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HIGH POINT — The High Point Market Authority, organizer of the biannual home furnishings trade show High Point Market, has been awarded this year’s North Carolina Travel Award issued by Visit NC, the state’s tourism marketing office and a division of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.
The award, established in 2019, recognizes leadership in the development or redevelopment of a transformational tourism asset in NC.
“This award celebrates the substance and spirit of esse quam videri (North Carolina’s state motto: To be rather than to seem), the achievement of results for the good of the state and the community. High Point Market fulfills this promise with its contributions to the North Carolina economy, the support of 42,000 jobs, and the generation of $202 million in state and local tax revenue,” said Wit Tuttell, director of Visit North Carolina. “It’s important, as well, to recognize the market’s value to tourism.
High Point Market Authority staff and board members stand with Visit NC Executive Director at the awards luncheon where High Point Market was presented with the Esse Quam Videri Award. Pictured from left to right: Melody Burnett (Visit High Point), Tom Conley (High Point Market Authority), Wit Tuttell (Visit NC), Tammy Nagem (High Point Market Authority), Tasha Logan Ford (City of High Point), and Doug Bassett (Vaughan-Bassett Furniture).
“The April and October editions attract tens of thousands of attendees from around the globe who fill 50,000 hotel rooms in the greater High Point area, dine at local restaurants, utilize North Carolina’s three major airports, and otherwise fuel the economy.”
Founded in 1909 in the Piedmont region of the state, High Point Market boasts almost 12 million square feet of showroom space, bringing together buyers and sellers of home furnishings products. The largest economic event in the state of North Carolina, a 2018 Duke University study estimated High Point Market’s annual economic impact at $6.73 billion.
The High Point Market Authority was formed in 2001 as the biannual trade show’s organizing body.
After canceling the spring 2020 event due to the pandemic, HPMA went to extraordinary lengths to implement health and safety measures that allowed markets to resume in the fall of 2020.
“On behalf of the entire team at the High Point Market Authority, it is an honor to be recognized for the special effort required during an extraordinary time in the trade show’s history,” said Tom Conley, HPMA president and CEO. “High Point Market is well-positioned to continue positively impacting North Carolina’s economy, just as it has for the past 113 years.”
At a luncheon event held on Monday, March 21, in conjunction with Visit NC’s 365 Conference at the Durham Convention Center, the award was presented to HPMA COO Tammy Covington Nagem, who has served on the HPMA staff since 2002.
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