[Dalton] After 22 years of operation, the Nebraska Iowa Floor Covering Association (NIFCA) board voted to disband their organization, a local affiliate of the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA).

Chris Nordin, president of the organization, said, “NIFCA was established in 1995. To have a local association for that long would not have been possible without the support of our members and from the World Floor Covering Association. I would also like to thank all the past and present board members which have worked tirelessly to make this organization a success.” 

The Floor Covering Industry Foundation (FCIF) has been assisting members of the flooring industry since it was chartered in 1981. It serves as a helping hand to those who are battling medical conditions and financial crisis. Over the years, FCIF has aided many of the industry’s own, including Ararat Torabyan of Tujunga, Calif.

Andrea Dobbins — the first executive director the Floor Covering Industry Foundation (FCIF) has ever had — described the foundation as a “reset button.” Chartered in Washington D.C. in 1981, its members have been helping those in the flooring industry overcome medical and financial crises for 36 years.

“The foundation assists people who have life altering and catastrophic medical events,” Dobbins explained.

There are three criteria that must be met for an individual to apply for funds:

We have new faces in town everyday — engineers, educators, medical associates, business professionals and others choosing to make Dalton their hometown. To our new friends, there are several local groups which can connect you to area leaders, offer cultural and volunteer activities, and entertain you with social and networking events.

There’s nothing special about 36. I am at that stage of life that is past young adulthood. I don’t know if I identify with ‘middle-aged’, but I guess I’m there. Somewhere along the way, I must have grown up. Here are a few lessons that I learned.

Entrepreneur. Leader. Philanthropist. Meet Alan Greenberg, the namesake of the 15^th Annual Alan Greenberg Charity Golf Tournament which is scheduled for September 19^th at Barnsley Gardens in Adairsville, Georgia.

Greenberg spent his early years in a family owned flooring business and developed a passion for entrepreneurship, which led him to co-found CCA Global Partners, where he later became Co-Chairman and Co-CEO.

On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to visit with Don and Emily Finkell, two local entrepreneurs.

Win-Win-Win. That’s how CEO Don Finkell describes his company. The state wins. The company wins. The prisoner wins.

Inmates in Turney Correctional facility outside of Nashville, Tennessee have the opportunity to work at a fully-functioning flooring plant inside the gates of the prison. American OEM Wood Floors, Don Finkell’s brainchild, has a huge focus on social entrepreneurship. He started the company four years ago and fired up manufacturing two years later.

One of my favorite movies growing up was "The Parent Trap," the version with Hayley Mills playing the twins who meet each other for the first time — that they can remember — at summer camp as teenagers. They quickly realize how much richer their lives are together.

This column aims to share about philanthropy within the floor covering industry and the people who are leading the way in giving back and improving lives. Today, I want to introduce you to Jared Warnack, who taught me a lesson about the fear of failure.

Jared shared with me his favorite quote: “The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything.” — Theodore Roosevelt

"Old formulas don't give new solutions."

What better mantra to lead you to greet each day with a mindset of innovation? Meet Susan Farris, who recently shared this quote with me as one of her main drivers. "As individuals, as leaders, and as organizations, we must constantly be evolving and changing to be relevant and sustainable for the future," she noted.