NEWS BRIEFS Doug Turner is new CEO of Lamosa USA – Lamosa Group has announced that it has appointed Doug Turner as Chief Executive Officer/President of Lamosa USA, effec- tive immediately. Turner is a 30-year veteran of the flooring and tile industry, leading sales teams at Bruce Hardwood, Mohawk Industries and American Olean/Marazzi and directing prod- uct and marketing efforts of Tri- West and American Tile Supply. He will lead the development of the US strategy for the Lamosa USA brand into multiple channels in the market. https://bit.ly/2SNuDZN Arizona Tile’s John Huarte gives back to Notre Dame – Arizona Tile founder, John Huarte, has strong and lasting ties with his alma mater. He brought the 1964 Fighting Irish losing football team to vic- tory in a Heisman-winning battle. In November 2018, Huarte and his wife Eileen gave back to Notre Dame via a gracious donation of $1 million, intended to establish an endowment for grants in aid to student-athletes. https://bit.ly/2RqZOxh 2019 Stone Industry Education Series schedule announced – The Natural Stone Institute and Stone World maga- zine have announced the sched- ule for the 2019 Stone Industry Education Series. Stone Summits will be held in 10 cities across the United States. The Stone Summits will cover a wide vari- ety of topics relevant to natural stone fabricators, including maxi- mizing shop efficiency and profits, using metrics to measure success, understanding OSHA safety regu- lations, and creating a plan for finding and retaining top talent. They will be facilitated by a team of experienced industry leaders. https://bit.ly/2VMDwo8 Construction employment rises in December – Construction employment increased by 38,000 jobs in December and by 280,000 jobs, or 4.0%, over the past year, while the industry’s average pay accelerated and unem- p l o y m e n t d e c r e a s e d to a historic low, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors ofAmerica.Association officials added that most contrac- tors report they plan to contin- ue hiring in 2019, according to the association’s annual outlook that was released early in January. https://bit.ly/2CgtItT Doug Turner 96 TileLetter | February 2019