This article celebrates Steve Rausch, a passionate tile industry and CTEF advocate who never missed a moment to promote quality and Qualified Labor.
Steve passed away unexpectedly on June 8th, 2019. As you might imagine, all of us at CTEF will miss him.
Every industry has its associations. What makes the tile industry particularly remarkable is the level of collaboration that takes place between its associations and organizations. The Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF) is an example of that collaboration, working with all those in the industry who are passionate about quality tile installation.
To give you some perspective on those dynamics, we've put together this updated list detailing each tile industry association.
We have exciting news to share with you: there's a new member of the CTEF team! Her name is Heidi Cronin and she's been hired as CTEF Industry Liaison and Promotions Director.
This is a newly created role to support the next stage of evolution for CTEF. As Bart Bettiga Executive Director of the National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA) and member of the CTEF Board of Directors says,
"We are pleased to welcome Heidi to CTEF in this newly created position. Given her professional experience and passion for Qualified Labor, we are confident that she will be instrumental in supporting the growth of the Certified Tile Installer (CTI) program alongside Scott Carothers, Director of Certification and Training for CTEF, and shaping the tile and stone industry in the United States."
We caught up with Heidi to ask her a few questions.
Every Certified Tile Installer has his or her own story for wanting to become a CTI. In the case of Kris Nardone CTI #1364, it had to do with adding credibility to his installation business.
How do you prove yourself as a tile installation professional? For John Mourelatos CTI #1290, it involves becoming a Certified Tile Installer (CTI). John is next in the CTEF Blog series about Qualified Labor based on articles in TileLetter.com published in April 2017 and May 2015.
In anticipation of Coverings 2019, WhyTile has released a series of videos in support of Qualified Labor. Since it's such an important subject, we're recapturing the videos here and including relevant references from articles we've published.
We look forward to seeing you at Coverings!
Just in time for Coverings, we've created the Tile Installer Credo which consists of ten core tile installation beliefs.
If you've been following this blog, you're probably familiar with them as these are principles we don't take lightly. These beliefs keep us up at night; they motivate us to be active in the tile industry and seek out every opportunity to make believers of all those who still doubt and don't follow the industry standards and best practices for installing tile.
Here they are. Will you help us get the word out?
Inspiring those around him to aspire to higher tile standards seems second-nature to Dan Hecox, founder of Hecox Construction in York, Nebraska. That's what he does as NTCA Nebraska State Ambassador and as a Regional Evaluator for the Certified Tile Installer Program.
Dan Hecox CTI #1215 is next in the CTEF Blog series about Qualified Labor based on several articles in TileLetter.com. More specifically,
>> Dan Hecox Presents to A&D Students at University of Nebraska – Lincoln
>> Member Spotlight – Hecox Construction, Inc.
>> Qualified Labor – January 2018 – Sark Tile Supports Education by Hosting NTCA Workshop and CTI Exam
>> NTCA Nebraska State Ambassador establishes local CTI testing
Not only do retailers such as Avalon Flooring value Certified Tile Installers, but, in becoming certified, tile installers can gain more and better customers. If you're not certified, what are you waiting for?
To borrow from the original Fab Four, money won't buy you tile certification. Rather it's your experience and skill as a tile setter that allows you to validate your tile installation skills as a Certified Tile Installer.
That's according to Mike McLawhorn CTI #188 and Territory Sales Manager for HB Fuller.
Mike is next in the CTEF Blog series about Qualified Labor based on an article in TileLetter.com titled Mike McLawhorn: CTI credentials are confirmation of tile setter knowledge that money can’t buy.
Certified Tile Installer Mike Corona says,
You don't become a tile installer or a business owner overnight. It takes time, enthusiasm, pride, reliability, respectfulness, a willingness to learn, and dedication. No two jobs are the same; each one has its own unique nuances. As a qualified installer, you need to be able to communicate how to deal with those nuances and qualify yourself to not only meet but exceed expectations. Being qualified will exponentially increase your value and you will have endless opportunities.
Mike Corona CTI #923 Corona Marble and Tile
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The Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF) provides education and installer certification for professionals working in the ceramic tile and stone industry.
The CTEF Certified Tile Installer (CTI) program is the only third-party assessment of installer skill and knowledge that is recognized by the tile industry.