AmericasMart Icon Honors event celebrates industry leaders

The 2012 Icon Honors awards ceremony, which showcased global innovation in the gift and home industry, was held in the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Atrium Ballroom, July 14 at 8 p.m. Exclusive partners for the event were the Gift & Home Trade Association (GHTA) and Sandow Media, an innovative company that engages consumer and business platforms.

Host and AmericasMart President/COO Jeffery Portman, Sr. was joined onstage by hostess and former CNN Anchor Lynne Russell.  "We are family," Portman said of the 800 ticketed attendees in the room. "We are more alike than different," he said while also giving praise to his father, John Portman, Jr. who started AmericasMart Atlanta 52 years ago. Portman said the awardees were "champions who create the future."

Wolski on sidelines with Johnson

Producer Chris Wolski (l) of Chris Wolski Presents supplied the entertainment. "I have been managing entertainment for AmericasMart since 1983."  He said Tony Bennett and Tom Jones were also great hits at previous AmericasMart events. 

The night's main acts, singer/guitarist Kenny Loggins and comedian Jeff Foxworthy, were great at making the crowd dance and laugh.

Kenny Loggins and band performed at Icon Honors ceremony.

Some of the night's award winners included:
* Sferra, luxury bedding, bath, and fine linens;
* Backyard Safari Company/Sunny-Side UP Gardens, egg carton gardens for kids;
* Jura-Capresso, Inc., espresso and combination coffee makers; 
* EyeDoll Chatter, scented organic makeup kits for teens; 
* Gracious Me, an eclectic collection of home décor;
* Bigger Box, a social buying system that helps retailers survive in the market; and
* GoodWeave, seeking to end child labor in the carpet industry in Nepal, India, and Afghanistan.

 ©2012 Photos by Kurk Johnson and Tomi Johnson. Article by Tomi Johnson. All rights reserved.