Salt Lake City—Attendees totaling 157 from 48 member companies and five architectural firms attended the annual NSI Study Tour, which took place here August 25-28, with an optional extension to Idaho on August 29. Highlights included an overview of the Utah State Capitol installation project with KEPCO+, tours and activities at Mountain Valley Stone, Delta Stone Products, Valley View Granite and American Stone—with an evening at the Wolf Creek Ranch Center. The Idaho extension day included a tour of the Northern Stone Supply quarry and fabrication shop, the Star Stone fabrication shop as well as a riverside dinner and evening activities hosted by past NSI president Greg Osterhout.
“We were thrilled to host the NSI tour group at two of our locations,” said Clarissa Thomas, owner of American Stone. “It was an incredible opportunity to network with other members and make connections, share insights our company has had as we’ve adapted and grown and learn about the latest industry trends from other companies around us. We mostly enjoyed getting to know members from across North America in the stone industry and making friends. We hope the tour members had fun and made memories while they were at our stops.”
In addition to these tours, attendees also enjoyed the presentation of the 2024 Tucker Design Awards, which honored eight design teams for their use of natural stone. The 2024 Bybee Prize was presented to Lee Becker (Hartman-Cox Architects) and 2024 Thor Lundh Quarrier Award was presented to Frank Hermans (Coldspring) during the ceremony.
Attendees spoke positively of the event. “As a sponsor, the NSI Study Tour provided a great opportunity to network with quarriers, countertop fabricators and architects in a less than formal environment,” said Rob Donahue of Donatoni America. “In addition to the educational portions of the event, the relationships built have already proven invaluable.”
Moving forward, NSI study tours will take place during the second week of September. This is meant to allow members to plan in advance and keep this timeframe open. In 2025, NSI will visit the Athens, Georgia area. Future study tours are tentatively planned for Montana, Alabama, Vancouver BC, Vermont and Oklahoma. NSI members should look for announcements with specific details on the 2025 study tour early next year.