The year 2008 was a tumultuous one, confusing and confounding, full of apprehension and foreboding. The economy plunged to new lows, unemployment set record highs, the housing market was buried in foreclosures, savings and investment institutions were on the brink of bankruptcy, and automakers beseeched the government for a lifeline that would keep their companies breathing. The idea that we were in a recession was no longer discussed in whispers, but noted economists and government officials dared to use the word depression in describing our plight and its ultimate consequences. The war in Iraq continued and though casualties diminished dramatically, people still clamored for an end to the conflict and the return of our troops to America.

For many businesses it was a dismal year. Retailers saw a precipitous drop in store traffic and recalcitrant consumers in their showrooms. Gas prices soared and people responded by drastically reducing their driving time and shopping close to home, a base they were reluctant to leave. Then, in the living room or at the kitchen table, they read the newspaper or watched television and were depressed and disgusted by the almost daily accounts of corporate corruption and personal greed.

As painful as this past year was, a bright light flickered now and then—not often enough, of course—but it gave us pause to reinforce our resolve, gird for the challenges ahead and dig in. Foremost, the country made 2008 most memorable by electing its first African American president in its 232-year history. That is truly an amazing accomplishment. And reassuring. A country that can demolish barriers, overcome prejudices and transcend monumental differences can keep the faith and fight the epic battle to keep our date with destiny.

Each year we remember friends and colleagues who passed away, how they touched our lives, how they made a difference, and we pay a final tribute. We celebrate their achievements, and we appreciate their contributions to our industry. It is unfortunate that we cannot list, nor do we know, every person in our industry who died last year; our efforts are limited to those of whom we are aware and those included in published obituaries.

So, here is our year-end homage to our friends and associates, to the good times we shared and those not so good, to the warm memories left behind and the friendships that remain.

MANUFACTURERS

Marvin Baron, 66, was national sales manager for Arnold Precision Manufacturing, which was acquired by Capitol Industries, and he remained in that position until his retirement in 2004.

David Beal, 84, founded Dura Undercushions in Canada in 1957, producing carpet cushion made from recycled tire rubber. He was a pioneer in the Canadian market and practiced environmental friendliness long before being green came into vogue. He sold the company to Michael Wilson in 1989 but remained active in it until January of 2008, when he became ill and withdrew.

Brian N. Bean was a salesman in the ceramic tile industry, dividing his long career between Florida Tile and Custom Building Products.

Ken Bieschke, began his career with PCI, a German adhesive manufacturer, then moved to International Tile in 1988 and to Villeroy & Boch before joining Virginia Tile as regional manager in 2001, the position he held when he became seriously ill. He was president of the Chicago Floorcovering Association in 2007.

Jeanne Carroll, 52, spent her entire floor covering career at Feizy Import & Export Co., which she joined in 1995 as director of advertising and marketing. She was also instrumental in the creation of Feizy’s award-winning Home Catalogue and in securing the company’s four-time recognition by the Accessories Resource Team (ART) as Area Rug Manufacturer of the Year.

Martin Greenwood, 76, was in the carpet business for more than 40 years, founding Wadsworth-Greenwood Corp., Multitex Corp. and Globaltex Carpet Mills. He served as CEO of the three companies and retired in 1999, when he sold Multitex and its spin-off Glo-baltex to the Dixie Group, which sold it to Shaw Industries in 2003.

David Lee Morrison, 70, had a 40-year career in the carpet industry, where he became a sales executive for the Roxbury Division of Trend Mills and then Berven Carpet Corp. and Coronet Industries. In 1985, he started his own business, a sales agency, which operated until his death.

Charles Mussalem III, 57, was the long-time president of No- Muv, carpet cushion and underlayment manufacturer, and president of Mussalem Oriental Rugs & Galleries, an institution in Florida since it was founded by his grandfather in 1897. Born, raised and educated in Jacksonville, Fla., he was a philanthropist and a tireless worker in the community, for the city and on university boards and those of banks and other major businesses.

Charles Parham, 69, was an executive in the carpet industry for more than 35 years, serving with WestPoint Pepperell, J.P. Stevens, World Carpets and, in 1985, as president of Columbus Mills until 1992. Then he joined Queen Carpet as vice president of manufacturing and stayed in the post until 1998, when Shaw Industries acquired Queen.

Frank Pino, 77, spent more than 50 years in the carpet industry as an executive with Bigelow-Sanford Carpet Co., Coronet Industries and Salem Carpet Mills, and then as the owner of Carpets of Distinction, an Atlanta company servicing the upscale designer community.

Lawrence Sindoni, 73, joined Couristan in 1980 as a territory sales manager and then was in charge of distribution of the company’s area rugs and residential broadloom throughout the northern New England region. He held the position until his retirement in 2005.

DISTRIBUTORS

Dean McKinney, 79, began his career in 1954 as a marketing representative for Armstrong Cork Co. in New York and two years later moved to Chicago to work for Carson Pirie Scott (CPS) as a residential sales rep. In 1964, he became CPS’ Minneapolis assistant district manager, then district manager and in 1967 became the Cleveland district manager. In 1969, he was named vice president of sales and marketing for Roxbury Carpet Co., then a subsidiary of CPS. After several promotions, in 1984 he became president and CEO of the wholesale flooring division. Two years later he became chairman. In 1987, he retired, but he was coaxed out of retirement to be executive director of the fledging Floor Covering Consumer Credit Association (FC*CCA), known as the Flex credit card. He retired for good in 1992. He was a charter member of the World Floor Covering Association Industry Hall of Fame.

