Category: Brand News

New appointees bring fresh insight, diverse experience, and regional expertise to help shape the cooperative’s future.

Flooring America is proud to announce the appointment of four new members to its 2025 Advisory Council: Kimberly Young of The Home Beautiful Flooring America in Belmont, NH; Char Smith of Gallagher’s Flooring in Grand Junction, CO; Steve Walbolt of MDG Flooring America in Medina, OH; and Michael Barney of Tim Hogan’s Flooring in Lakeland, TN. 

These accomplished retailers bring a wealth of industry experience, local market insight, and an unwavering dedication to the cooperative’s growth and strength. They join a council tasked with providing strategic guidance and insight to senior leadership throughout the year. 

“The Flooring America Advisory Council plays a critical role in making sure our programs and strategies reflect the needs of our members,” said Steve Sieracki, President of Flooring America, Flooring Canada, The Floor Trader, and International Design Guild. “These four new appointees each bring unique strengths, perspectives, and leadership styles that will help shape the path forward. We’re excited about the ideas and energy they bring to the table.” 

The Advisory Council meets several times annually to advise senior management, evaluate new programs, and provide valuable feedback that strengthens the cooperative model. Members are selected based on their track record of excellence, innovative thinking, and dedication to the cooperative’s core values. 

Flooring America also extends a heartfelt thank-you to Paul Deschenes of Schneider’s Flooring America in Vernon, CT, whose tenure on the council concludes this month. His contributions since October 2022 have been invaluable to the advancement of member-driven initiatives. 

Meet the New Advisory Council Members:   

Kimberly Young, The Home Beautiful Flooring America 
Kimberly Young joins the Advisory Council with a passion for learning, collaboration, and driving growth within Flooring America. Kimberly brings a wealth of experience in governance, strategic planning, and fostering a culture of shared ownership. She recognizes that the cooperative’s strength lies in its members’ collective success and values the importance of open-mindedness and diverse perspectives in decision-making. Kimberly is eager to deepen her connections within the Flooring America network and contribute to its continued success. 

Char Smith, Gallagher’s Flooring 
Since becoming a store owner in 2009, Char Smith has been dedicated to personal growth and giving back to the Flooring America community. She believes staying open to new ideas is essential for growth and finds inspiration in collaborating with peers who share similar challenges and triumphs. Char is committed to exploring innovative solutions to the ever-evolving demands of the flooring industry and is excited to help shape its future through her role on the Advisory Council. 

Steve Walbolt, MDG Flooring America 
As the leader of a fast-growing, multi-location flooring business, Steve Walbolt brings a hands-on perspective to the Advisory Council. At MDG Flooring America, Steve and his team prioritize innovation, from refining operations to implementing new marketing strategies—all while staying true to their core values and the CCA vision. With a deep understanding of what it takes to scale and sustain a successful business, Steve is eager to share his insights and contribute ideas that will support the long-term success of the cooperative. 

Michael Barney, Tim Hogan’s Flooring 
Michael Barney’s journey in his family’s flooring business has given him a comprehensive understanding of the industry, allowing him to connect with members personally. He values staying open to fresh ideas and learning from others’ approaches. Michael is excited to leverage his experience to support the cooperative’s mission of fostering growth and delivering exceptional customer experiences. He looks forward to building stronger relationships and contributing to the shared vision of success across the Flooring America network. 

February 1, 2024

DALLAS, TX (January 31, 2024) – At the CCA Global Partners Retail Group’s conneXtion™ Conference at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Dallas, TX the group featured a spotlight on their longtime charitable partnership with the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. The non-profit organization supports America’s first responders and military heroes through their Smart Home Program, Gold Star Family Home Program, and national fundraising efforts.

This year, the CCA Global Partners Retail Group aims to raise $250,000 for Tunnel to Towers via member events and activities. The group is already 20% toward its goal after a lively auction at conneXtion’s closing event. Members bid on two bottles of Horse Soldier Bourbon Whiskey —the same precious bottles made with metal salvaged from the wreckage of the Twin Towers that has been auctioned and “rewon” by members at the last two conventions.

Ed Israel of Carpet One Floor & Home in Asheville, NC and his Regional Network Group composed of Carpet One members in both South Carolina and North Carolina won the first bottle, while Dave Lucas of Carpet One Floor & Home in Tucson, AZ claimed the second bottle.

