ARLINGTON, Va.—Coverings has released a schedule of segment-focused Appreciation Days that provide enhanced learning and networking opportunities for builders, remodelers, architects, designers, contractors and fabricators. While programming for all groups will be held throughout Coverings, Appreciation Days are designed to feature tailored guided tours of the show floor, lunch, focused education sessions and more.
Dates and programming highlights for the 2017 Appreciation Days are:
- Tuesday, April 4: Builder and Remodeler Day will kick off with a conference session at 8:00 a.m. entitled, “Critical Changes to Industry Standards, Guidelines and Best Practices” let by Eric Astrachan, executive director of Tile Council of North America. At 11:00 a.m. the Builder & Remodeler program will tour the exhibit floor with hosts Dean and Derek to see tile, stone and installation materials from around the world. After the tour, Dean and Derek will lead a roundtable discussion—”Bringing the Indoors Out and Show Floor Trends”—during lunch in the Appreciation Lounge. Other sessions for builders and remodelers include: “Trends in Tile: Moving Forward”; “New Directions for Gauged (formerly Thin) Porcelain Tile”; “Connecting Actual Job Costs Back to Estimating”; and “Paying for Performance or Just Paying.”
- Wednesday, April 5: Architect and Designer Day will feature several notable sessions in addition to a trends tour led by Coverings’ Industry Ambassador Alena Capra at 11:00 a.m. Attendees can join Alena for a roundtable discussion and lunch in the Appreciation Lounge at 12:15 p.m.
- Wednesday, April 5 -Thursday, April 6: Contractor Days, spanning two days at the show, will include key sessions, like “Introduction to Tile Industry Standards and How to Use Them to Your Advantage” and “How to Become a Certified Tile Installer.” The Contractor tour will take place on both Wednesday and Thursday at 11:00 a.m. followed by a luncheon in the Contractor Lounge; additionally, happy hours with giveaways will be offered in the afternoons.
- Friday, April 7: Fabricator Day features a session by James Dion, president and owner of Dionco Inc., focusing on what the new consumer’s expectations are and how to exceed them. The Fabricator tour will begin at 11:00 a.m., and immediately following will be a luncheon and roundtable discussion on building a culture and diversifying a business.
In addition to the 2017 Appreciation Days, Coverings has added four new contractor/installer session tracks: Contractor Advanced Business Topics; Contractor Beginner-Intermediate Topics; Thin-Tile Mini-Track; and En Español for Spanish-speaking attendees.
Coverings 2017 will be held in Orlando from April 4-7 at the Orange County Convention Center. Learn more about the Appreciation Day events and other conference programming here.