Dallas—The 2026 North American Association of Floor Covering Distributors + North American Building Material Distribution Association convention (NAFCD+NBMDA) kicked off in earnest here earlier this week. From jam-packed educational sessions and keynote presentations to a bustling trade show floor teeming with attendees, there was no shortage of opportunities for participants to network and learn.
“This convention is an investment in your business and the relationships that drive it, and that’s strengthening the distribution channel for all floor covering,” said Austin Starnes, outgoing NAFCD president and COO of BPI, in his opening remarks to attendees. He went on to stress the importance of taking the time to proactively meet with both new members and first-time exhibitors. “I personally got to spend time with several people that I’ve never spent time with, and it was really good to make those connections. That’s what this is all about.”
Indeed, the level of participation and enthusiasm at convention was high from the start. Here are a few highlights from day one:
NAFCD presented Jack Adleta, a 50-plus year industry veteran, with the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award. This honor is bestowed upon an individual whose longstanding career has made a significant and lasting impact on the distribution channel.
“Jack’s contributions span decades of dedicated service and innovation, shaping the industry and elevating its standards through his vision, influence and commitment,” Starnes stated. “He began his career as an Armstrong flooring and carpet distributor before making a name for himself with the Adleta Corporation. His career has been embodied by the motto, ‘Turn your inventory, but don’t turn your people.’ He has been a valued mentor to many in the field and a trusted advisor and collaborator across all distributors.”
In his heartfelt and sometimes humorous acceptance speech, Adleta thanked the industry at large, his close associates, his management team and his family members—especially his wife, Diane, and his daughter, Ashley—who were on hand to see him accept the award.
“What an honor and a privilege it is to receive this award,” Adleta told attendees. “It’s been so many years that I’ve been involved with so many quality people. It’s been a pleasure to be the third generation of a family that started a business back in 1920..”
Separately, NAFCD presented the 2026 NAFCD Member of the Year award to Tiffany Bless, vice president of client relations at Jast Media—a privately held digital marketing and web solutions company specializing in B2B and B2C platforms, product data solutions and performance marketing for operators in the construction and building materials sector.
“The NAFCD Member of the Year Award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated outstanding commitment, leadership and service to the organization and its new members,” Starnes said, cited Bless’ work on the NAFCD member engagement committee. “She exemplifies the mission and the value of the organization through her active participation. Bless is an outspoken advocate for NAFCD at other industry events, and we thank Tiffany for her contributions.”
Changing of the guard
Another noteworthy announcement on day one at NAFCD was the passing of the proverbial torch from Starnes to NAFCD president-elect, Sara Zacharias-Bentele, director of sales and marketing for Tri-State Wholesale Flooring—an All Surfaces company.
In her first public remarks as NAFCD president-elect, Sara Zacharias cited her career arc, transitioning from a medium-sized distributor to now being part of a large top five floor covering distributor. “I want you to know I understand that no matter what you are in your journey right now as a distributor—small, large, somewhere in between—I’ve lived it. I’ve been through it. I know what it’s like in all of those areas. So I do understand more than just one big distributor.”
With the industry expecting to experience ongoing challenges in the years ago, Zacharias-Bentele had this advice for flooring distributors. “We’re all hearing they’re going to be a little rough, so we need to go back to the basics. We need to make sure we’re blocking and tackling. We need to do what we say we’re going to do, deliver what we say we’re going to deliver and deliver when we say we’re going to deliver it. In addition, we need to be empowering everyone at every single level from customer service to branch managers. People in every single position need to be able to make decisions that are appropriate for them without having to use this hierarchy to serve our customers.”
Zacharias-Bentele also took a moment to acknowledge the impact and contributions of her predecessor. “Austin is just the complete calm in the storm,” she said, describing the former NAFCD’s demeanor in challenging situations. “He’s just relaxed, he’s chill. He sits there, he thinks and then he speaks with just true intention. I’ve been watching him the last year. I’m going to try to channel some of that and do my absolute best.”
Key initiatives
Michael Wilbur, NAFCD+NBMDA executive vice president who’s now in his third year, also addressed attendees on opening day. Specifically, he outlined several key initiatives currently under way:
“It’s been a big year for NAFCD,” he said. “We have tried some new, highly visible programming and some other initiatives that we’ve been working on behind the scenes. First and foremost, we rolled out a new distributor forum series of regional events this year. These events came to life last year out of direct feedback from members who expressed a desire to have some training, some exposure and some networking for your frontline folks. The program allows participants to come out for a single day of workshops rather than having to be out of pocket or out of office for several days. We’ve held these forums in the Southeast, Northeast, West and [earlier this week] the Southwest. Each included a full day of training, networking in a workshop format.”
Behind the scenes, Wilbur said the staff was working closely with its volunteer leadership on a new strategic plan for the association. Dubbed “Vision 2030,” the initiative focuses on evolving some key aspects of the association—how we can better serve our members and meet their needs as they exist today and as we foresee them existing 10 years from now versus just the same old, same old. We’re ripping the cover off the playbook and keeping it going.”
Over the course of the next few months, Wilbur said NAFCD will be rolling out a new learning hub on its website, nafcd.org, that is going to be a one-stop shop for all of its members’ education needs. “These include webinars, recordings, the reports that we put out, any of our past white papers, and we’ll be developing some on-demand courses as well,” he explained.
(Look for more 2026 NAFCD+NBMDA convention coverage in upcoming editions of FCNews.)