here and there. Most of these crews are eager to learn “best practices” because they want to walk away from every completed job with pride in their finished work. The NTCA has many options for you to take advantage of when consider- ing training and education curricula for your craftspeople. The Finisher Apprenticeship on-line training pro- gram is an excellent place to start. Participation and involvement at Total Solutions Plus, Coverings or TISE West (Surfaces) can supplement your regular educational activities. Getting copies of the TCNA Handbook and ANSI A108, and beginning the pro- cess of learning how to use these industry recommendations and stan- dards is another great step forward. We all need to evaluate our busi- nesses and find the areas where we aren’t using best practices, and imple- ment procedures to move us toward the goal. The health of our companies is at risk and so is the health of our industry. We all know that skilled craftspeople are in short supply and the only way to improve this is to train and educate those we have and those entering the trade. Let’s all make a commitment to see the NTCA logo carry recognition and respect from the customers that employ us. Keep on tiling! Martin Howard, president, NTCA Committee member, ANSI A108 mhoward@davidallen.com PRESIDENT'S LETTER ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 20 TileLetter | June 2017