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The current President and CEO of a 114-year old furniture company is a 4th generation Schewel whose great grandfather Elias Schewel was a Lithuanian immigrant who founded the Schewel Furniture Company in 1917. He is Marc A. Schewel, son of the Bert Schewel who is the direct descendant of Elias from his son Ben. He currently manages the Schewel Furniture Company with brother Elliot and sister Donna in the management team at its headquarter in Lynchburg, VA, right in the same neighborhood where fonder Elias peddled small furniture on his horse-drawn carriage in 1897. These were mostly picture frames and seat bottoms. Today, it is home to 51 sprawling stores in the states of Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina, carrying a line of home and office furniture, including appliances that are enough to furnish a home to make it the finest example of American Living in the 21st century. President and CEO Marc A. Schewel inherit not just a 114 year old furniture business but also the entrepreneurial vision and leadership that have been running in the family for four generations. He is the son of Bert Schewel under whose term the company flourished and grew to where it is today during most of the 20th century, after taking the helm from his own dad Ben Schewel, the heir of the great family patriarch and founder of the company, Elias. A native of Lynchburg, Virginia where the company was founded, Marc finished secondary education at the E.C. glass High School in 1965. From there he took his college course at the Washington and Lee University in Lexington, graduating in 1969. After a short teaching stint at the Appomattox High School, Marc was ready to get his feet wet, as it were, helping dad Bert grow the Schewel Furniture Company, expand the business across three states, until finally ascending the helm as its head, along with brother Elliot and sister Donna in his management team. Amidst all the serious business of running the Schewel Furniture Company, Marc finds time to engage in civic community work, serving as Chairman of the United Way of Central Virginia and the Lynchburg Jewish Community Council. He also sits in the boards of the YMCA after serving as its president for some time, the Salvation Army, Greater Lynchburg Community Trust and the National Home Furnishings Association. Previously, Marc had been chairman in the boards of the Family Alliance, the New Vistas School Board of Trustees, and the National Conference for Community. It is no wonder that Marc is also a multi-award civic leader. He has been recognized with the Mayor’s Awards of Excellence, the NCCJ Humanitarian Award, the John Willis Award of Merit, the Paul Harris Fellow Award and the Lynchburg Chamber of Commerce George Taylor Steward Award. And at the end of the day, Marc goes home to his family that has seen three kids and two stepdaughters, while taking time to write for his blog – My Occasional Pieces.
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