The International Certified Flooring Installers Association is celebrating 20 years of promoting the individual flooring installers worldwide in Baltimore, MD August 22-24^th 2013.  The CFI Convention is open to all in the industry.

On Thursday morning a bus departs for an optional tour of the Armstrong Facility in Lancaster, PA hosted by Tim Provence, Chairman of the CFI Certification Committee and the West Coast Installation and Technical Manager.  

The CFI Opening Celebration commences at 1:30 in the afternoon with a Walk Down Memory Lane followed by the 20^th Anniversary celebration dinner. The Charles Gress Awards and the 2^nd Christopher Davis Award will also be presented.

On Friday, the CFI Associate Product Knowledge Presentations will hold four sessions. This is the time that the attendees have the opportunity to learn about everything that is new and enhances the value of their installations. Each Associate will address all the attendees in small group, fifteen-minute sessions.

Pamela Miller of Hanley Wood will bring the group up to date on the Surfaces 2014 Show as well as provide a great surprise. The Independent Contractor Workplace Fraud Seminar is presented in the afternoon under the leadership of Kathy Sibbald, Compliance Office of CB Flooring LLC and formerly employed by the IRS in the Office of the Chief Counsel for over 10 years; Chris Adams, President of the MNVFC Association, Chairman of the group fighting the Workplace Fraud Act in Maryland and owner of Value City Carpet One and Roland Thompson, President of the CFI Delmarva Chapter, a member of the CFI Executive Board and involved in sharing this information with others.

In the evening following dinner, the group will attend the Baltimore Orioles Baseball Game sponsored by the CFI Associates who also sponsored the 2013 CFI Commemorative Jacket.

Saturday, Bob Wagner, President of Fishman Associates will present the Chapter Award in honor of Pat Fell who before his death was an employee of the company.  This $1,000.00 financial award assists the chapters in promoting educational events throughout the year.

The CFI Associate Product Knowledge Presentations conclude Saturday morning and are followed by the CFI Educational Sessions. These include:

• The Custom Floating LVT Workshop
• Avoiding and Solving Moisture-Related Issues
• The Resilient Flooring Seaming Workshop – Commercial and Residential
• The Resilient Flooring New Products Installation Workshop
• Adhesives 101 – The Science of Adhesive Bonding
• The Resilient Scribing Workshop
• The Woven Carpet Workshop
• Wood Flooring Installation – New Products and Supplies

Contributions to the raffles for the fantastic gifts assist CFI, the FCIF and the Buckhardt Memorial Foundation in helping installers throughout the year. The recipient receives a great gift and participates in an opportunity to help someone else during a difficult time. The George Buckhardt Memorial Golf Outing is scheduled for September 14, 2013 in Fort Wayne, Indiana.