Dalton—Russell Grizzle, president of the U.S. Carpet division of Milliken,
was elected chairman of the Carpet & Rug Institute (CRI) at the association’s
annual meeting. After having served as vice chairman for the past year, Grizzle
will replace outgoing chairman Jeff Lorberbaum of Mohawk Industries. “It has
been a pleasure and an honor for us at CRI to serve under Jeff’s guidance and
we’d like to thank him for his outstanding service in leading our board of
directors and for his many contributions to our industry,” said CRI president,
Werner Braun. “We look forward to continuing to serve the industry in a positive
way under the leadership of Russell and to continue to thrive thanks to such
strong leadership.”
Jim Bethel of J&J Industries was elected to replace Grizzle as vice chairman
for 2005. The CRI is comprised of six permanent members from the institute’s
largest manufacturer members which, besides Grizzle, include: Robert Shaw of
Shaw Industries; Lorberbaum; Carl Bouckaert of The Beaulieu Group; Dan Hendrix
of Interface, and Mac Bridger of The Tandus Group. The board also includes three
members from the largest fiber producers which include: Alan Wolk of Invista;
Dick Prinstein of Honeywell, and Brad Hill of Solutia.
The remaining four members are rotating seats which will be filled by Dan
Frierson of The Dixie Group; Bethel; Jack Ganley of Mannington, and Mike Gallman
of Blue Ridge Industries. Gerald Embry of Shaw has been re-appointed to serve as
CRI’s treasurer. The newly elected board appointed six members to CRI’s policy
committee. They are: Grizzle, Shaw, Lorberbaum, Bethel, Bouckaert and Wolk. The
annual meeting was highlighted by recognition for several individuals who served
the organization through their contributions on various committees and boards.
Those recognized were: Lorberbaum; Jim Jolly of J&J, and Julie Smith of SI
Flooring. Carey Mitchell of Shaw and Paul Frierson of The Dixie Group were each
honored for their committee service.
Fred Schramm, NASA’s engineering directorate and administrator of the
Research and Development Program for Marshall Flight Center, highlighted the
luncheon by announcing NASA and CRI had joined forces to introduce Space
Technology into the way carpets are cleaned. The program is slated to launch
this spring. In other news, Frank Endrenyi, head of technology development and
sustainable development for Mohawk, was presented with the Joseph J. Smrekar
Memorial Award for his contributions to CRI and the industry. The award was
conceived by Milliken for the CRI as a memorial to Smrekar who passed away in
1998.
“Through the generosity of Milliken, Dr. Joe was able to serve CRI on
numerous technical committees and boards as chairman, representative and
member,” Braun explained. “The award states, ‘Many of the technical achievements
in the carpet industry can be attributed to the leadership of this exceptional
individual, scholar, scientist, respected researcher and teacher.’ The award
recognizes individuals who have similarly shown unusual and exemplary service to
the carpet and rug industry.” Selection of the award is made annually by the CRI
and each recipient receives an individual award while a plaque listing the names
of annual honorees is displayed at CRI. For more on CRI, call 706/278-3176. —Kathlene
Vercellino