Additionally, as part of the spotlight on Tunnel to Towers, Smart Home recipient and combat-wounded Staff Sergeant (Ret.) Johnny “Joey” Jones addressed members with a first-person account of what the program has meant to him and his fellow veterans. Jones, author of Unbroken Bonds of Battle: A Modern Warriors Book of Heroism, Patriotism, and Friendship (HarperCollins) is a contributor across all FOX News Media platforms, including FNC, FOX Business Network (FBN), and FOX Nation. He’s turned a traumatic, life-changing disability into a personal mission to improve the lives of all veterans and shares the life-changing perspective and gratitude he found in his recovery. The Dalton, GA-native received a mortgage-free Smart Home from Tunnel to Towers following his return from combat.

To date, CCA’s charitable efforts have helped to build more than 70 mortgage-free Smart Homes for returning heroes like Jones and raised almost $2 million for the foundation overall.

“Tunnel to Towers is a cause that is so meaningful to the team at CCA and our membership. Together, we’ve been able to be a part of building technology-enabled homes that allow veterans to regain independence when they return home and help unhoused veterans to show our gratitude for their service,” said Theresa Fisher, Senior Vice President of Visual Merchandising and Brand Development. “This year, we want to keep working together to raise more money for them than the year before, and we are on track to build a record number of homes. We currently have 14 already underway.”

Fisher’s presentation at conneXtion™ recognized Carpet One Floor & Home members who have been a part of a life-changing Smart Home build, including:

• Beth and Jim Nesbitt, Hanover Carpet One Floor & Home in Tampa, FL
• Wayne Sutherland, Carpet Gallery Carpet One Floor & Home in Williamsburg, VA
• Vincent Vidovec and Joe D’Antuano, Franklin Floors Carpet One Floor & Home in Nutley, NJ
• Richard Dobson and Kevin Blocher, First Floors Carpet One Floor & Home in Dallas, TX
• Bonnie Fenwick, Carpet One Floor & Home in Jacksonville, FL
• Regional Network Group comprised of members from North Carolina and Virginia

CCA’s Carpet One Floor & Home has been working with the Smart Home Program since 2013 to help build technology-enabled homes that give veterans a space to regain their independence once they return home. Other divisions of CCA including Flooring America, The Floor Trader, and International Design Guild have been working with the Gold Star Family Home Program since 2018 to honor the legacy of those who made the ultimate sacrifice by providing mortgage-free homes to surviving spouses with young children.

Also, members across divisions participate in the Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk in New York City every September. The event symbolizes New York firefighter Stephen Siller’s final footsteps from the foot of the Battery Tunnel to the Twin Towers and pays homage to the 343 FDNY firefighters, including Siller, law enforcement officers, and thousands of civilians who lost their lives on September 11. In 2023, over $180,000 was raised from the 5K.

Israel and his team are among the co-op’s most active members with Tunnel to Towers as sponsors (and participants) of the 5K. His store also donates a portion of sales from Veterans Day week to the cause.

“It’s important to me to be able to help those who have sacrificed for our freedom and for those still active today. As a veteran of the USAF, I’ve been extremely fortunate since leaving active duty and want to be of service to those less fortunate than me,” said Israel. “There are only a few worthy charities where most funds raised go to those in need rather than administrative costs. [Tunnel to Towers] is one of them. You can see the direct results of those who have benefitted from their generosity.”

January 19, 2024

DALLAS, TX (January 18, 2024) – Three Carpet One Floor & Home members were recognized for outstanding performance and contributions during CCA Global Partners Retail Group’s conneXtion™ conference this week at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Dallas, TX.

Drew Barber of Carpet One Floor & Home in Spokane, WA received The NEX40 Award; Dave Verissimo and Tonya Tillson of Ray’s Carpet One Floor & Home in Modesto, CA received The Wally Hileman Award; and Dean Kelly of Carpet Baggers Carpet One Floor & Home in Charleston, SC received The Alan Greenberg Award.

“These awards just scratch the surface of what these members do to contribute to the success of Carpet One Floor & Home. It’s an honor to recognize them at conneXtion in front of their peers,” said John Gilbert, President of Carpet One Floor & Home. “We work with these members above and beyond the everyday as they engage at advisory council and board of director levels. Our whole team is proud to honor them.”

The NEX40 Award – Drew Barber, Co-Owner of Spokane Carpet One Floor & Home, Spokane, WA
Drew Barber, Co-Owner of Spokane Carpet One Floor & Home in Spokane, WA is this year’s The NEX40 Award recipient. The award recognizes a member who is 40 years old or younger and has shown an outstanding commitment to CCA as a next generation leader.

Barber has been in the flooring industry for 17 years. Currently, Drew co-owns and operates four Carpet One stores, one Floor Trader, one Lighting One, and one Counter Fabrication Company. Drew is responsible for the operations, financing, marketing, and purchases of each business.

