THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL TILE CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION BART A. BETTIGA, publisher bart@tile-assn.com LESLEY A. GODDIN, editor lesley@tile-assn.com MICHELLE CHAPMAN, art director advertising sales michelle@tile-assn.com MARY SHAW-OLSON, advertising sales mary@tile-assn.com Mailing Address: P.O. Box 13629 Jackson, MS 39236 U.S.A. Shipping Address: 626 Lakeland East Drive Jackson, MS 39232 Tel: 601-939-2071 Fax: 601-932-6117 Website: www.tileletter.com www.tile-assn.com Columns 6 Welcome new members 10 NTCA Tile & Stone Workshops 11 CTEF Workshops 14 Editor’s letter 18 President’s letter 22 Ask the Experts: Sponsored by LATICRETE International, Inc. 26 Business Tip: Supervising: get bad at what you do By Wally Adamchik, president, FireStarter Speaking and Consulting Sponsored by MAPEI Corporation 60 Member Spotlight: Maris Tile PRO: from destiny to distinction By Lesley Goddin Sponsored by Custom Building Products 78 Tech Talk: BAC/IMI apprentice competition tests hands-on prowess and book learning By Stephanie Samulski, NTCA Director of Technical Services Sponsored by TEC® /H.B. Fuller Construction Products 88 Stone: Lack of weep holes, uncollapsed mortar ridges may cause stone darkening in showers By Lesley Goddin Sponsored by MAPEI Corporation 96 NTCA Benefits Box: The NTCA 401(k) plan 100 NTCA University Update 102 News Briefs 106 Product Briefs 114 Advertiser Index The National Tile Contractors Association, Inc. is an equal opportunity association and seeks to include qualified individuals and businesses in all phases of its activities. The National Tile Contractors Association, Inc. does not discrimi- nate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status, or disability. The National Tile Contractors Association, Inc. seeks opportunities to include these groups in its programs and activities. TileLetter is a free subscription to the tile, stone and allied products industries. To subscribe, visit www.tileletter.com -> click on Advertisers & Subscribers -> click on Subscribe. To make address changes or unsubscribe, please send an email to: webmaster@tile-assn.com. TILELETTER EDITORIAL POLICY: TileLetter is the official publication of the National Tile Contractors Association, Inc. (NTCA). TileLetter provides a medium for expressing views and opinions without approving, disapproving, or guaranteeing the validity or accuracy of any data, claim or opinion appearing under a byline, or obtained or quoted from an acknowledged source. Statements of fact and opinion are made on the responsibility of the authors alone, and do not imply an opinion or reflect the official position of NTCA. NTCA would not be possible with- out the dedicated service of our board and committee members, and regional and state directors. Meet these dedicated volunteers by visit- ing www.tile-assn.com and clicking on About Us. You can also find infor- mation and a continually updated list of Five Star Contractors at www. tile-assn.com – click on Find a Tile Contractor or Consultant. 4 TileLetter | November 2018