As the NTCA nears the end of its 77th year in existence, I reflect on where this association has come from, where it is today, and how we are positioning for the future. The NTCA has been and continues to be the voice of the tile contractor and an industry leader in standards development, training, and an advocate for the tile industry.
In 2024, the NTCA saw a 6% growth in membership. As the NTCA membership continues to grow, so has the need for staffing. At the beginning of the year we hired Elena Grant to handle Marketing and Communication responsibilities, and assume the Publisher position for TileLetter. Angie Weber has also been added to the team with a focus on membership, social media, advertising, and Hispanic outreach. More recently, Jeremy Sax has been added to NTCA staff as Deputy Director with the responsibilities of strategic planning, long-term growth and igniting the Five-Star Contractor Program.
At year’s end, the NTCA will celebrate the retirement of Mark Heinlein and the promotions of Matt Welner and Amber Fox. Mark will be missed as he has played a huge role in the growth of the training team and the training courses that the NTCA offers. Mary Shaw-Olson, who has faithfully served as a valued member of the Tileletter team in Advertising Sales, will retire at the end of the year as well.
We continue to look at acquiring new trainers, as the NTCA is scheduled to perform over 300 training programs in 2025. Many of the training programs will be hosted at Floor & Decor and Daltile locations nationwide since both of these partners just renewed their commitments for the upcoming year. New Regional Programs and Workshops are also in development as the NTCA continues to be the leader in the industry relating to installation and standards training programs.
The NTCA Five-Star Contractor program has gotten a big boost, now that it is an accredited program. To keep the momentum pushing forward in 2025, a Five-Star Contractor Summer Meeting for both residential and commercial accredited contractors is scheduled. New tools and opportunities will be presented with the focus of ROI for this elite group.
We are investing in a Community App that is being led by Elena with the goal to have it in use by the end of the year. This app will be a place to connect with other members in a very professional and exclusive environment. The app will also be a place to get content and participate in groups that relate to your needs in your business. It also has the ability to be the centralized place for document sharing and group feedback, which can lead to an environment for NTCA Committees to use in between their in-person meetings. New membership promotion and support have also been created to help onboard new members with the goal to get them engaged with the NTCA.
As the NTCA continues to be a leader in the industry, we have begun to plan for long-term growth, sustainability, leadership, and dedication to the industry by committing to moving our headquarters to Tennessee. Although this move will not happen right away, we have begun to plant the seeds of wants, needs, and a footprint of what our space will be, and how CTEF can be partnered with the move.
What was once the Southern Tile Contractors Association, a regional group, has now grown to be the National Tile Contractors Association, and remains the voice in the industry for tile contractors. With its national footprint and worldwide influence, the NTCA will keep making investments to support all tile contractors, and be a leader in the tile industry for decades to come.
Best to your success,