Nashville, Tenn.—As debuts go, the inaugural Synergy Convention & Expo, the uniting of four flooring trade bodies, virtually guaranteed there will be an encore performance, as more than 400 attendees packed into the conference room here at the Sheraton Music City Hotel.
Synergy, billed as “one industry, one expo,” grew out of the joint CFI + FCICA convention and expanded to include Flooring Consultants and Inspection Training Services (FCITS) and FCB2B. “This event is about training, trust and transformation,” said Beth Brown Sorrell, executive director of FCITS, the certified flooring inspection group.
For years, Certified Flooring Installers (CFI) and Flooring Contractors Association (FCICA) operated independently, hosting their own trade shows. Seeing a need to collaborate, CFI and FCICA held a combined trade show two years ago, with great success. FCITS and FCB2B joined the mix this year under the auspices of the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA).
“For too long the industry has operated in silos rather than coming together,” said Scott Humphrey, WFCA CEO.
In recognition of this coming together, Humphrey awarded former FCICA executive director Pat Kelly with the Circle of Excellence “Challenge Coin,” an honor bestowed to only a handful of flooring luminaries; the coin recognizes people who have done “unique and special things.” Kelly was instrumental in forging the alliance to bring the disparate groups together.
The result is a conference that drew a crowd roughly four times the size of previous events. “This is amazing; it’s so great to see this turnout,” Kelly said. The general session kicked off with an entertaining keynote address from Dan Thurmon, author and president of Motivation Works Inc., who spoke to attendees about rediscovering their inner greatness, navigating change and taking bold action. “If you limit yourself to what’s comfortable you deny yourself what’s possible,” he said.
Thurmon, who encouraged attendees to “lean into the uncertainty; stay positive and committed to ongoing improvement,” illustrated many of his points with stunts—including riding around on a unicycle, juggling several objects and doing a handstand on the lectern, a nod to his prowess as a gymnast at the University of Georgia.
CFI, FCICA updates
While executives from CFI and FCICA say they are stronger together, both organizations are thriving on their own quite well. Rod Von Busch, CFI advisory board chairman, spoke about the growth of the installation group, which now has 13 chapters across the country (soon to be 14). That’s up from just three chapters a few years ago. “Our membership is what makes this group tick; it’s the most unique and respected training group in the industry,” Von Busch said.
As for the future, CFI installer and retailer John Steier talk ed about the group’s legacy and encouraged members to pay it forward. “What is our legacy? It’s training, it’s lifting our standards across the board.”
Steier encouraged every installer in the room to find someone they see potential in, reach out and be a mentor. “Help that person get to where they want to be,” Steier said. “If it wasn’t for CFI and the people who mentored me here, I wouldn’t be standing up here. I believe all of you in CFI would love to get involved with students and share what you know. To that end, I believe FCEF [Floor Covering Education Foundation] is a great feeder program for our group.”
At FCICA, membership is on the rise, with 19 companies joining the group this year, giving them 334 in total. What’s more, FCICA’s signature Certified Installation Manager (CIM) program—now 10 years old—has certified more than 500 individuals. These professionals have gone on to become installation managers for commercial flooring projects.
Look for more on this event in an upcoming edition of FCNews.
