WFCA Adds One To Hall of Fame

Anaheim, CA, Jan. 8—The late Shirley J. Lorberbaum has been voted into the World Floor Covering Association Industry Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will be held on January 30 at Surfaces in Las Vegas. Lorberbaum, who along with her husband Alan co-founded Aladdin Mills, now a part of Mohawk Industries, passed away in October 1999. She’s the 30th inductee into the Hall of Fame and just the second female member, sharing that distinction with the late Rose Blumkin of Nebraska Furniture Mart. Lorberbaum will be represented at the induction by her son Jeffrey, the current chairman and CEO of Mohawk Industries. When Aladdin was launched, Shirley Lorberbaum served as vice president of manufacturing. She later became director of sales and marketing and then assumed a wide variety of executive positions in accounting, product development, distribution and customer relations. In 1980 she was named vice president of public relations. In the mid 90s Aladdin merged with Mohawk and she gradually reduced her active role in the company. Lorberbaum served on the board of directors of the Carpet & Rug Institute, promoting fair business practices. She was an advocate for minorities and a tireless campaigner for a better quality of life for the less fortunate, including employees within the carpet industry. She was also a supporter of the Floor Covering Industry Foundation, and served on the board of directors of the Oscar Jonas Foundation, which promotes arts and culture in the Dalton, Georgia community. She was the first female president of the Dalton/Whitfield Chamber of Commerce and was the guiding force behind the Education is Essential Foundation. In that role, she advocated the importance of business involvement in education. Lorberbaum was instrumental in establishing the Alan S. Lorberbaum Family Foundation, which provided a significant bequest to help Whitfield County Day Care create an education based childcare center for almost 250 children.

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