Thomas R. Peck, Sr., 91, was co-founder of Custom Building Products in 1964. The company is a tile installation product supplier with 1,500 employees in 15 locations. He began his career in the 1950s as the owner and operator of a small paint company.

Thomas Sandifer, 72, served only one company—Cain & Bultman—in a career that spanned almost half a century. He began as a salesman and was chairman and CEO when he died. He was named president in 1979, succeeding his father, Norwood Sandifer. In 1995, when he was promoted to chairman and CEO, his brother, Michael, became president.

David Shapiro, 87, spent more than 40 years in the carpet industry and it all began with his first job as a salesman for Aldon Rug Mills. He was eventually recruited to be president of Lack Carpet Co., a prominent Mohawk distributor headquartered in New York. When Mohawk divested itself of Lack, he joined Erich Arje, his brother-in-law, and they formed Arje Shapiro Partnership, a manufacturer’s representative. He retired in 1995.

RETAILERS

Bert Counselbaum, 86, began a 68-year career in the floor covering industry as a stock clerk for Contractor’s Furniture & Carpet Co. in Chicago. After a stint in the Army in World War II, he rejoined Contractor’s as a salesman, and in 1971, after the store closed, he and three other salesmen, formed MillMart Carpet & Design Center. The business flourished for two decades, but when his son started The Floor Source, he closed MillMart and joined the new company. Then, after The Floor Source closed, he became part of a team at Superior Installations with his sons.

Bernard (Budd) Feldman, 92, was a premier retailer for 53 of his 73 years in the industry. In 1934, he joined his father’s struggling business, Security Floors. He joined the Merchant Marines in 1942, during World War II, and after his discharge in 1945, he returned to the floor covering industry and a year later he founded Budd Looms, a unique designer showroom that catered to the residential and contract markets. After a successful run for more than half a century, he closed the business in 1999 but did not retire. He continued to sell carpet and be a consultant until the end of his life.

Henry ‘Hank’ Heckman, 90, landed his first industry job in 1938 in Chicago. In 1943, he joined the Army and was discharged in 1947. He moved from San Francisco to San Jose in 1959 to manage Floorcraft, a retail operation and in the early ’60s, he bought the business. He was active in the industry and was one of the founders of the Western Floor Covering Association and also served a term as president. In the mid-’90s he retired.

Gail Marie Johnson, 51, was the office manager for Architectural Ceramic Products of Boardman, Ohio, for five years.

Bernard M. Levy, 79, was a retailer for most of his four decades in the industry. He was a vice president for Misco-Shawnee, a distributor headquartered in St. Louis, and then became the head buyer of carpet and rugs for Goldblatt’s in Chicago. He also served as president of the Chicago Floorcovering Association.

Don Mendenhall, 79, was the founder of CarpeTalk, a chain of Midwest-based franchised retail flooring stores that reached a high of 46 in 1974. Over a two-year period, he and his staff built 46, 4,000-square-foot. stores in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. He sold the company in 1976 and bought the Colony Club in Dayton, Ohio, a bar and supper club. He began his flooring career with Myron Cornish Co., and, in 1959, he purchased the company and started Don Mendenhall Inc. When volume hit $3.5 million to $4 million, he launched CarpeTalk.

John Millar, 70, was the owner and founder of Avalon Carpet Tile & Flooring, one of the largest flooring retailers in the country. He opened the store in Avalon, N.J., in 1958, and it has become the sixth largest in the nation with 14 locations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, and 350 employees. During the 1970s and 1980s, he established Avalon Commercial Corp. and Avalon Marble, a marble and granite fabricating company. He received many awards, the most recent being the Karastan Dealer of the Year and the Mohawk Dealer of the Year.

INSTALLERS

Eugene F. Grazzini, Sr., 93, was the head of Grazzini Brothers & Co. since 1933. He began his career as a laborer and then joined the family business, started by his father and uncle. Grazzini was a Pioneer Member and president of the Tile Contractors Association of America in 1972/73. He received the Carl V. Cesery Memorial Award in 1977 and the Giacomo DeLazzero Lifetime Achieve-ment Award in 2002, the year he retired.

Tor Meberg, 79, worked for Consolidated Carpet for more than 45 years and ultimately became the contractor’s chairman. He also was twice chairman of the Floor Covering Installers Contractors Association (FCICA), as the organization’s founding chairman in 1982/83 and again in 1991/92. He won the Francis McHale Scholarship Award for his service to the floor covering industry.

ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT

Mark Hansen was a legal counsel for the Institute of inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) for more than 20 years. Most recently, he was a significant contributor to the organization’s S500 Water Restoration Standard and S520 Mold Remediation Standard.

Robert A. Hund, 81, was the managing director of the Marble Institute of America from 1980 to 1995, during which he built membership from 34 to more than 650. He edited and published the industry magazine, Stone Through the Ages, and, from 1963 to 2005, he was the public relations director of southeastern Michigan’s Great Lakes Ceramic Tile Council.

JOURNALIST/PUBLICIST

Patricia Chapman-Jones started as a reporter for a small newspaper in Mandan, N.D., and went on to write for New York Daily News, Parade Magazine, The Newark Star-Ledger and Home Furnishings Daily. From 1974 to 1985, she was a freelance writer for Floor Covering Weekly, her bylined articles lauded by most of its readers. In the mid-1980s, she founded her own public relations firm, Chapman-Jones Communications, specializing in home furnishings. She served as president of the New York chapter of the International Furnishings and Design Association.

RECYCLING

Michael Flynn of QuickSilver Recycling in Tampa, Fla., was a founding member of Carpet America Recovery Effort ( CARE).