The World Floor Covering Association’s 50th anniversary festivities, which began with a $50,000 giveaway in February at Surfaces, culminated Oct. 2 with a gala event at the Scottsdale Plaza and Resort, in Arizona. The celebration attracted more than 200 people, including 32 past presidents and chairmen of the Retail Floorcovering Institute and the American, Western and World floor covering associations, the most ever in one place at one time. Wally Herder, a near-original Western Floor Covering Association member and the group’s president in 1969, was the oldest past president in attendance.

Coordinated by Dennis Blake, the event featured a 42-minute DVD with photos highlighting the last half-century as well as the induction of retail icon Marv Berlin, owner of New York Carpet World, into the WFCA Hall of Fame.