WORKSHOPS OF GERALD HENN Olympian to address workers

More than 750 employees and independent sales consultants are registered to attend the convention.
LIBERTY -- The Workshops of Gerald Henn, a Lordstown-based maker of handcrafted baskets, pottery and candles, will celebrate its 20th anniversary at its national convention this weekend at the Holiday Inn MetroPlex.
Dorothy Hamill, best known for winning an Olympic gold medal in figure skating in 1976 and for her years as a headliner in skating shows, will be the keynote speaker at an employee awards ceremony Saturday evening.
Hamill, 46, continues as a commentator at figure skating competitions, donates her time to several charities, and works with families of Olympic hopefuls as part of General Motors' The Team Behind The Team campaign.
Deb Boyce, communications director and graphic artist for Henn, said Hamill was chosen because her life story embodies the convention theme: "Living the American Dream."
More than 750 Henn employees and independent consultants have registered to attend the three-day convention, which runs Friday through Sunday.
Background: The company has 120 employees at its Lordstown headquarters, about 100 at its pottery plant in New Waterford, and about 35 in its pottery decorating shop in Darlington, Pa.
Henn also has more than 2,000 independent sales consultants around the United States and in U.S. military bases around the world, Boyce added.
The company sells its products through direct sales at home parties.
Gerald and Cheryl Henn founded the company in 1982 on the original Henn family homestead, at 1001 Country Way in Lordstown.
The company expanded in 1997 with the purchase of the former Bel Terr Pottery in New Waterford, and the pottery decoration shop was added recently.
The workshops specialize in reproductions of basketry, pottery and Shaker wood boxes, which were produced by American craftsmen in the 18th and 19th centuries.