Alexander “Sandy” Bryant, owner of Orangeburg Furniture Exchange, is the recipient of the Southern Home Association’s Willis Award of Merit, an honor recognizing unselfish contributions to the furniture industry of North and South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Georgia and Tennessee.

Speaking for the Willis Award selection committee, Alan Dossenbach of Sanford, N.C., and 1999 receiver of the award, praised Bryant for his devotion to community, industry and the Lord. Ten previous Willis Award winners were present to honor Bryant at the Country Club of Orangeburg affair on Aug. 12 attended by more than 70 people, including Bryant’s family and friends. Bryant and his wife, Caroline, were presented a framed certificate of the award and an engraved silver bowl designating the association honor.

For many years Bryant served as a member of the executive committee of the Southern Home Association. He served as president of the association for the 2006-07 term and now holds the post of chairman of the executive committee.

A color slide presentation detailed Bryant’s life centering on the Furniture Exchange’s stance in Orangeburg’s downtown for 61 years. The slide show’s audio told of Bryant’s hard times in life: “Sandy has encountered several obstacles along the way, including triple bypass surgery, back surgery, a hip replacement, and recently losing his oldest daughter (June 24, 2007) to cancer. But through it all, Sandy’s resolve to continue a successful family business has never wavered.”

At his turn on the podium, Bryant said he enjoyed having little-known parts of his past revealed and “in life we have to try to make changes that we think are necessary … accept things we can’t change … see the difference between what to change and what to accept … I accept the things that have happened to me during my life and I look forward to what the future will bring.”

Originally located in 1947 on the main business block of the city’s Russell Street, the furniture store was established as Culler Trading Co., owned by Isadore Culler of North. Douglas Bryant Sr. purchased Culler’s company in December 1947. The store name was changed to Orangeburg Furniture Exchange. Bryant Sr.’s two sons became full-time operating associates upon their graduation from the University of South Carolina with degrees in business administration. A three-way partnership with the father and sons was formed in 1970.

For more than three decades, the store was a father-and-two-son operation until 1982 when their father died. The following year Sandy Bryant and his older brother, Douglas Jr., moved the store from Russell Street to Middleton, across from City Hall. Sandy purchased his brother’s interest in the store in 1986 to become its sole proprietor. Brother Douglas and family moved to Folly Beach, where he established a furniture store of his own.

Since moving to Middleton Street, Orangeburg Furniture Exchange has become one of Orangeburg’s substantial downtown commercial complexes with 17,000 square feet at the core store; Wrought Iron showroom, fronting of 2,000 square feet at the corner of Middleton and Wiles streets; a 6,000-square-foot showroom fronting on Meeting Street; 10,000 square feet at Broughton’s former J.W. Pickens automotive; and 16,000 square feet behind Taco Bell on John C. Calhoun Drive. The total of 51,000 square feet, according to Bryant, is necessary to meet the needs of its customer-base within a 25-mile radius of Orangeburg.

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