In addition, Drew is an ad hoc member of the CCA Global Partners Board of Directors, Carpet One Floor & Home Advisory Council, NEX40 Council, and holds a position on the Daltile Statements Advisory Council.

Originated in 2017, the NEX40 group’s mission is to build peer relationships within the cooperative through networking events and development programs, to give emerging leaders the opportunity to engage with each another, to share best practices and to use their combined knowledge to grow personally, professionally, and cooperatively.

The Wally Hileman Award – Dave Verissimo and Tonya Tillson of Ray’s Carpet One Floor & Home in Modesto, CA
Dave Verissimo and Tonya Tillson of Ray’s Carpet One Floor & Home in Modesto, CA are this year’s Wally Hileman Award recipients.

For three generations, Ray’s Carpet One Floor & Home has served the flooring and home improvement needs of greater Stanislaus County. In 1994, Ray’s daughter, Tonya, and business partner, Dave, took ownership of the store.

They are known for giving back to the community through their support of Modesto events including the Modesto Memorial Classic and the St. Stanislaus Festival. The company also supports the Christian Berets and the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

The Wally Hileman Award recognizes a member who has been in Carpet One Floor & Home no more than two to three years and in that time has shown an outstanding commitment to Carpet One.

The award is named in honor of Wally Hileman, Carpet One’s first Vice President of Membership from 1991 to 1998. After he passed away from pancreatic cancer the company named this award in his memory.

The Alan Greenberg Award – Dean Kelly of Carpet Baggers Carpet One Floor & Home in Charleston, SC
Dean Kelly of Carpet Baggers Carpet One Floor & Home in Charleston, SC is this year’s Alan Greenberg Award recipient. Since opening the store in 1992, Dean has kept it a true family affair, having enlisted the help of his father, Colin Kelly; his sister, Traci Jobling, and her husband; along with his wife, LouAnn; and daughters Sydney and Parker.

Carpet Baggers has grown to be one of the biggest and most reputable retailers in the Low Country. That growth is attributed to Dean, who is known for treating both his staff and customers like family. Always forward thinking, Dean has instilled a multipronged, hands-on approach to achieve success and position the business for the future by investing capital into the business, providing professional and personal guidance for staff development and, most importantly giving back to the community through many philanthropic endeavors.

The Alan Greenberg Award recognizes the member who most embodies the Carpet One Floor & Home spirit and who best represents what CCA Global Partners co-founder, Alan Greenberg, stood for. It is based on overall participation in programs, contributions to the cooperative, and support of fellow members throughout the year.

January 16, 2024

DALLAS, TX (January 16, 2024) – CCA Global Partners Retail Group’s conneXtion™ conference kicked off yesterday at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Dallas, TX with nearly 1,200 members from Carpet One Floor & Home, Flooring America, Flooring Canada, The Floor Trader, and International Design Guild guests. Opening day was highlighted with a full day of 44 education sessions.

Day two kicks off with a special appearance from real estate magnate and ABC’s Shark Tank Barbara Corcoran.  She is the founder of The Corcoran Group, as well as a Shark and Executive Producer on ABC’s wildly successful business series, Shark Tank (where she’s invested in over 100 businesses). She is also the author of Shark Tales: How I Turned $1,000 into a Billion Dollar Business! and host of top business Patreon channel “Barbara in Your Pocket”.

Following Sunday’s spectacular Women of CCA event and yesterday’s lively Education Day, NEX40 and Welcome Reception events, conneXtion’s jam-packed agenda rolls on this afternoon and into tomorrow with more member-to-member meetings spanning over 45 regions, additional sessions geared toward ways to drive more customer traffic, marketing and merchandising innovations, increased networking opportunities, and the opening of the 180,000-square-foot trade show floor showcasing CCA’s exclusive Retail 2.0 showroom.

The 2024 conneXtion concludes tomorrow evening with a cool-as-ice dinner and dancing event with renowned funk, R&B, and soul legends Kool & The Gang.

“There’s such great energy and enthusiasm going into our second day at conneXtion. Education Day yesterday was a success—very hands-on and interactive. Members are eager to learn ways to increase traffic through accelerating smart marketing initiatives, networking with their peers, making connections, and really feeling motivated about the future,” said John Gilbert, President of Carpet One Floor & Home.

Keith Spano, President of Flooring America, Flooring Canada, The Floor Trader, International Design Guild, and NISI, agrees that member enthusiasm is high coming off day one. “Every detail of conneXtion has been meticulously planned to maximize our members’ time here, from the peer-led panels, guest speakers, deep dives into our proprietary marketing tools, and the networking opportunities on the agenda. We want every attendee to walk away after our fun closing event tomorrow night feeling inspired, full of ideas, and invigorated to implement the knowledge they’ve learned to take their businesses to the next level.”  

