St. Louis, Mo.—The National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) has inducted Chester (Chet) Derr, Jr. of Derr Flooring Co. into its Legacy Scholarship program through the NWFA Education and Research Foundation (NERF). The NERF Legacy Scholarship program honors individuals who made significant throughout their lives to advance the wood flooring industry.
Chet Derr, Jr. joined Derr Flooring Co. in 1965, following his grandfather, father and uncle into the family business. After learning the business from them, he became president of Derr Flooring in 1994 and CEO in 2000, growing the company into one of the largest wood flooring distributors in the nation. Derr was also a pioneer of the “Pro Show,” bringing suppliers in to educate and train customers. The active involvement in the company of his children and grandchildren is his lasting legacy.
“Chet Derr, Jr.’s passion for educating his customers on the newest techniques in flooring installation, sanding and finishing was a gift to our industry,” said Jim Schumacher, chairman of the NERF board of directors. “His vision led Derr Flooring Co. to be one of the first distributors to promote water-based floor finish, the Hummel belt sander and urethane-based wood flooring adhesive. He was also one of the early architects of what are now the NWFA Regional Training schools. Chet made it his mission to ensure that his customers had all the knowledge possible to be professionals in the field. His commitment to the industry continues today in so many ways, and his legacy is honored through NWFA training.”
NERF was established to provide industry research and educate future generations of wood flooring professionals. The NERF Legacy Scholarship program helps the NWFA keep training costs to a minimum for participants. Through NERF, NWFA offers educational opportunities like hands-on training, NWFA University, NWFA Live Edge, and scholarships. Since 2014, NWFA has awarded scholarships totaling more than $65,000. To learn more about the NERF Legacy Scholarship program and other scholarships the NWFA offers, visit NWFA’s scholarship page here.