Croscill veteran Osborne plans to retire

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 8/26/2002 2:05:00 PM

Durham, NC — Croscill vp of sales Joe Osborne will retire this coming January after nearly 35 years with the company.

"To his customers he's Mr. Integrity," president David Kahn told HTT. "We used to call him 'the senator.' He's the kind of person you can always go to for sound thinking."

Osborne's role will be assumed by Dick Kirshbaum, sales manager for department stores. Reporting to Kirshbaum will be Pat Carnes, who will handle an expanded sales territory.

John Horan becomes sales manager for specialty retail chains, reporting to Kahn. Jim Geise becomes a sales representative handling specialty retail chains, reporting to Horan.

In addition, Jack Mahon, who services mid-tier department stores, has added import logistics to his responsibilities. Julie Brady has added product development to her role as vp.

Osborne has been dividing his time recently between Kentucky and Florida and told HTT that beyond seeing more of his wife and seven children, he has no firm plans after retirement. He originally joined Croscill as a sales representative covering Kentucky and Indiana. Previously, he worked in Louisville, KY, as a carpet and drapery buyer for Kaufman-Strauss Stores and in Los Angeles as a carpet buyer for Barker Brothers.

Of his time at Croscill, he said, "The people that own this company are the finest. It's just really been a specialty relationship, at least for me."