CHICAGO— As Phil Brandl prepared to receive the Housewares Charity Foundation’s 2017 Lifetime Leadership Award, he recalled the somewhat uncertain, if optimistic, start to HCF 20 years ago.
“There was a vision toward future growth and accomplishment,” Brandl, the International Housewares Association president, said about the early stages of the HCF formation. “No one probably envisioned it would reach the scale and level of giving where we are today.”
The level of giving has reached some $48 million since HCF was created, with much of that going to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the HCF legacy charity, among the more than 25 charitable causes supported by HCF through its annual fundraising campaigns that culminate each year in a gala at the International Home + Housewares Show.
Joining Brandl as 2017 HCF honorees at tonight’s gala at the Navy Pier are Williams-Sonoma president Janet Hayes, HCF Lifetime Humanitarian Award; and Jura president Richard Boynton, HCF Humanitarian of the Year. Proceeds will benefit BCRF and No Kid Hungry, a campaign by Share Our Strength that provides children access to healthy food.
Brandl, in his role as the chief executive of IHA, has been a central HCF administrator since its start. He co-chaired the annual campaign for several years.
Looking back, Brandl recalls how BCRF logically prevailed as the choice for a legacy charity among the five different charities invited to present their causes to HCF.
“Breast cancer impacts our industry in a substantial way,” Brandl said. He cited the poignancy at each HCF gala when guests are asked to stand if they know someone who has battled breast cancer. “Literally the entire room stands up,” he said.
The direct impact of the millions donated by HCF to breast cancer are increasingly evident every year, Brandl said, noting that BCRF identifies specific doctors sponsored by the HCF contributions. “We see the doctors. We see the fruits of their labor,” he said. “They are making tremendous progress, and I truly believe the dreadful disease will be cured one day.”
Brandl’s affinity for the housewares indus-
try started long before he joined IHA in 1994
as vp/trade development and ascended to association president in 1997, the year before the first HCF gala.
Housewares was a core category in his pre-IHA realm as vp of the National Association of Service Merchandising for five years, and prior to that during his 15 years in retail management with Copps and H.C. Prange Co. Plus, Brandl’s father worked for the Mirro aluminum company in Manitowoc, WI, for more than 40 years.
“I grew up a housewares guy,” Brandl said, emphasizing it has been his privilege to help guide the industry’s biggest charitable endeavor. “It feels good; it’s very meaningful,” he said. “It all comes natural to our industry.”
As for what he’d like his legacy to be as the IHA and the charity foundation for which he has been a fixture moves toward its next 20 years: “I’d like it to be stability and vision,” he said. “Stability is important not only from an internal standpoint for our organization but also for our members, so they continue to understand the value our organization delivers.”
“As for vision, we live in an incredibly fast-paced world,” he continued. “My idea of vision is you can’t always know what what’s coming, but you have to be flexible enough to adapt to the needs of the industry for the future. And to deliver to meet those needs.”
