As co-sponsor, MIA is responsible for developing educational sessions related to the stone industry that will be part of the Coverings conference program. In addition to MIA's co-sponsorship of the 2004 show, Coverings will sponsor a series of instructional CD-ROMs developed by MIA. These CD-ROMs are designed to expand and increase the level of competency in the fabrication and installation of natural stone.

“We are very pleased to have been asked to be a co-sponsor of Coverings,” said Garis F. Distelhorst, executive vice president of MIA. “We look forward to providing a high level of educational programming for the show and to strengthening the awards competition by opening it up to architects who use natural stone to enhance the beauty and value of their projects.”

The sponsoring organizations of Coverings are ASCER (Spain's Ceramic Tile Manufacturers Association), Assopiastrelle (Association of Italian Ceramic Tile and Refractories Manufacturers), CTDA (Ceramic Tile Distributors Association), NTCA (National Tile Contractors Association) and TCA (Tile Council of America).

In addition to MIA, the co-sponsors of Coverings include the American Institute of Architects (Orlando Chapter), the Associazione Italiana Marmomacchine, The American Society of Interior Designers (North Florida Chapter and Florida South Chapter), the Construction Specifications Institute (Greater Orlando Chapter), International Interior Design Association (Florida Chapter), the Terrazzo Tile and Marble Association of Canada, the Tile Contractors' Association of America, and the Tile Heritage Foundation.

For more information on attending or exhibiting at Coverings, please visit www.coverings.com or contact the show organizer, National Trade Productions, at 703-683-8500.