NTCA PREVIEW 94 TileLetter | March 2017 sion. FUSE Alliance is a strong com- mercial flooring contractor buying group. TISE West/Surfaces: NTCA had a successful TISE Show in Las Vegas in January, signing up new mem- bers, with over 75 board, committee members, and State Ambassadors in attendance. The tile exposition area at TISE is growing steadily, and NTCA hopes to take advantage of this with increased membership. NTCA trainers Mark Heinlein and Robb Roderick performed mul- tiple live demonstrations on the Installation Showcase stage. CTEF director of training and eductation Scott Carothers hosted a CTI certi- fication and CTI Regional Evaluator coordinator Kevin Insalato and Scott trained many regional evaluators here, in efforts to prepare them to be certification testing instructors. Business Training Programs: The two-day seminar took place in Dallas, Texas, February 23 and 24. Michael Stone of CPR Company offered a program on financial management and profit strategies. NTCA’s assis- tant executive director Jim Olson and executive director Bart Bettiga attend- ed, along with board advisor John Cox, who was instrumental in getting Michael Stone and NTCA together to develop this program. Approximately 20 members participated. Tom Ade Scholarship: If you are a contractor member, don’t forget that a family member of yours or any of your employees is eligible for up to $5,000 in scholarship funds from NTCA, thanks to a generous sponsor- ship from Tom Ade. Last year, NTCA awarded $7,500 in financial aid to two deserving recipients. Email Bart at bart@tile-assn.com or pay atten- tion to the NTCA E-Newsletter which will contain the application form. It is also on our website at tile-assn. com. Coverings: NTCA is a key sponsor of the NASCAR event taking place at Coverings. This is a new and dynam- ic sponsorship, creating a simulated NASCAR experience on the show floor. NTCA is seeking sponsor part- ners to participate in the program. The NASCAR vehicle will be by the NTCA booth near the Installation Stage. NTCA is into full planning for Coverings in Orlando, working on installer and contractor conference programming, NTCA Awards Night, Contractor Days, Live Demonstrations and more. CTEF: NTCA is proud to continue to support CTEF through fundrais- ing and program assistance. NTCA’s voluntary postage and CTEF support campaign has already begun, and is paying dividends. NTCA also helped CTEF to secure additional funding from Coverings for marketing and promotional efforts. Congratulations to Scott Carothers and Christine Whittemore of CTEF for their efforts to further grow certification. Kevin Insalato is helping to grow the CTI program through regional evaluator training. Skills USA: Rod Owen, NTCA Five Star Contractor in Atlanta, is working with Georgia construction ondustry professionals to promote a SKILLS USA competition for tile installa- tion. NTCA training and education coordinator Becky Serbin has been assigned to support Rod in this effort,