Council of Fellows' Spotlight: Kaye Powell

DPHA created the Council of Fellows to recognize career accomplishments. In keeping with DPHA’s tradition of innovation and defying convention, election to DPHA’s Council of Fellows is not simply an honor. It also is a call to continue to serve our organization and industry. The Council of Fellows does not have an agenda or mandate. The Council is expected to undertake projects that it deems important and vital to the continued success of our industry. As DPHA has matured, the organization continues to look to the Council of Fellows as a strategic think tank.

This week we feature Kaye Powell...

In 1988, Kaye Powell accepted the outside sales position for Chown Hardware, selling commercial hardware to schools, facilities, hospitals, etc. She found out she really liked it. Two years later Eleanor Chown asked Kaye to take over the Residential Division of the company, which was called the Showcase at the time. Mrs. Chown was retiring, and residential sales were less than 10% of the company's business. The showroom was small with few product offerings. There were a handful of faucet lines, batch accessories, a cabinet hardware line and tools sold in the showroom as well as Baldwin, Jado and Schlage door hardware displays. The diminutive size of the showroom did not allow for many other products.

In 1999, the company determined that tools offered very low profit margins, and that they should refocus on selling residential hardware and plumbing since profit margins were substantially higher. This was the impetus needed to create Chown Hardware's decorative showroom. Today, residential sales comprises almost 50% of Chown’s business volume.

To accomplish this growth takes more than just creating a nice showroom. Chown Hardware encouraged Kaye to join NKBA. She read anything she could get her hands on regarding our industry and went to every DPH meeting at KBIS. She learned from people she met there, and still considers many of them to be her mentors, including Marilyn Hermance, Faye Norton, Jeff Burton and the Charlie Goldberg, to mention a few. Kaye also participated in NKBA local chapter events, served on committees and became the chapter’s vice president of programs. She joined the local NARI chapter and served as president of the Portland chapter and vice president of the Oregon State chapter.

Kaye and Chown Hardware joined DPHA as charter members and served on the Education Committee for several years, including presenting a seminar on door hardware as well as well as writing several educational pieces for DPHA. She has also served on the Forte Board of Directors for a two-year term as its Secretary. She is a passionate supporter of not only DPHA, but also the industry as a whole.