Surfaces 2004, which takes place Jan. 28-30 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas, will convene its first-ever Town Hall from 7:30 to 9 a.m., Jan. 28, at the Venetian Hotel. During this event, a panel of experts representing a wide range of fields will address attendees' questions and concerns on challenges facing the industry. The panel will be composed of a retailer, manufacturer, distributor, installer and forecasters of residential construction activity and the floor covering industry as a whole. This year's inductee to the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA) Hall of Fame will be announced prior to the start of the Town Hall.
The Town Hall moderator will be K. Bruce Koepcke, president of New Horizons Marketing. Panelists will include: David E. Polley, vice president of marketing for The Dixie Group; Alan Braunstein, president of Worldwide Wholesale Floor Coverings; James Gould, Misco Shawnee chairman of the board; Tom Jennings CFE, president of Bud Jennings Carpet One and WFCA chairman of the board; Joe Grady, NFT columnist and general manager of Diversified Resources Inc.; Stuart Hirschhorn, research director for Catalina Research; and Kermit Baker, senior research fellow with Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies.