MEMBER SPOTLIGHT –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– times looking for technical advice, then working with him to develop the ACT shower test. After a while – and a few trips to NTCA func- tions – we started to talk more and more about technical issues as well as what happened that day and life in general. Dan was gener- ous with his help, so I made trips up to Grand Rapids to learn what I could do to grow my business. And I traveled with the Welch team in 2013 to install the temporary floor- ing at Coverings in Atlanta. Along the way, I’ve had some unexpected adventures, from changing an alter- nator in Dan’s truck along the side of the road, to tiling the inside of a shipping container at coverings in Chicago. When Dan says “So, I’ve been thinking…” you know it’s about to get interesting. As Dan's and my friendship grew, I realized that my calling was not to be a business owner – but I felt I would make a great employee. So, I shifted gears and started look- ing at different opportunities in the industry for employment, includ- ing working for Welch Tile, but the distance always seemed to be a hurdle, or maybe I just wasn’t ready. In the fall of 2015, I helped Welch Tile as temporary labor on a project in Kalamazoo, Mich., and became convinced that I wanted to abandon business ownership and be part of a larger company that offered camaraderie and sup- port. Dan and I talked about it in December 2015, and I revealed I was ready to make the leap away from self-employment the follow- ing year. A week later, while driv- ing home from work, Dan called with his signature, “So, I’ve been thinking…” greeting – then offered me the opportunity to run the train- ing program at Welch Tile. The week after Christmas 2015, my family and I made the trip to Grand Rapids for an interview. It was a tough decision for my fam- ily to make, but we focused on the quality of life we had as a family, going back to the adage that “You don’t know until you try!” January 25, 2016, marked a new start to my career and a new way of life for my family in Grand Rapids, with Welch Tile. Remember the question I asked at the beginning of this letter? I would have never dreamed by becom- ing an NTCA member I would be where I am today. If I never made that first trip to Coverings in 2007 and hadn’t joined the NTCA, where would I be today? Dave Rogers (left) with Jim Olson at a Training and Education Committee meet- ings during TISE West in Las Vegas in January 2017. 44 TileLetter | September 2017