2007 ASID Lifetime Achievement Award presentation
At the 2007 ASID Design Excellence Award banquet held on September 22, 2007, Elizabeth Dreher Howard was honored as the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. Charles Black was bestowed with the honor of presenting this special award. The following unedited speech was composed by Nancy Schnur, in collaboration with Nick Dreher, Holly Boling-Ruiz, Tiare Cowan, Audrey Tanaka, and presented by Charles Black.
ASID Hawaii proudly honors Elizabeth Dreher Howard, as our 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient:
"...Creating interiors which radiate
a polished, pulled-together look, working together
in unique, interesting harmony."
Elizabeth Dreher Howard was raised in Hawaii and graduated from Punahou High School. She went on to earn a degree from Briarcliff and studied in both New York and Paris at the Parsons School of Design.
Although her father many times claimed that the only thing she learned at Parson’s was the mnemonic for the colors of the rainbow, her understanding of design, cultural sensitivity and business showed she learned so much more. But her passion for the interior design business comes from her heart. Described by her friends as being a solution driven person, her friends can recall times when she showed up for a dinner party only to take charge and cook the dinner. And whether is it the uncooked ham at a dinner party or the disparate design needs of five family members in one home, she takes hold of a situation and gives it her all to find the solution.
Her early years were spent at Western Contract Furnishers before venturing out to open her own design studio and furniture store with her father. With an expanding business her staff grew as well. But her style was not to hire an employee, it was to adopt one.
She is diverse in her designs as well as her clients and her portfolio encompasses many facets of the design world. From the Waimea Plantation Cottages and The Pacific Club to a ski lodge in Wyoming and across the ocean to Taiwan, her talents have spread far and wide and touched many hearts.
Her achievements did not stop with her education and a thriving business. In 1981 she was elected president of the Hawaii Chapter of ASID. In debt at the time, she took hold of the reins and trained the members in the area of “Management by Objective” or how to run the chapter as you would a business. She drove us to set goals, build on our achievements from those goals but also to know when a goal cannot be met.
After two terms as chapter president, she advanced to the National Level and served as a director. In 1989 she was elected National President of ASID. During that time, legislative issues had begun to brew as well as changes in education. Never believing that good leaders were born, not made, her top priority during her term was leadership training. Chapter by chapter, region by region, the continuity of leadership was taught and passed down from board to board and the concept of Strategic Planning was born in the organization. With her term at the national level over, she turned her focus back home and continued the leadership education with our own chapter. She began holding CEU’s for personal growth, leadership and business strategies here and across the country.
Believing in the phrase, “practice what you preach”, she strived to remain humble through all of her achievements.
This was most apparent when in 1990 she was awarded fellowship status in ASID. Today she remains Hawaii’s only FASID member and our mentor when the questions get tough or the solution can’t be agreed upon.
She married K. Dreher in 1995 and instantly became a stepmother, grandmother and, later, great grandmother to a flock of children, old and young; some of whom we welcome here with us tonight. Her personal friendships are as strong and lasting as her work.
Today she continues her work as designer and educator, loved and respected by family and friends. She is an amazing individual, with a drive and love for life and the interior design profession that is unparalleled. And so it is with our deepest sincerity, Liz Dreher Howard, that tonight the American Society of Interior Designer’s Hawaii Chapter bestows upon you this prestigious award. And extend with it our gratitude for sharing with all of us, your lifetime of achievements.
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Acknowledgement to Nick Dreher and Nancy Schnur
