Long before the sun came up on April 5, groups of designers, contractors and employees were gathering at D&B Tile locations in Sunrise, Pompano Beach, Port St. Lucie and West Palm Beach in anticipation of a trip to Coverings ‘17, billed as the largest trade show in the world and held at the mas- sive Orange County Convention Center. As part of D&B’s commitment to continuing education, an expense- free, one-day, round trip to this event was coupled with CEU cred- its and the opportunity to network with other industry professionals to see what’s new in the tile, marble and stone industry worldwide. The group was eager to view prod- ucts from some 1,100 exhibitors from over 40 countries, see the Coverings Installation and Design Awards celebrating outstanding achievements in the design and installation of tile and stone in resi- dential and commercial projects, and attend live “how to” classes offering a close-up look at how top contracting professionals handle challenging situations. Also of interest was the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF), which provided education and CeramicTile Installer andAdvanced Certifications for Tile Installers cer- tifications for professionals work- ing in the ceramic tile and stone industry. It provides the only third- party assessment of installer skill and knowledge recognized by the industry. Installers who passed the online test at home and the hands- on test in Orlando received $1,500 D&B TILE ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– D&B brings contingent to Coverings ‘17 Over 70 designers, contractors and D&B employees were bused from various D&B locations to Orlando for a one-day, expense- free, round-trip visit to Coverings ’17. Certification testing by CTEF was a high- light of the trip – and D&B reimbursed installer customers for one night’s expenses if they took Certified Tile Installer exam dur- ing the show 98 TileLetter | June 2017