January 15, 2024

MANCHESTER, NH (January 15, 2024) – At the CCA Global Partners Retail Group’s conneXtion™ conference, guests will notice a big update to the agenda: day one has been dedicated to education sessions. The group’s annual meeting runs today through Wednesday evening at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Dallas, TX with Carpet One Floor & Home, Flooring America, Flooring Canada, The Floor Trader, and International Design Guild members in attendance.

ConneXtion’s full lineup includes a keynote from real estate magnate and ABC’s Shark Tank Barbara Corcoran, a Women of CCA event, a NEX40 event, marketing and merchandising innovations, increased networking opportunities, and a lively closing night event with R&B/funk band Kool & The Gang.

Today, though, the agenda is entirely devoted to education sessions. The full roster of 44 sessions—many member-led with others led by industry leaders—includes topics from training, hiring, policy, employee retention, installation, leadership, and products.

Education Day highlights include speaker Matthew Luhn, a director, storytelling consultant and inspirational speaker with more than 25 years’ experience and credits including the Toy Story flms, Monsters, Inc., Ratatouille and more; speaker Gina Schaefer from Ace Hardware on creating a winning culture; and speaker Robert Varden on Installation.

“These sessions are tailored to have impact on our members’ business, their teams and their future. Our members consistently give us feedback that one of the biggest benefits of attending the annual convention was the depth of knowledge they brought back to their businesses to help them improve and grow,” said John Gilbert, President of Carpet One Floor & Home. “That’s why we designated a full day to education sessions for 2024. Today’s agenda is back-to-back sessions on hot-button issues and our most requested topics from finding and keeping employees, leadership and culture, training and operations.”

Many sessions are at capacity, including the highly anticipated topics Business and Personal Documents You Need Right Now; and The Definitive Guide to Standard Operating Procedures Margins & Profitability.

“Education is one of the biggest components of our annual convention. We understand how difficult it is to get away from their business to attend convention, but we also understand how important it is to provide invaluable knowledge to help our members gain an edge in a competitive marketplace,” said Keith Spano, President of Flooring America, Flooring Canada, The Floor Trader, International Design Guild, and NISI. “Our members return from conneXtion with new ideas, fresh inspiration and tons of new information and education that they can put into practice immediately.”

About CCA Global Partners Retail Group
The flooring divisions of Carpet One Floor & Home, Flooring America, Flooring Canada, the International Design Group, and The Floor Trader comprise CCA Global Partners Retail Group. With 1200 retail locations, CCA Global Partners Retail Group provides merchandising, buying, marketing, digital advertising, training, and retail tools to independent retailers across the U.S. and Canada. CCA Global Partners Retail Group is headquartered in Manchester, NH.

January 11, 2024

CCA Global University kicks off 2024 by exceeding expectations in its new Installation Excellence Program. In 2023, the in-house training arm of CCA Global Partners completed floor installation education for 320 individuals, in 23 cities across the United States and Canada.

CCA Global Partners launched the Installation Excellence Program last year in response to one of the flooring industry’s most challenging issues —finding and retaining qualified installers. The member-exclusive initiative —launched in conjunction with industry vet Robert Varden —helps members train and recruit flooring installers.

Members have lauded the training. “We are on day one of our two-day training with Robert Varden. I can tell you right away this is the best installation training–possibly of any training– we have received. I thought CCA hit a home run when they announced they had brought [Robert] on, but after 3/4 of day one behind us, I can say the bases were loaded-Grand Slam,” said Dean Kelly of Carpet Baggers Carpet One in Charleston. “The money you spend on training is a small investment into making your crews more professional, and better, and think of all the money you will save in replacing jobs because now they won’t need to be replaced. Thanks to CCA and Robert for a job well done!”

Constant enhancements to the program included providing members with access to a dedicated recruitment team focused on non-traditional search methods to find qualified local flooring installers.

“The sheer volume of installers trained in our first year exceeded our expectations. These are men and women that are honing their important skill set to make a difference for our customers,” said Nicole Harding, Vice President of CCA Global University. “Another reason for the program’s success was we conducted the training right in our member’s warehouses on location so they were part of the action and learning.”

She continued: “We know that the installation crisis will not be solved with one project or initiative. It requires many tactics. But with our Installation Excellence Program we offer support, recruitment, guidance, and, of course, training. We are thrilled at the results so far and look forward to helping train record numbers of installers in 2024.”