INDUSTRY NEWS Bettiga (l.) with Marcos Castillo, David Allen Company; Chanel Carrizosa, Icon Tile & Design; and Matt Newbold, Elite Tile Setters. DAC, Icon and Elite are all NTCA member companies. NTCA recognizes R.I.S.E. donors NTCA recognized major donors to the Gary Sinise R.I.S.E. foun- dation, which builds specially- adapted smart homes for wound- ed veterans. NTCA has joined with the National Wood Flooring Association, and now the Marble Institute of America to provide these homes – over 51 homes will be built by the end of 2017. NTCA honored Crossville – rep- resented by Mark Shannon – as the exclusive tile sponsor (left photo) and MAPEI – represented by Real Bourdage – for providing installa- tion materials. NTCA’s Jim Olson and Bart Bettiga presented the plaques. INDUSTRY NEWS —————— The tile industry launches Why TileSM education and Inspiration initiative The tile industry has united in a marketing and education initiative designed to inspire consumers and provide information on all of tile’s benefits. The campaign, called Why TileSM , was introduced to the industry at Coverings last month. Why Tile is an industry effort with input sought from various industry organizations includ- ing the Ceramic Tile Distributors Association (CTDA), the National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA), the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF), the Tile Contractors Association of America, and the Tile Heritage Foundation (THF), in addition to manufacturers worldwide. Why Tile is coordinated by the Tile Council of North America (TCNA). Mark Shannon (c.) accepted an award honoring Crossville as the exclusive tile donor for the Gary Sinise R.I.S.E. founda- tion, presented by NTCA’s Jim Olson (l.) and Bart Bettiga. NTCA’s Jim Olson (l.) and Bart Bettiga (r.) present an award to Real Bourdage to honor MAPEI Corporation for being a Gary Sinise R.I.S.E. Foundation setting material donor. 106 TileLetter | May 2017