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 124 Page 125 Page 126 Page 127 Page 128PRESIDENT’S LETTER Martin Howard The new year is here, and the holiday season and the election cycle are behind us, so it’s time to focus our attention on identifying our goals and developing a strategy that will help us succeed. I am grateful to serve as the new president of the NTCA. I’d like to acknowledge James Woelfel, our past president, for his clear and determined leadership for the last two years. James will continue to serve in the NTCA as chairman of the Board. Thank you, James, for your tireless efforts to improve this great organization. As I step into my new role as president, I am eager to get to work. For the last eight years I have served on the ANSI commit- tee, NTCA Technical Committee, and contributed to the TCNA Handbook Committee. I’m grateful for the knowledge and experience I’ve gained from working with the best of the best in our industry; it has been rewarding both profes- sionally and personally. As we prepare for the new year, let me encourage you to take time to refocus your attention on identi- fying goals and developing strate- gies that will help your companies become more profitable and suc- cessful in 2017. The company I work for, David Allen Company, has greatly benefited through our participation in NTCA – most nota- bly, from the ability to learn from the most knowledgeable individu- als in our industry; from manufac- turers of tile and setting materials to installers and business owners. In the past few years NTCA has become the largest and most influ- ential tile contractors’ association in the world. As the “voice of the con- tractor,” we have earned a seat at the table where our collective voice is respected, and our knowledge sought out and often invited. I hope to increase the value of membership by improving the edu- cational opportunities at Coverings, Total Solutions Plus (TSP) and TISE West/Surfaces as well as bring- ing more craft training to mem- bers separate from our Tile & Stone Workshop programs. My goals for NTCA are as follows: • Increase the quality and profes- sionalism of our trade through education • Provide more craft training and A new year, a new president, and a new opportunity for success 18 TileLetter | January 2017