QUALIFIED LABOR –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– those of us in the industry. What a great opportunity to market the legitimacy of our industry not only to those students but to the adults around them that have major influ- ence on these young lives. Having a tile competition could be the tip- ping point for an adult influencer accepting that their child is consid- ering the path of tile setter.” At this year’s awards ceremony, Owen and I had an opportunity to speak with Tim Lawrence, Executive Director SkillsUSA, to learn about expanding the competition to a national level. We learned that for tile to be added to the national com- petition, we need to have 10 states facilitating the tile setter competi- tion. Skills that are able to have 10 states represented at the national level are put on probation for two years to ensure that the competition is able to bring in competitors from these different states. While working to get tile setting recognized by other states to get to national recognition, we can petition to have a technology demonstration at a national com- petition to showcase the test and potentially get other states interested in offering the new competition. Since Coverings is in Atlanta this year, Owen was able to work with show management to show- case the test module that won at this year’s SkillsUSA competition. While presenting this to attract interested contractors, we’re also hoping that what’s being done in Georgia will spark other contrac- tors to work with the tile industry in their market and start their own SkillsUSA tile setting competition. If you want to get involved, know that there is existing test material developed that interested contrac- tors in other states can use. We recommend working with a team of tile industry professionals to supply judges and the hands-on test sup- plies like tile, setting material, etc. Once approved, your state SkillsUSA organization will work with you to send information to prospective competitors and provide the space for the tile setting competition at a sanctioned competition site. If you are interested in getting involved with SkillsUSA, you can visit their website at http://www. skillsusa.org to learn more about the organization and to find your state representative. I’m also happy to help – contact me at becky@tile- assn.com to learn more about what is being done at the state level in Georgia that could potentially be replicated in your state. Rod Owen (l.) awards medals to the three top winners of the SkillsUSA competition: (l. to r.): Christian Mendoza, Kennesaw Mountain High School, 2nd place; Martin Sanchez, Griffin High School, 1st place; and Nathaniel Selby, Shaw High School, 3rd place. 104 TileLetter | 2018