The ‘60s At the beginning of the 1960s, many Americans believed they were standing at the dawn of a golden age. On January 20, 1961, the handsome and charismatic John F. Kennedy became president of the United States. His confidence that, as one historian put it, “the govern- ment possessed big answers to big problems” seemed to set the tone for the rest of the decade. However, that golden age never materialized. On the contrary, by the end of the 1960s it seemed that the nation was falling apart. Despite these difficulties, the ‘60s was historic on so many lev- els, in movies, music, sports, racial progress, and space exploration. The STCA experienced change in the ‘60s as its membership con- tinued to increase. The Association Newsletter started here, which is today now TileLetter magazine, and leaders changed the name to the Southern Tile, Terrazzo and Marble Contractors Association (STTMCA) to add terrazzo and marble to the mix. Under Jim Trimm’s leadership, the annual conventions became the industry’s only exposition of tile and stone. They attracted a grow- ing audience, and training installers became a strategic initiative. Credentialing is born at Coverings with the first Certified Tile Installer exams by Scott Carothers and CTEF Mary Shaw-Olson is hired for TileLetter advertising sales NTCA establishes Installation Design Showcase at Coverings NTCA office staff expands with hiring of accountant Lisa Murphy Trish Moss comes onboard as office manager and membership NTCA celebrates its 1,000th member: Salvador and Becky Rodriguez of Sal's Tile in Corpus Christi, Texas NTCA adds assistant executive director Jim Olson Sandy Bettiga is hired as account- ing director and to provide website support NTCA, CTDA and TCNA form Total Solutions Plus. TCAA joined the partner- ship in 2011. State Ambassador network is established Michael Whistler joins as a second trainer/presenter 2008 2009 2010 2011 2011 2014 2008 2009 2010 2011 2011 The associa- tion changed its name to the Southern Tile, Terrazzo and Marble Contractors Association (STTMCA) in the 60s. TRENDS TRENDS TRENDS A product and trends report from the National Tile Contractors Association LATICRETE systems support expansive natural stone tile Mall of San Juan project Color Trends: top ten colors for 2016 Developing Trends: From inspiration to installation – tile design unwrapped A&D Q&A Today's trends and fashion direction in tile T E C H T E C H T E C H A technological product and trends report from the National Tile Contractors Association Award-winning BMW dealership achieves strength and elegance with TEC® products Exploring Methods and Standards ACT Certification focuses on thin porcelain tile installations NTCA Update: new "Trowel & Error" video National Tile Contractors Association www.tileletter.com Coverings 2013 ON THE COVER: MAPEI Corporation COVERINGS the issue ON THE COVER: MAPEI Corporation Membranes: solid foundations for installation success Everyone loves terrazzo Summer 2010 www.tilelettercanada.com Joint publication of the TTMAC & NTCA The STCA’s Association Newsletter morphed into TileLetter magazine, in the unique format known and loved today. Over the years NTCA has also pub- lished TileLetter Canada, TADA – Tile for Architects, Designers and Affiliates – and currently publishes Coverings and the large-format TRENDS and TECH annually as well as 12 issues of TileLetter. Celebrating 70 years 80 TileLetter | September 2017