Stephen E. Stockwell, senior vice president of Armstrong Strategic Accounts (ASA), retired June 1. In the wake of his departure, the ASA group will be fully integrated into Armstrong Floor Products (AFP) and will report directly to Chan Galbato, president and CEO of AFP.

Stockwell first joined Armstrong in 1972, and held sales assignments in the Atlanta, Baltimore and Boston district offices. He returned to the company's Lancaster, Pa. headquarters in 1977. From 1988 to 1994, he served as field sales manager and general manager of Residential Products for the Armstrong flooring business. He was named president of Corporate Retail Accounts in 1995, and assumed his senior vice president position in June 2001.

J. Steven Renkert, a 42-year veteran of the tile industry, has been named the 2002 Tile Person of the Year by the Tile Council of America (TCA). Each year, TCA recognizes a person who has been instrumental in increasing the consumption of ceramic tile.

Renkert and his brother introduced to the U.S. marketplace a split-tile method of manufacturing quarry tile and, in the 1970s, together built the first high-volume, low-cost architectural tile plant in this country. In addition, Renkert served as president of Metropolitan Industries Inc. (now Ironrock Capital Inc). He also served as director of the TCA board, and played a key role in crafting the ISO standards for ceramic tile along with appropriate test methods.

Dan Frierson, chairman of the board of the Dixie Group, has been elected chairman of the CRI Executive Committee and the CRI Board of Directors.

Subsequent to revision of the CRI Bylaws in November 2000, CRI has not had an elected chairman of either the Executive Committee or the Board of Directors. The committee and board both elected to reinstate the position as they felt it was important to provide a sounding board for the CRI president and staff, CRI said.