The National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA), the largest tile contractors association in the world, presented the Fifth Annual TileLetter Awards on Thursday, May 1st during a Coverings 2008 special ceremony at the Orange County Convention Center. The NTCA presented national contracting professionals with three Commercial Awards and four Residential Awards, and also presented the Yarborough family with the prestigious Joe Tarver Cornerstone Award.

New or remodeling/renovation projects completed between January 2003 through January 2008 in both the residential and commercial sectors were eligible to win cash prizes and a feature in future issues of TileLetter Magazine.

Commercial Winners:

• Commercial Grand Prize Winner
Paragon Prairie Tower, Urbandale, IA
Contractor: Des Moines Marble & Mantel Co., Des Moines, IA

• Commercial Award of Merit Winner
Phoenix Sky Harbor Terminal 4 Retail Renovation, Phoenix, AR
Contractor: Scuderi Tile Contractors, Inc., Phoenix, AR

• Commercial Honorable Mention
University of New Mexico Childrens Hospital Extension, Albuquerque, NM
Contractor: Ray’s Flooring, Albuquerque, NM

This year, there was a tie for Residential Grand Prize Winner:

• Jalnos Residence, San Antonio, Texas
Contractor: Cox Tile, San Antonio, Texas

• Pratt Residences Master Bathroom, McLean, Va.
Contractor: Holland Tile Premier Installers, Rockville, MD

Other Residential Winners include:

• Residential Award of Merit Winner
Paradise Valley Bathroom, Paradise Valley, Arizona
Contractor: Picasso Tile & Design Inc., Phoenix, AR

• Residential Honorable Mention
Woz Master Bath, Bloomfield Hills, MI.
Contractor: Tanya and Jeff Woods/ X Styles and X Tiles, Royal Oak, MI.

For winning projects based on installation excellence, the NTCA also awarded the esteemed Joe A. Tarver Cornerstone Award for Service to the Industry to the Yarborough family – a driving force in the tile industry with D&B Tile Distributors. The company, headquartered in Sawgrass, Florida, purchases more than 2,000 containers of tile each year and maintains more than a $5 million dollars in inventory in the Sunrise, Florida operation.

“We are proud of our role in helping establish tile as the most durable, cost-effective and attractive floor covering for the Florida lifestyle,” said Harold Yarborough. “We will continually strive to maintain our market share and assist our customers with new products and services in this exciting industry.”

NTCA is a non-profit trade association serving every segment of the industry, spearheading education for the professional installation of ceramic tile and allied products. For more information, please contact NTCA membership director Bob Brown at bob@tile-assn.com, via telephone at (601) 939-2071, or visit www.tile-assn.com.