Company Overview
The Furniture Training Company provides technology-based training services to the retail furniture industry. Our mission is simple and straightforward. We are dedicated to helping members of the retail furniture industry 1) increase their product knowledge, 2) increase their professionalism, and 3) increase their sales.
What began in 2001 with just a few stores has grown to include hundreds of stores representing virtually every state in America. We now even have retailers located in Ireland, India, and Canada accessing our training services.
Our expertise in using technology to create valuable learning experiences is what sets us apart. Retailers that want to know furniture and how to sell it, use the Furniture Training Company. Our tagline is true: the more you know, the more you sell.
Executive Officers
Mark J. Lacy
Mark J. Lacy is President of The Furniture Training Company, and a founding partner and senior-vice president of FTC’s parent company, LetterPress Software, Inc. Mark began his retail selling experience with the Dayton-Hudson stores in Minnesota and worked many years as a sales associate and retail store manager in photo and video industry. In the late 1980’s Mark became a national sales trainer with Harmon Tobler for the furniture industry and was a developer of the furniture sales training program, Customer-Focused Selling.
As a senior instructional designer and program manager at LetterPress Software, Mark has led the development of countless education and training technology products, many of them recognized with national and international awards for excellence. He has more than twenty years of work experience in the field of training and instructional technology. Before founding LetterPress Software Mark worked for many years as a staff researcher at Utah State University with Dr. M. David Merrill, a pioneering theorist in the field of instruction, to research, design, and develop a new generation of instructional authoring tools. These tools have been used to develop courseware for a wide variety of government and corporate contracts and grants.
Mark has made dozens of corporate and academic conference presentations on training, instructional design and technology. For many years he taught instructional technology courses at Utah State University. Mark has a bachelor’s degree in Instructional Communications from California State University Sacramento and a Master’s degree in Instructional Technology from Utah State University.
Leston Drake, PhD
Leston Drake is the Learning Technology Officer for The Furniture Training Company and a founding partner, President, and CEO of LetterPress Software - an award-winning eLearning company. Leston has been designing and developing technology-based instructional software for sixteen years. He holds a PhD in Instructional Design from Utah State University.
Leston has served as judge for an international instructional design and eLearning awards program, and served on the advisory board of an industry-leading eLearning company. He is currently serving on the advisory board for Bridgerland Applied Technology College's eCommerce program, and as a member of the advisory council for the Department of Business Information Systems at Utah State University. He has presented research and development papers and findings at sixteen conferences, and published several papers in respected journals in the field of instructional technology.
Mike Petersen
Mike is the VP over Marketing and Sales for The Furniture Training Company. He is also a founding partner of LetterPress Software - an award-winning eLearning company. Mike has been an educator for over 15 years and has served on various education committees in the State of Utah, as a trainer for other educators. Prior to his years in the education sector, Mike worked for several years in the retail business industry.
Mike currently serves as President of the Board of Directors for the Cache Valley Transit System, which provides mass transit services to Northern Utah.
Mike received his Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and his Master’s of Education from Brigham Young University. He is currently completing his Doctoral Degree in Instructional Technology at Utah State University.
Mike Petersen, Mark Lacy, and Leston Drake