The Specialized Furniture Carriers division of the American Home Furnishings Alliance presented Jack Hawn of Conover, NC with the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award.
The award was presented to Hawn on June 14 at the organization's 2023 Logistics Conference in Charleston, South Carolina.
The Alvin W. Daughtridge Lifetime Achievement Award was created to honor executives who have made lasting achievements in the furniture transportation industry and who have served as role models for others in their leadership and character. It was first awarded to Alvin Daughtridge in 2019 and then named after him for subsequent recipients.
Hawn began his career as an owner and operator in 1973 by leasing a truck to Sharpe Motor Lines in Hildebran, North Carolina. In 1978 he founded Carrier Freight Lines, which he sold ten years later. However, he retained his furniture division and founded Zenith Global Logistics with his wife Debbie. In 1989, Zenith partnered with Bassett Furniture to operate the warehouse and act as the primary transporter. Hawn opened Zenith's first regional hubs in Texas and California in 2005 and eventually expanded to more than a dozen locations across the United States with approximately 800 employees. He sold the company to Bassett in 2015, but remained a driving force behind the airline's continued growth and expansion.
When the sale for Bassett was made public, he said, "Zenith represents the lifetime of the Hawn family." “We are very proud of the premier furniture transport and logistics services company we have built over the past 40 years.”
That same year, Hawn received the Tri-State Home Furnishings Association's "Person of the Year" award. He has been recognized for "innovation, planning, strategic vision and leadership that keeps the company on the cutting edge of supply chain technology."
In 2022, Bassett merged Zenith Global Logistics with Lowell, Arkansas-based J.B. Hunt, Hawn remains an integral part of the company as a consultant. In October 2022 he was awarded the International Home Furnishings Representatives Association's esteemed Pillar of the Industry Award. IHFRA attributes Hawn's success to "a natural talent and passion for networking and information sharing." His unique leadership has ultimately helped create a highly relationship-oriented company that has maintained strong loyalty with customers, employees and suppliers for decades.”
