PHOENIX, AZ -- Recently, Cactus Stone of Phoenix, AZ, hosted 50 seventh-grade students and five staff members from the Phoenix Country Day School at its Stone Gallery.

LAWRENCEBURG, KY -- Florida Tile has been awarded $162,500 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) economic stimulus funding to replace old, inefficient lighting with advanced, energy-efficient fixtures at its manufacturing facility in Lawrenceburg, KY. Florida Tile was one of four Kentucky companies to share grants totaling $787,000. The announcement was made on May 13, 2010 by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear.

ORLANDO, FL -- After reviewing hundreds of leading tile distributors across the continent, Ceramic Tiles of Italy was pleased to announce Arizona Tile as the 2010 recipient of the Confindustria Ceramica North American Distributor Award. Each year, this award is presented to a prominent U.S. or Canadian distributor at Coverings for their dedication to the promotion and use of Italian ceramic tiles in the marketplace. In recognizing the excellence of Arizona Tile, Ceramic Tiles of Italy also bestows an unprecedented honor onto the distributor -- the first ever to receive the recognition for a second time in the program's history. This significant event confers prestige to the distributor, truly in a category all its own. Highly respected as an industry leader, Arizona Tile has over 30 years of operation and experience in residential and commercial tile sales, with more than 25 locations spread out across seven states in the Southwestern U.S.

LOS ANGELES, CA -- The call for entries for the AIA|LA Design Awards is now open. The awards competition showcases the best of built work located in Los Angeles or by LA-based architects and located elsewhere. Entrants must be members of any chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Award winners will be announced and celebrated at the AIA|LA Awards Party. Registration is due by June 2, 2010 and submittals are due by August 12, 2010.

ORLANDO, FL -- The call for entries for this year's 2010 Ceramic Tiles of Italy design competition asked North American designers and architects to show off what they can do with Italian tiles. The A&D community responded effortlessly to the challenge, with a range of outstanding submissions that clearly point to a positive new year in design. The new decade also marked the competition's shift to a completely digital application, making the application process paperless and more accessible than ever. As a result, Confindustria Ceramica, the Association of Italian Ceramics, and the Italian Trade Commission received the highest number of top-quality submissions in the competition's 17-year history. The jury was so impressed by the entries that they awarded two prizes in each category: residential, commercial/hospitality and institutional.

VALENCIA, SPAIN -- TAU Group's trademark subsidiary Porcelanatto has announced a partnership with international designer Karim Rashid in a line called NO-Stalgia. This new avant-garde style transports Rashid's design exuberance to the realm of ceramics -- creating a new medium for the decorative field. To officially unveil this line to the U.S. market, TAU, a Tile of Spain branded manufacturer, will hold a press conference at Coverings in Orlando, FL, on Wednesday, April 28 from 3 to 4 p.m. in booth #1723.

CLEVELAND, OH -- The Marble Institute of America (MIA) is now accepting entries for its enhanced 2010 Pinnacle Awards competition, which will include a new element in the judging criteria for this year's competition. This year, judges will be evaluating sustainable design elements in addition to the traditional criteria of beauty, creativity, ingenuity, craftsmanship and suitability of materials. If a submitted project displays superior effort, innovation and execution towards sustainable building goals, the MIA would consider awarding its first MIA Pinnacle Award for Sustainable Design. The Pinnacle Awards program is facilitated by the MIA and made possible by the generous sponsorship of Mapei.

SYLMAR, CA -- On February 18, the Walker Zanger showroom in Houston, TX, hosted the 2010 Administrator's Training and President's Forum for the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). Known as one of the world's most comprehensive stone and tile companies, Walker Zanger provided use of its showroom space to the ASID for this event, and it extends this same opportunity to other organizations focused on interior design, stone and tile, architecture and building. Walker Zanger's showrooms seek to give back to industry communities by providing an attractive backdrop for meetings, networking mixers, trainings and other educational events, according to the company.