NTCA BENEFITS BOX Rising stars share passion for NTCA Paige Pomerene, P2 Customs First up is Herndon, Va.,-based Paige Pomerene, who was one of the Coverings Rock Star Award winners this year. You can also read more about Paige in the October 2018 TileLetter, where she was one of our featured Women in Tile. “I’ve only been a member of the NTCA for just over a year now and before I joined, by the grace of Mark Heinlein, I thought I was a ‘decent setter’,” Pomerene said. “I was living under a rock. I didn’t know there was this amazing com- munity of tile setters, manufactur- ers, teachers and the education all under one association. “The NTCA has been a tremen- dous wake-up call to me on the technicals of installing tile,” she added. “The amount of knowledge on standards and methods I have absorbed this past year has been substantial. Everything I’ve been learning through the NTCA com- munity and the connections it’s given me to the TCNA, CTEF and ANSI, has made me improve dras- tically in the standards and meth- ods I apply to each job. “I am always going to be learn- ing, and being able to connect with someone I respect/look up to or even several like-minded indi- viduals, has been very beneficial to me,” she continued. “I don’t always know the best solution for a difficult situation so, thanks to the relationships I have gained this past year it’s been a blessing to have so many people willing to help me. It’s really like a second family to me: one huge family.” Pomerene said, “Aside from the Each month, we bring you details about one of the benefits NTCA offers its contractor members. But this year, we touch base with two of the 2019 Coverings Rock Star Awards recipients to hear from up-and- coming entrepreneurs and what THEY love about NTCA. 82 TileLetter | June 2019