Saturday's Internet Edition, May 17, 2008.
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“We’re going to try to hold the Chair City Furniture Build-Off again, either next year or — if we can — maybe do it in the fall,” said Thomasville City Councilman David Yemm. “There are a lot of things we thought about to make it really big, but since this is the first, we need to start out small and not get to complicate.”
Mark Scott, director of Thomasville Tourism, thought of having a furniture-building contest in Thomasville about four years ago.
“A buddy of mine from Canada e-mailed some pictures of some beautiful ice sculptures to me,” Scott remembered. “These carvings stayed on display throughout the winter. I thought that we could do the same thing here with furniture.”
Scott mentioned this idea to a few people over the years, but didn’t find much interest in it — until Yemm approached him with a similar idea. They have since presented the idea to the Thomasville Jaycees, who they say are willing to sponsor the event.
As far as a reality TV show covering the contest, which Scott had mentioned at last week’s meeting of the Thomasville Lion’s Club, it appears to be something in the future at best. Nevertheless, the contest still will probably be documented in some way on the small screen.
“As far as a reality show, I think we’re, at least, going to try to do something on the Internet,” Yemm said. “We should have a series of videos on a site like Youtube.”
Among the people Scott and Yemm have met with about the contest are Kevan Callahan of the Thomasville Jaycees, community activists Martin Beale and Christy Johnson. They are publicizing this event through the Internet, reaching colleges that have woodworking instruction departments and other venues that reach people who take pride in their design and workmanship skills.
Entry forms are expected to be completed next week. For safety reasons, all teams must have at least two members. The maximum amount of members on a team will be four. No matter how many members a team has, its entry fee will be $60. There will be a limit to 16 teams allowed to participate in the initial contest.
Larry Rierson, the new owner of the former Thomasville Furniture Industries Plant V, agreed to allow the contest to be held in that building.
“We’ve got enough room in Plant V to allow the public to come in and watch what people are doing without actually bothering the people who are putting everything together,” Yemm said. “Plant V is a good facility. We like that we’re able to hold this contest in an old TFI building.”
Tom Mason of Mason Lumber, according to Scott, is confident he can get enough lumber donated for the project, allowing the contestants to complete their projects without having to buy the wood. There will be two contests, one for chair-building and the other for building any other kind of wooden furniture.
“Maybe one year we’ll have a contest to see who can build the best replica of the Big Chair,” Yemm said. “Another possible contest in the future would feature a television set and a stereo. The contestants would be asked to build a home entertainment center around those two items.”
Those working on the contest are seeking sponsors.
“If this thing grows the way we hope it does, somebody who comes with us on the ground floor will look like a hero,” Scott said. “We’d like to see our fall contest become a part of Everybody’s Day.”
Scott, Yemm and the others working with them on this project, which will run May 14--18, would also like to see the Chair City Furniture Build-Off become a Thomasville tradition like Everybody’s Day.
“Anybody who is interested can contact Thomasville Tourism at (800) 611-0907 or, locally, at 472-4422,” Scott said. “People can keep up with what’s going on in this contest by checking at www.thomasvilletourism.com.”
Staff Writer Kevin Reid can be reached at 472-9500, ext. 230, or at reid@tvilletimes.com.