FDRA, FFCF, Two Ten and Soles4Souls Bring the Industry Back Together at FFANY Week Event

Katie Abel
·2 min read

There’s no party like a shoe party.

As many key executives and retailers returned to New York this week for FFANY, the industry got back together at a cocktail event hosted by footwear’s leading philanthropic groups: The Fashion Footwear Charitable Foundation (FFCF), Two Ten Footwear Foundation and Soles4Souls. Held at Bryant Park Restaurant Rooftop, the event was sponsored by FN and Apex Logistics.

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“We all wanted to join forces to show that this is a moment of unity,” said John Heron, who oversees FFCF and is a strategic adviser to FFANY parent Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America (FDRA).

Heron, along with FDRA president and CEO Matt Priest, Two Ten President and CEO Shawn Osborne and Soles4Souls President and CEO Buddy Teaster held court at the outdoor gathering — and the crowd welcomed the return to normalcy.

“It’s great to be back in New York and have everyone together,” said Priest.

Caleres’ Diane Sullivan, Designer Brands’ Debbie Ferrée, Nordstrom’s Tacey Powers, Chinese Laundry’s Bob Goldman, H.H. Brown’s Jim Issler and Birkenstock’s David Kahan were just some of the power players making the rounds to catch up in person after more than a year of video calls.

Prior to the main gathering, Two Ten hosted a smaller event to reveal plans for its December annual gala.

The group will honor two industry leaders for their philanthropic work — Cliff Sifford of Shoe Carnival and OrthoLite’s Glenn Barrett — at its 81st annual gala, which will take place Dec. 1 at Pier 60 in New York. The gala, which will be named “One Team: All In,” will feature a casino theme and it will be chaired by Skechers.

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