More Than A Store, A Place To Explore

Where could you go if you needed gardening gloves, carpeting, a new dining set, or Chocolate Cake Vodka? Yes you have it... only one place.... UFS. And that's not all.... UFS carries hardware, art work, plumbing supplies, washers, ranges, mattresses, and floor covering.....carpet, ceramic tile, and laminate. We are also the biggest and busiest wine and spirits store (in one location) south of I 80.

This business began in 1930 in a small store front several blocks from the current location. The main store was built in 1968. The furniture store began as an Ashley Homestore in 2004, until 2007 when it evolved into the UFS Furniture Store. When this business started, the owner would travel down the street to the freight yards and purchase merchandise which was never picked up. Consequently he called his business Unclaimed Freight Store. Well, there hasn't been any of that in this store for years. All of our merchandise is first quality but may be close outs or discontinued styles. In the furniture store all merchandise is shipped directly from the manufacturer. Because of our unique selling style, we have TREASURES, you would never expect, too numerous to mention. At one time our motto was "More than a store, a place to explore". It still is a place to explore. Come and visit and see what we mean.

~Claire Serafin Wiegand

Spring? Summer? Sprummer? Whatever... IT'S WARM!!!

Yes it's SPRING!!!! Thank goodness. I really love this time of year. I enjoy the spring weather, puttering in my garden and cook-outs. Having an innate silly side, I like making statements even in my garden. Thankfully UFS is carrying everything I need. First of all they're carrying gloves so I don't break a nail, and hand tools, hoses, flower pots, weed killer, plant fertilizer, etc, etc. What I have to decide is what kind of statement do I want to make....I think I want to say pink flamingos are NOT only for Florida.....Or maybe a LIGHTHOUSE is not necessarily just for the BEACH....or maybe I'm just a little wacky and like crazy stuff just for the fun of it.

~Claire Serafin Wiegand

Race For The Cure

This week I know many of us are preparing for the Susan G Komen Foundation Race for the Cure. UFS wants to recognize two of its very special employees, Breast Cancer Survivors, Tina Lepretre and Debbie Hatcher.

Tina has been employed at UFS since 2002. Five days a week she mans the Service Desk at the Main Store. Throughout her diagnosis, surgery and treatments, she was very brave, and worked when she was up to it. She is very devoted to UFS and we feel blessed by her presence here.

Debbie works in the Furniture Store and like Tina mans the Customer Service desk and has since January of 2011. Debbie will celebrate 22 years as a survivor this August. She was diagnosed when one of her kids was in 5th grade and the younger in first. The Furniture Store wouldn't be the same without her.

Three cheers to all the breast cancer survivors and best of luck at the 2012 Race for the Cure. You are an INSPIRATION to all of us!

 

~Claire Serafin Wiegand

UFS Man Of The Year

UFS hires anywhere from 75 to 80 employees. One of our senior employees, in fact our oldest, is David Kott, who works in the furniture store. He greets customers and sells. David has a very colorful history. He was a career military officer and after retirement he joined the ranks of furniture sales. Well, David's military rank is a story in and of itself. He's the only person I ever heard of who was a private for 9 years. It seems every time he was up for a promotion he'd land in the brig (that's the military jail). Seems our David was somewhat of a party animal. The rest of the details you'll have to get from David. He is very successful at UFS and when you ask him his secret he states emphatically, "I love people". David is definitely a character. We went out to dinner with David and his lovely wife, Rosemary. When the waitress came to take our order, David asked her if he ordered the spaghetti and meatballs, and cancelled the meatballs, would he get a discount. No discounts for David.

~Claire Serafin Wiegand

Biggest Loser UFS Style

Here at UFS we like to shake things up, (or let's say create a little excitement). At the first of the year we started the UFS Biggest Loser Contest which lasted until April. About 10 employees participated and I am very proud to report that together they lost 165lbs, (that's the size of my repair technician, Nick. I'm glad we didn't lose him.)
The first place winner was Jason Hawkins who lost 61lbs and took home the $400. When asked what worked he stated counting his calories and working out at the gym 5 days a week. He and his family joined the RiverPlex in January.

Second place went to Alisha Myers from Chillicothe...(She wanted to make sure I mentioned her hometown.) She won an overnight stay at Stony Creek Inn for two. She states eating healthier including Healthy Choice dinners, and walking 2-4 miles 5 times a week was the secret to her success.

An employee for thirty years, Zeke Carter came in third. His prize was a brand new bicycle. Zeke went from 317 to 285lbs. He admits cardio exercise was very important, switching between the treadmill and the stair-stepper. He also states he ate healthier, NO FRIED FOODS AND NO BREAD. Zeke loves fried fish, but now enjoys a nice garden salad and baked fish.

UFS is very proud of all the participants and we encourage all of you to keep it off and enjoy your healthier lifestyle.
~Claire Serafin Wiegand

The MEGA Experience

So we spent last week in Orlando, Florida attending the Mega Group USA show. It's here you get to see all the exciting new products. The hottest appliance at the show was the free standing range with two full size double ovens. These ovens are big enough to accommodate two 28lb turkeys. (You'll never know when you need 56lbs of turkey). It's also has a time saving feature which lets you preheat the oven in just 4 minutes. Frigidaire has also reinvented their dishwasher technology and the spray arm is more faceted and cleans significantly better.






Overall it was a very informative show. The weather was just about as warm as it was here, but we had palm trees, blue skies and great ocean breezes. We also found a great Cuban restaurant in a small town just outside of Orlando called Celebration. It was built by the Disney Corporation, and designed as a residential community and built in the 1990's. About 2736 people reside here with a median income of $92,000. Since it's been built there has been one suspected murder and one suicide. It looks like a perfect town just like the one in The Stepford Wives.







~Claire Serafin Wiegand

Photographically Inspired

Walking around the furniture store I became inspired. We have so much beautiful furniture and it is displayed so tastefully I thought I'd share some photos of a couple of my favorites. The first one is an all wood queen bedroom set with under bed storage on both sides. It is a black matt finish with pewter knobs and pulls. It includes the queen bed, under bed storage drawers, dresser, mirror, nightstand, and chest. All those pieces for $1199.00.






The next is the MIDNIGHT DAZZLE...it's a sofa and love seat in a mixture of black super soft microfiber and polyurethane. This room group includes the sofa and love seat, a three pack of tables, (black wrought iron and glass) and two black and chrome lamps. My favorite is the zebra pillows. The picture doesn't do it justice...Come and see it in real life, You'll observe it's Dazzle.














The last one is the San Lucas sofa and love seat which comes with the 3 tables and two lamps. Again this photo doesn't show you the comfort of the double seat cushions, or the zippers under the arms and back cushions that can be replenished. This room package is a little pricier at $999 but worth the little extra for the comfort and longevity. Let me finish by saying a picture is worth a thousand words but you can't judge a sofa unless you give it the “Tush Test”.






~Claire Serafin Wiegand