CLASSY PROMO: Armstrong Flooring will launch a national consumer sales event on Sept. 15 in partnership with Abbey Carpet & Floor and Floors To Go that will benefit Gilda’s Club Worldwide, a non-profit cancer support organization. The promotion will run until Nov. 15 and is designed to increase store traffic and build laminate flooring sales during the fall selling season. When a consumer purchases Armstrong laminate flooring, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Gilda’s Club, a network of affiliate clubhouses where men, women and children, as well as their friends and families, meet to learn how to live with cancer, whatever the outcome. Gilda’s Club is named in memory of comedienne Gilda Radner, best known for her work on “Saturday Night Live,” who died of ovarian cancer in 1989. During the promotion, a Web page—Armstrong.com/laminatesale—will be available for consumers to get information and locate participating stores.

MILESTONE: The indomitable and ubiquitous Nick Romanelli, the consummate salesman and the bulwark of distribution, at the end of July marked his 50th year in the floor covering industry. His career is storied, his achievements celebrated and his leadership is legendary. It all began a half century ago, when he joined Benj. Berman, an East Coast distributor on the verge of explosive growth. He started as a driver for the patriarch and company namesake and then was assigned to the order desk. He soon became a salesman and earned a promotion to sales manager and then was named vice president of sales. His crowning achievement was his promotion to executive vice president of the organization. After 28 years with Berman, he joined Apollo Distributing for two years, Columbus Mills for eight years, and for the past 12 years has been the vice president of sales and marketing for Norman D. Lifton Co. He started driving a car and went on to drive companies. Nick has the knack. He puts the lift in Lifton.

CHECK CHINA: One effect of the economic downturn in China has been a 6% decrease in tax revenues in the first half of the year. This shortfall has prompted the State Administration of Tax to increase the number of audits it will conduct this year. Therefore, foreign invested enterprises should expect increased scrutiny of their accounting records and prepare accordingly by making sure that their books have been maintained properly. Local tax authorities have already begun requesting companies to review their books to be certain they do not have outstanding tax payments, including corporate taxes as well as individual income tax. For more information, email tim.lamb@jljgroup.com.

GORE AND MORE: Former Vice President Al Gore will give the keynote address to thousands of Greenbuild attendees at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, on Nov. 11, the opening day of the annual eco conference. Also featured as part of the opening celebration will be an address by USGBC president, CEO and founding chair Rick Fedrizzi, and a closing concert with nine-time Grammy winner Sheryl Crow. Gore served four terms in Congress, two terms in the Senate and two terms as Vice President and has written the bestsellers “Earth in the Balance,” “An Inconvenient Truth,” and the just-released “Our Choice.” The first 5,000 registered full-conference attendees will receive a complimentary copy of Gore’s latest book. For more information on Greenbuild 2009, call 866.579.8413.

WEIRD: Do you ever wonder why people are so peculiar? I do sometimes and I can’t figure it out. For example, if you tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe, he’ll believe you. But tell him a bench has just been painted, he’s got to touch it to be sure. Why?