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The Marble Institute of America, Inc. (MIA) enrolled 50 new members during its annual meeting October 27-30 in Los Angeles, CA, which was held in conjunction with StonExpo 2004, the natural stone industry鈥檚 premier trade show and conference.
"We expect several more memberships to come in from the show and that we'll reach an all-time high of 1,200 members by December 31,"said Garis F. Distelhorst, Executive Vice President of the association, which serves as the most authoritative source of technical information on natural stone and the leading advocate for the use of real stone in commercial and residential settings.
MIA members also elected a new Board of Directors at the annual meeting and appointed Scott Lardner of Rocky Mountain Stone Co., Albuquerque, NM, MIA President for 2005."It is truly an honor to serve MIA in this capacity at this exciting time, when membership continues to swell in response to the very real advances MIA is making in serving the needs of the natural stone professional and the natural stone industry as a whole,"stated Lardner, who succeeds Paul Vigna of Artisan Tile & Marble of New Jersey.
Other business included the approval by the MIA membership of an amended and restated set of MIA bylaws. The MIA Board also approved a Partnership Agreement with Hanley Wood, the new owner of StonExpo, through which MIA becomes a leading sponsor of StonExpo for the next 45 years. Hanley Wood's Exhibitions Division conducts 12 premier industry trade shows and events, including World of Concrete, one of the top 20 trade show events in the country.
"MIA plans to work closely with Hanley Wood to make StonExpo an even more powerful educational event,"said Distelhorst, noting that MIA has traditionally sponsored StonExpo's educational programming."All of our seminars enjoyed robust attendance this year, with 80 or more registering for each. Several of our newest programs, including Small Shop Countertop Fabrication and Exterior Cladding, proved especially popular."
Sales of MIA educational materials were also brisk, particularly for the much anticipated "Basics of Stone Shop Safety" CD and the new "Granite Cleanability" poster that touts the hygienic benefits of granite countertops.
Presentation of the highly coveted MIA Pinnacle Awards for achievement in natural stone commercial and residential projects was another highlight of the annual meeting. Winning projects are featured on MIA's web site at www.marble-institute.com and in a full-color brochure available from MIA.
The association also awarded its second-annual MIA Migliore Award for Lifetime Achievement to Joseph Kapcheck, president of J. Kapcheck & Co., a natural stone fabrication and installation company in Des Plaines, Illinois.
The following is a list of the 2005 MIA Board of Directors:
Officers:
Scott Lardner, President
Rocky Mountain Stone Co., Albuquerque, NM
Kenny Krebs, Vice President
Tennessee Granite & Marble Co., LLC, Hermitage, TN
Jack Seiders, Secretary
Architectural Granite & Marble, Inc., Austin, Texas
Jim Hogan, Treasurer
Carrara Marble Company of America, Inc., City of Industry, CA
Paul Vigna, Immediate Past President
Artisan Tile & Marble of New Jersey, Somerset, NJ
Directors:
Guido C. Gliori
Grazzini Brothers & Company, Eagan, MN
Vic Green
VIC International Corp., Knoxville, TN
Jesus Gonzalez
Marble World SA de CV, Garza Garcia, Mexico
Anthony Ieraci
Ciot Imports Co., Ltd., Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Jim Janochoski
Cold Spring Granite Company, Cold Spring, MN
Abraham Mekuria
Mitin Pvt. Ltd. Mining Co., Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Brett S. Rugo
Rugo Stone, Lorton, VA
Mark Shedrofsky
Stone Source, New York, NY
Mario Venezia
Pisani Brothers SpA, Avenza-Carrara, Italy
About the Marble Institute
Celebrating its 60 th anniversary in 2004, the Marble Institute of America (MIA) is the world's leading information resource and advocate for the natural stone industry. MIA members include marble, granite, limestone, sandstone, and other natural stone producers and quarriers, fabricators, installers, distributors, and contractors around the world.
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