St. Louis, Mo. – The National Wood Flooring Association announced its 2012 Degree recipients during its Wood Flooring Expo in Orlando, FL. The degrees were presented during an Awards Luncheon held on Thursday, April 12. A total of 51 members earned NWFA degrees in 2012, bringing the total since the program began to 781.
NWFA degrees recognize individuals who have been members of the NWFA for a minimum of three consecutive years, and who reach specific levels of achievement in wood flooring education, personal accomplishment, and service to the industry.
Craftsman Degrees are awarded to individuals who achieve 25 credits for education, achievement and service, of which 15 must be in education. This year’s Craftsman Degree recipients are as follows: Matt Crawford, Clarke American Sanders, Plymouth, MN; John Freeto, WoodCraft Wood Floors, Inc., Mount Vernon, WA; Joseph Ho, Qualiwood Enterprises, Inc., Burnaby, BC, Canada; Sharlene Lacroix, Qualiwood Enterprises, Inc., Burnaby, BC, Canada; Claudia Lezell, Inspections Too, Inc., Friendswood, TX; Michael McDermott, McDermott Hardwood Flooring, Evergreen Park, IL; Jeff Meltzer, Universal Hardwood Flooring & Moulding, Inc., Los Angeles, CA; David Paal, Premier Flooring Services, LLC, Greenfield, IN; Joe Rocco, Artistic Floors by Design, Inc., Parker, CO; Kellie Hawkins Schaffner, Waterlox Coatings Corp., Cleveland, OH; John Shepard, Carpet One Floor & Home, Panama City, FL; Troy Smith, Jr., Smith Bros Enterprises, Inc., Newport News, VA; Joe Szenyeri, Joseph Szenyeri, Huntington Beach, CA; Jason Vivash, J L Vivash Custom Wood Floors, Ltd., Paris, ON, Canada; Peter West, West Flooring & Design, Inc., Shoreham, NY; John Wong, Golden Trim Enterprises, Burnaby, BC, Canada; and Tony Ziola, Basic Coatings, Toledo, OH.
Master Craftsman Degrees are awarded to individuals who have achieved the Craftsman Degree, who have attended or served as an instructor at an NWFA Advanced or Expert School and/or has received an NWFA Floor of the Year Award, and who has earned 25 credits, of which 15 are for achievement. This year’s Master Craftsman Degree recipients are as follows: Rob Zehnder, CBA Sports Floors, Norcross, GA.
The Advanced Master Degree is awarded to individuals who have received the Master Craftsman Degree, and who have earned 25 achievement credits. This year’s Advanced Master Degree recipients are as follows: Reed Maddray, Maddray Flooring, LLC, Charleston, SC; and Craig McIntosh, DuraSeal, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Vanguard Degrees are awarded to individuals who have earned 25 credits, of which 15 are for service and/or achievement to the industry. This year’s Vanguard Degree recipients are as follows: Hank Adams, Buckeye Hardwood & Lumber Co., Arlee, MT; Craig Anderson, Fine Cut Wood Flooring, Inc., Derry, NH; Scott Avery, Modern Tech Floors, LLC, Portland, OR; Martin Ceballos, Bona US, Aurora, CO; Peter Connor, WD Flooring, Laona, WI; Brian Gamet, Glitsa, a division of Rudd Company, Seattle, WA; Greg Gaylord, Gaylord Forest Products, Ltd., Tweed, ON, Canada; Lewis Gaylord, Gaylord Forest Products, Ltd., Tweed, ON, Canada; Bob Haggard, Hassell & Hughes Lumber Company, Inc., Collinwood, TN; David Harrison, Custom Wholesale Floors, Inc., Jacksonville, FL; Steven Heller, HYHardwood Floors, San Carlos, CA; Mike Hodges, UFLOOR Systems, Inc., Aurora, CO; Gary Horvath, ATC Hardwood Flooring, Inc., Bergenfield, NJ; Mike Johns, Bostik, Inc., Orange Park, FL; Brenda Kubasta, Oshkosh Designs, Winneconne, WI; Brett Miller, Basic Coatings, Castle Rock, CO; Chris Pryjomski , Pryjomski Wood Floors, Seattle, WA; Briggs Sanders, Bostik, Inc., Middleton, MA; John Saunders, Connecticut Wood Floor, LLC, Chester, CT; and John Wooten, CMH Space Flooring Products, Inc., Marietta, GA.
The Ambassador Degree is awarded to individuals who have received the Vanguard Degree, and who have earned 25 service credits. This year’s Ambassador Degree recipients are as follows: Mark Elwell, Bamboo Flooring Hawaii, LLC, Honolulu, HI; Jeff Fairbanks, Palo Duro Hardwoods, Inc., Denver, CO; and Jon Namba, Namba Services, Inc., Salt Lake City, UT.
Honorary Vanguard degrees recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to the NWFA and the wood flooring industry. Honorary Vanguard degree recipients must be nominated by an NWFA member, must be reviewed by the NWFA Executive Committee, and must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the NWFA Board of Directors. This year’s Honorary Vanguard Degree recipients are as follows: Mickey Moore, Wood Flooring Advisors, Arlington, TN.
The National Wood Flooring Association is a not-for-profit trade organization, with more than 3,100 members world-wide, dedicated to educating consumers, architects, designers, specifiers and builders in the uses and benefits of wood flooring. NWFA members receive the best in educational training, benefits, technical resources and networking, to advance their professionalism and success. The NWFA is located at 111 Chesterfield Industrial Boulevard, Chesterfield, MO 63005, and can be contacted at 800-422-4556 (USA & Canada), 636-519-9663 (local and international), or on-line at www.nwfa.org.