People

Collectible and home decor manufacturer Flambro Imports, Atlanta, hired Beverly Seckinger as vice president of home decor, and promoted Darrell McKnight to vice president of creative development. Seckinger will assume full responsibility for Flambro's home decor lines. She previously served as vice president of sales for the Seckinger-Lee Company, a personnel recruitment firm. McKnight will be responsible for the creative vision and the selection of products in the company's gift, seasonal, and signature proprietary products.

Whereoware.com, a Web-based gift industry technology provider based in McLean, VA, promoted Tabitha Bowling to the newly created position of director of marketing. She will be responsible for developing marketing partnerships with Whereoware's trade show partners, Dallas Market Center, DMG World Media, George Little Management (GLM), and Western Exhibitors. Bowling joined Whereoware in 2000 as director of marketing implementation.

Kathy Smart was named show manager for The Gift Fair In Atlanta, produced by Urban Expositions and George Little Management. Smart and Angela Jones will be jointly responsible for all aspects of exhibit sales and booth assignments for the semiannual event, which will debut July 12–15, at the Georgia World Congress. Smart's industry experience includes eight years with the Atlanta Market Center, where she served as sales director for the company's Atlanta-based gift shows. Jones was named show manager for The Gift Fair in May of 2001.

Obituaries

Lewis Rudin, head of a real estate concern that owns more than 40 New York buildings including Forty One Madison The New York Merchandise Mart, died of complications of bladder cancer. He was 74. Rudin was especially conspicuous as a New York booster, playing important civic roles during the city's fiscal crisis of the 1970s, in expanding the New York Marathon into a world-class event, and in moving the U.S. Open tennis tournament to Flushing, NY.

Mark "Mickey" Rothenberg died on September 11; he was aboard the highjacked United Airlines Newark-to-San Francisco flight that crashed in Pennsylvania. Rothenberg ran his family's business, Culver Glassware, until 1996, when it was sold. Culver Glassware was founded in Brooklyn, NY, in the 1930s, and later moved to Rahway, NJ. At the time of his death, Rothenberg headed Global Connections, a business that sources glassware overseas. He is survived by his wife, Meredith; his daughters, Rachel and Sarah; and his mother, Dorothy.