NTCA NEWS 108 TileLetter | October 2017 NTCA Highlights ––––––––––––– Each month, the NTCA board meets to report on initiatives made in the individual subcommittees for the association and industry overall. Here’s a brief summary of works and developments in progress. Membership Through June of 2017, we have 1,269 members in good standing, 94 more than we had at the same time one year ago. We expect to be near or around 1,400 members by the end of 2017. Workshops continue to be a leading source of new membership growth. Social media and our website have con- tributed as well. Staff has focused on renewal this year primarily, as well as some larger tile and floor- ing contractors and buying groups. Next year, we plan to implement a strong regional membership analysis and membership growth campaign, utilizing our resources and targeting recommended com- panies. Five Star Program Program director Amber Fox is actively pursuing qualified leads to grow our membership. Several new members have been introduced, and some applica- tions are also in process – and Trostrud Mosaic & Tile Company, Inc., recently became our 50th Five Star Contractor! The group had an excellent summer meet- ing in Grand Rapids, Mich., host- ed by Dan Welch and the Noble Company. CTEF program Board member Kevin Insalato is now a full-time employee of NTCA. We will name a new regional director at Total Solutions Plus in November. Kevin is spearheading the regional evaluator program with CTEF. There are currently more than 20 regional evaluators now ready to evaluate the Certified Tile Installer tests. Scott Carothers continues to oversee the pro- gram, and is now working towards expanding the ACT Certification program tests. NTCA University We have completed year one of the Apprenticeship Program, and are working on the second year of the online curriculum. We are also currently working on a brand new pricing structure for the NTCA University subscriptions, and should have that completed and presented to the board of directors at our meeting at Total Solutions Plus in November. NTCA Reference Manual The NTCA Reference Manual has many new changes in 2017. In a separate mailing, all CONTRACTOR members of NTCA should have received their com- plimentary TCNA Handbook in the mail over the summer as well.