It’s official: Dave Perry has retired from full-time work with ISPA. Here we “Take 5” with Dave on how he’s spending his time now and his future plans. (Can you say “Viking Cruises”?) Be sure to check out his full retirement video presented to him at the awards ceremony.
Watch the full-length retirement video shown at the ISPA Industry Conference here.
Transcript
Waynette Goodson
It’s Waynette Goodson.
Dave Perry
Alright, Waynette Goodson.
Waynette Goodson
Okay.
Dave Perry
All right, Waynette Goodson.
Waynette Goodson
Okay. All right, so here we go. We’re going to back up.
Dave Perry
We need, we need security. Where is security?
Waynette Goodson
Where is – security? Security? It’s Waynette Goodson. I’m the managing editor of BedTimes and Sleep Savvy magazines. And I have the honor of being with Dave Perry, the czar, the creative czar of the bedding industry. We are celebrating his retirement tonight. Dave, thank you so much for being with us.
Dave Perry
Thank you. It’s a great night in Florida, and I appreciate everything ISPA has done for me in my career. You guys have been the best.
Waynette Goodson
Dave, I’m so happy for you. But yet. Oh, my gosh, he’s my video partner, and I’m going to miss him so much. We’ve already talked about some guest appearances because Dave is so good. But, Dave, just tell us what this night means to you, what this awards dinner means to you.
Dave Perry
Well, you know, I started this journey about 40 years ago, and I would never have thought we’d be here together on a beautiful night in St Petersburg. And one of the themes of the conference is sharing success. And that’s a great description of what I’ve tried to do with my work, share the success of the industry. I mean, I’ve shined a spotlight on the industry, but I’m really just reflecting on the great stories that are out there.
And the bedding industry is the most dynamic industry there is. And I’ve been lucky to be right in the middle of the most dynamic industry and maybe contributing some to that through a lot of coverage over a lot of years.
Waynette Goodson
Yes, Dave is a content machine. I know this firsthand, and the bedding industry has been so lucky and blessed to have you in the middle of it, Dave. So, gosh. Listen, folks. Dave is going to for the next year, continue with his columns for us. So you can still look out for his wonderful prose in both magazines, but you have to take a minute to just tell us what you’re doing now with your retirement days.
How are you spending your time?
Dave Perry
Well, everyone says this: they will spend more time with their family. It’s really true. In our case, we have two of the cutest granddaughters in the entire world, Ivy, three and Lizzie, one. Lizzie just started walking. So on Thursdays, we chase her all around our house. Ivy speaks and says hilarious things. And so we are so blessed.
Ivy is going to start her soccer career this Saturday. Yeah, all it starts here—soccer at age three. So we love the grandkids. They keep us, they tire us out, but they keep us young. And also we have more time to see our kids. Rachel’s in Atlanta, Rob’s in Greenville, and Ryan, of course, and his wife Truly live in High Point.
Dave Perry
So we see them a lot. And Karen and I have some fun trips. We’re going to go to South Dakota, and we’re going to take a cruise down the Rhine River.
Waynette Goodson
You love the cruises.
Dave Perry
The cruises Viking. I’m telling you, Viking does a great job. A little shout-out to Viking – love those cruises.
Waynette Goodson
So many people are congratulating you. Obviously, we just want to thank you for all of your incredible work and that the lifetime you have dedicated to this industry is unparalleled. I want to be sure for our audience that, you know, that we are not saying goodbye to this man, and it is not goodbye What we’ve decided to say is later tater.
So later, tater Dave Perry.
Dave Perry
Later tater.
Waynette Goodson
Later tater. And thank you all for tuning in, and watch out for coverage from both of us.
Dave Perry
Sounds great. Great working with you, Waynette.
Waynette Goodson
Awesome working with you, Dave All right.
