Anaheim, Calif.— Jim Walker, founding president of the International Certified Floorcovering Installers Association (CFI), will be inducted into the World Floor Covering Association’s ( WFCA) Hall of Fame during Surfaces 2005. Walker, the 32nd inductee, is the first installer to be recognized for the honor. “I am honored to receive this award, but the CFI members and associates have earned it also,” said Walker. “My hope is that this will focus more attention on installation which has been my goal now for many years.”

“This honor is long over due and more than warranted,” added Riley Gazzaway, CFE and chairman of the WFCA Industry Hall of Fame Committee. “Throughout Jim’s career in the floor covering industry, his name has become synonymous with professionalism, integrity, leadership, education and training. His vision has added a whole new dimension to the way our products are bought and sold.” Walker entered the industry 40 years ago when he started Walker’s Carpeting, a Kansas-based flooring installation workroom representing residential and commercial clients across the country. Since then, he has led an industry movement to promote quality installation and, his tireless efforts on behalf of the floor covering mechanic, have helped raise the level of professionalism of the trade and made installers a true partner with manufacturers and retailers, noted Gazzaway.

In 1993, Walker led a group of concerned floor covering professionals and formed CFI, an association dedicated to training installers and ensuring that quality is delivered on every job. That same year he was installed as its first president. CFI continues to grow at an aggressive pace which is evident from it expanding its membership in several foreign countries. It currently has 41 chapters and more than 14,000 members. “Very early on Jim recognized customers would pay for quality installations,” Gazzaway pointed out. “His goal was to give mechanics the training and tools to be able to deliver a product that exceeded the consumer’s expectations. Today, installers who have benefitted from Jim’s training bring a level of pride to each job that is unmatched in the industry.”

In addition, Walker is a member of the WFCA, the Heart of America Floorcovering Association (HAFA) and a recipient of the 1991 HAFA Hall of Fame Award. He continues to be active in the industry by conducting seminars both locally and nationally for installers, sales personnel, architects, manufacturers and many floor covering associations. The reception and induction ceremony will be held on Jan. 27, at the Venetian Hotel and Casino at 7:30 p.m. For more information about the Hall of Fame or WFCA, call 800/624-6880.