The Marble Institute of America, Inc. (MIA) elected a new Board of Directors at its annual meeting, held December 4-6 in Atlanta, GA. in conjunction with StonExpo 2003. The group appointed Paul Vigna of Artisan Tile & Marble of New Jersey as President for 2004; Scott Lardner of Rocky Mountain Stone Co. as Vice President; Kenny Krebs of Tennessee Tile & Marble Co. Inc. as Secretary; and Jack Seiders of Architectural Granite & Marble as Treasurer. Newly elected to the Board of Directors were Jim Hogan of Carrara Marble Company of America, Inc. and Jim Janochoski of Cold Spring Granite Company. “I'm very excited and honored to take the reins of MIA at this critical time in the natural stone industry, when MIA's role in educating the design community and the general public about the value of real stone is more important than ever,” stated Vigna, who succeeds Richard A. Booms of Booms Stone Company in Redford, MI. “Rich Booms and the staff of MIA have done a tremendous job this past year increasing MIA's influence in stone education and promotion, and I intend to build upon their success in the months ahead.”

Overall, it was a very successful show for MIA, which broke a new membership record when it enrolled its 1,000th member at the event. Hilltop Contracting of Clark Lake, MI, became the 1,000th natural stone business to join the organization. The organization's Cornerstone Forum seminars were also well received in Atlanta. “Over 3,100 registered for MIA educational seminars this year, an increase of nearly 75% from 2002,” reported MIA Executive Vice President Garis F. Distelhorst. “MIA introduced several new educational seminars for fabricators and installers and all were enthusiastically received. Architects and designers also responded positively to the new sessions designed expressly for them.” According to Distelhorst, StonExpo registrants numbered over 5,000, up 25% from the previous year. StonExpo also recorded a record number of exhibitors and exhibit space.

MIA also presented its highly coveted Pinnacle Awards for achievement in natural stone commercial and residential projects to 10 member companies and posthumously awarded the first MIA Migliore Award for Lifetime Achievement to the late Vincent R. Migliore, MIA's long-time Technical Director who passed away in November. Pinnacle Award-winning projects are featured on MIA's web site - www.marble-institute.com - and in a full-color brochure available from MIA.