NTCA Names Winners of its Five Star Prize Awards at Coverings
Chicago, IL, May 6, 2016—The National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA) recognized industry leaders at its fourth annual awards ceremony during Coverings 2016 at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois.
Over 200 guests were present to see the association present its annual Five Star Contractor Grand Prize awards for outstanding installations in both commercial and residential projects and this year’s special recognition awards for the promotion of the tile trade and membership. An independent panel of judges evaluated submissions, based on execution & installation, original usage and overall design & purpose. Special recognition was given to those projects exemplifying stunning tile and stone.
NTCA’s Five Star Prize awards were presented for both commercial and residential tile installations. The Five Star winners received $2,500 each in prize money, sponsored by Daltile Corporation. Over 20 submissions were received and judged via the following criteria: scope (size of project), complexity (challenges), technical soundness (resolution of challenges) and design & presentation (overall appearance, layout and artistic value).
Grazzini Brothers & Company of Egan, Minnesota was the recipient of the Five-Star Grand Prize for commercial tile installation. The firm's installation of over 24,000 square foot of exterior natural stone wall tile and interior porcelain floor and wall tile at the Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory in Anchorage, Alaska proved to be quite a challenging project due to lack of infrastructure, cold, unpredictable weather and lack of daylight in the winter months.
Cox Tile or San Antonio, Texas was the recipient of the Five-Star Grand Prize for residential tile installation. The firm's project “Brick and Stone Paradise,” had a foundation of brick, natural stone and handmade artisan tiles throughout the interior of the home and exterior. Weeks of planning were needed to fine tune the details and designs of each area of the home.
This year, the NTCA‘s Special Recognition Awards were presented to two individuals for their dedication to promoting the tile trade and membership: Rod Owen of CC Owen Tile, Jonesboro, Georgia and Bradford Denny of Nichols Tile & Terrazzo Co.
Owen is responsible for the promotion of our trade to the youth of Atlanta. Owen is an active member of the Construction Education Foundation of Georgia, CEFGA. Each year, the Foundation hosts a “Careers in Construction Week” to educate students, parents & school counselors that skilled trades are a legitimate career. Since 2007, Owen has led the Tile Craftsman section of the program and on September 10, 2015 Atlanta Governor, Nathan Deal, signed a proclamation for Careers in Construction Week in Georgia.
Denny is the moderator of the NTCA Members and the Regional and State Directors Facebook page. More importantly, Denny introduced the NTCA to the “Tile Geeks” Facebook page. Through the Tile Geeks, NTCA has increased membership by 30+ new members. Denny has been a constant voice promoting NTCA in all forms of Social Media.
Related Topics:Mohawk Industries, Coverings, Daltile