Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.
KARL BARTH
Welcome to November, the portal to the winter holidays. It’s fitting we celebrate Thanksgiving this month, with gratitude for the year behind us and anticipation of the year to come.
This November, I want to share a word of gratitude for Rod Owen as he ends his two-year term as NTCA President. His wisdom, dedication, and guidance have helped shape NTCA’s direction for the past two years. He’ll take a new role as Chairman of the Board. I’m also grateful for Woody Sanders as he steps into the position of NTCA president. Woody is a font of knowledge, enthusiasm, professionalism, and organization. I look forward to what he will bring to the NTCA presidency.
Our TileLetter theme this month is Safety, with information about safe practices woven throughout our content.
In our Business section, Neil Schmitz of Midwest Industrial Resource Group details how to avoid administrative blind spots in the face of OSHA’s Crystalline Silica National Emphasis Program (NEP) and its compliance requirements. Additionally, Cam Mackey of the International Safety Equipment Association addresses the hazards posed by dust and how to protect your eyes, ears, knees, hands, and feet. And NTCA Executive Director Bart Bettiga’s One-to-One interview this month is with Brad Yeubanks of World Insurance, who reviews important components of a safety program and how it impacts the tile trade.
In our Technical section, CTEF’s Scott Carothers lists a range of hazards to safeguard against, and he includes practices that are employed during CTEF training and certification testing. Even this month’s Mindset Matters blurb addresses safety: both on the job and amidst your thoughts and emotions, as well as the responsibility of leaders to create a workplace culture where workers feel safe to share ideas and are valued.
In this issue, also meet Monique DePonte, who with her husband, Wallace, runs Ocean Tile, LLC in Waimea, Hawai’i, and will join the NTCA Board of Directors this month.
And our cover story details how materials from CUSTOM Building Products helped the construction of a new 6,000-seat home stadium for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Single-A affiliate, the Ontario Tower Buzzers.
I hope you can welcome this season with a thankful heart and a circle of friends, loved ones, clients, and colleagues who share your sense of gratitude and joy.
Lesley Goddin has been writing and journaling since her first diary at age 11. Her journey has taken her through a career in publishing and publicity, landing her the editor position of TileLetter and its special publications in 2006. Her goal is to educate, inspire, recognize and encourage those in the tile industry -- especially the tile and stone contractor.
