For over 60 years, the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA) has been a driving force in the floor covering industry, representing over 10,000 flooring dealers, roughly 95% of the industry on a variety of fronts—from training to advocacy.
As if that’s not enough, WFCA is looking to connect even closer to its dealers in 2026 with the launch of its inaugural Step Up Tour (see related story on page 1). WFCA’s outreach coincides with the naming of Lauren Voit as the association’s new chairperson. Voit, whose two-year term began in January, brings several unique and standout traits to the position: She is co-owner of a two-store retail business in the Midwest, Great Western Flooring in Naperville, Ill.; she is a woman, a mother, a millennial and the youngest person to hold the chair title. “Lauren will be amazing in this role; she is so qualified,” Scott Humphrey, WFCA CEO, told FCNews. “The energy she brings, the vision. Lauren is a very relatable person.”
Voit is a second-generation flooring dealer who, along with her sister, took over the business from their dad in 2015. Of her own career, Voit said, “We have had a lot of fun and hard times. Right now, our business is the strongest it has been. But I definitely get overwhelmed; we all have so many things on our plate today. It’s about prioritizing.”
Flooring retailers can relate to Voit because she is one of them. In her role, Voit said she would love to see fellow retailers embrace a new WFCA. “We have all these unique pillars of what we do,” she said. “We’re bringing it to the forefront and connecting with members.”
Humphrey said WFCA wants retailers “to have confidence that we have their backs. We have their voice; we help amplify the issues that lead to their success. It gives us a chance to tell the story.”
To some, WFCA is known as the association that ran Surfaces, but that was a long time ago. WFCA has grown and evolved over the years. Today it’s family of companies that includes Certified Flooring Installers (CFI), The Floor Covering Industry Foundation (FCIF), Floor Covering Business to Business (FCB2B), Flooring Consultants and Inspection Training Service (FCITS), National Fiber Installer Certification (NFIC), as well as SEAL Leadership Development and Certification Program. What’s more, the WFCA remains committed to championing flooring retailers.
Voit has plans for even more. “Where we are now [as an association] we have never been—clear focus, strong team behind each pillar,” she stated, adding that one of her goals is to get more women involved. “This is just the beginning of the next phase of where WFCA is going. I would like to see our board come together. We have one of the strongest boards, some of the best people in the industry. This generation needs exposure to what WFCA has to offer, which is education, installation, advocacy, philanthropy.”
