauben of Appleman Schauben in 1992 in response to the tragic loss of industry lives to AIDS. The organization’s first meeting at the National Stationery Show brought together a cross-section of the industry’s leading publishers, market centers, sales reps, manufacturers and retailers – all willing to convene and work together towards a common goal. Since that time, Gift for Life has raised more than $5 million for AIDS research, education, treatment and care through nationwide at-market events, cause marketing programs and direct donations.
Each year, Gift for Life hosts events throughout the U.S. benefitting DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS. The primary mission of Gift for Life and DIFFA is to eradicate the AIDS pandemic in the U.S. Working together, Gift for Life and DIFFA will continue to raise funds for HIV/AIDS service and education programs. For additional information please visit www.giftforlife.org.
ABOUT GIFT FOR LIFE and DIFFA
Gift for Life unites the gift and home industries against AIDS with more than $5 million raised since its inception in 1992. In 2008, Gift for Life selected DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS, one of the largest funders of HIV/AIDS service and education programs in the U.S., as its main charity partner. Since its founding in 1984, DIFFA has mobilized the immense resources of the design communities to provide more than $40 million to hundreds of AIDS organizations nationwide. More information is available at www.giftforlife.org and at www.diffa.org.
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