of Michigan that lies below the Mackinac Bridge as downstate and we say it with a bit of sympathy, but oh well, not everyone can be a Yooper. But I digress. Back to Phil Kozey of southern Michigan. I do not know all of the particulars about Mark’s com- munications with Phil. I think that during this time Al called and mes- saged Mark a few times and Mark called and messaged Phil. We all know how these things can go. Life is busy. And then out of the blue, one day in March we were driving on the Ohio turnpike, and Mark's phone chimed that he had a mes- sage. He asked me to open it. After all, I was just sitting in the passenger seat, riding shotgun, and staring out the window. The message was from Phil Kozey. Here is what Phil said: Let me tell you about this guy that we spoke about that said he wanted to learn tile. He is one of the nicest, eager-to-learn guys I have ever met in my life. After working his butt off for five days straight my father handed him a paycheck. An hour later he pulls me to the side and hands me back the check and says “I cannot accept this.” It meant a lot to me that he was actually there to do nothing but learn and did not want to make any money, but I aggressively refused… and made him take the check. He came in knowing absolutely nothing, but he is a quick learner and takes great direction and I really think it is going to be a long friendship between me and Al. I just wanted to say thanks for linking us up because it is an honor working with him. Of course, after reading that mes- sage, Mark immediately called Phil and I listened in on the conversa- tion. Phil told Mark about how he eventually contacted Al and what a terrific person he is and how he is going to make an excellent tile guy. It turned out to be a heartwarmingly human story about motivation, tal- ent, kindness, and of course, tile. I don’t know the conclusion to this story yet. I do know that Phil and Al are now friends and that Al has a future in the tile business. I’m proud of Mark’s role in helping make this connection between two good men, and I am proud to be a small part of this NTCA world where stories like this happen all the time. Alaa Waleed on the job. A connection with Mark Heinlein helped find him work, and Alaa was eager to learn about tile. BUSINESS TIP –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 30 TileLetter | March 2017