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 128In early December, the National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA) welcomed our 1,300th mem- ber, reaching a new milestone for growth. In 2017, we celebrate our 70th year as a leading trade associa- tion in the tile industry. One of the biggest factors con- tributing to membership growth has been the State Ambassador (originally known as State Directors) program. Dedicated vol- unteer members have supported our efforts to promote the associa- tion programs and events in their local market, and this has made a significant impact. Equally impor- tant has been their active support of the association on social media. In particular, many of the ambas- sadors are active on the Facebook group Tile Geeks and the asso- ciation owes them our gratitude for supporting us. Today, we are happy to announce that we have 107 State Ambassadors – many states with multiple ambassadors – cover- ing all states except for Arkansas, Colorado and Wyoming (so there is an opportunity here!). While the lion’s share of those ambas- sadors are tile contracting com- panies, several manufacturers are also supporting the effort, includ- ing ARDEX, Bostik, Daltile, HB fuller, MAPEI and wedi. Although financial stability and membership growth will remain a strong objective, our board of directors recently identified two new initiatives to address in 2017 and beyond. NTCA YEAR IN REVIEW –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– By Bart Bettiga NTCA: looking back, looking ahead NTCA revises strategic plan to address workforce recruitment and international outreach One of the biggest factors contributing to membership growth has been the State Ambassador program. Dedicated volun- teer members have supported our efforts to promote the association programs and events in their local market, mak- ing significant impact. Shown is the State Ambassador reception at TISE West 2016. 80 TileLetter | January 2017