Chair contest raises funds for fighting breast cancer

That's the theme of a charitable promotion organized by Daniel Furniture, a 72-year-old institution in this North Carolina town that created a new way to get its customers involved in the fight against breast cancer.

Daniel has teamed with the Davie County Arts Council this summer to stage a chair painting contest. The idea was a variation on a suggestion by manufacturer Troutman Chair, which was proposing that its dealers hold contests to paint the company's classic U.S.-made wood chairs in patriotic colors for Independence Day.

Instead, Daniel decided to partner with a popular local charitable event to benefit the American Cancer Society, the Relay for Life. In the event, volunteers walk or jog around a track in a 24-hour relay to raise funds for the organization.

Daniel Furniture, which was founded by Armand Daniel in 1936 and has been run since 1946 by the Marklin family, offered to give a chair to anyone who would paint it and enter it in a contest to be judged by the Arts Council. The entry fee was $25 and the winner was to receive a $100 savings bond.

To raise more money, the chairs were to be auctioned off during the Relay for Life event. All funds, including the entry fees, will go to the American Cancer Society.

“We've had really good response from our customers,” said Will Marklin, who runs the store with his dad, Johnny Marklin. “And a lot of folks came in that weren't our usual customers.”

He said 18 individuals and groups entered chairs. It was the first time Daniel Furniture had taken part in the Relay for Life as a business, although Will Marklin has supported it personally.

The store received coverage in the local newspaper, which helped publicize the contest and is running photos of the entrants' chairs.

Troutman Chair manufactures oak rocking chairs, stationary chairs and stools at its plant in Troutman, N.C., about 30 miles southwest of Mocksville.