Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116 Page 117 Page 118 Page 119 Page 120 Page 121 Page 122 Page 123 Page 124Here we are, at the end of yet another year. It’s incomprehensible that the year has flown by so quick- ly. Personally, I remember like yes- terday being at Surfaces/ \TISE West in January and getting a call that my dad’s health had declined, then scurrying to make plans to be with him in his final days in New Jersey. In many ways, the rest of the year has been a bit of a blur, punc- tuated with many celebrities and musical greats leaving our planet, and people in the industry and their loved ones struggling with health or professional challenges and changes. There have been victories and there have been disappointments. Our country seems poised for major change. Some fear those changes, some look forward to them with hopeful anticipation. But to reference the Nobel Prize for Literature winner quote that opens this article, “The times, they are a-changin’.” That is for SURE. We’ve had many changes and developments in our industry, from progress on gauged porcelain tile/ installation standards, to reaching the 1300th member for NTCA, to hiring regional evaluators for the Certified Tile Installer testing pro- gram and a coordinator to oversee it all. Changes to the NTCA Strategic Plan have been made to include: 1. Adding value to NTCA mem- bership 2. Growing apprenticeship and online education programs 3. Promoting quality through fur- ther development of training and education programs 4. Taking the Five Star Contractor program to a whole new level This comes with aforementioned investment in new personnel and programs including a Spanish- speaking presenter for our work- shops and translations, new coordi- nators and office support.You’ll learn more about NTCA accomplishments and 2017 plans in our January issue, but hopefully the NTCA Previews section we started a few months ago is giving you an idea of the tremendous progress the industry is making, working together, pull- ing together, talking and debating together and moving ahead. As I said in my November letter, that quality of collaboration demonstrated by our industry makes me particularly EDITOR’S LETTER Lesley A. Goddin "For the times, they are a-changin'." – Bob Dylan, 1964 12 TileLetter | December 2016