FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The NKBA Honors Its Past and Looks to the Future as It Pays Tribute to its Members
Chairman, Chairman’s Award, Hall of Fame Recipients and 50+ Members Honored
HACKETTSTOWN, NJ /LAS VEGAS, NV — (February 18, 2019) — The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA), the authority on all things residential kitchen and bath, kicked off KBIS 2019 with an industry awards ceremony. Opening Night of the 2019 Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) honored NKBA’s rich history and loyal members including members with 50+ years of certified kitchen and bath designers. NKBA also inducted three new members of the NKBA Hall of Fame. The 2019 Chairman of the Board of Directors, Steven Joseph, was announced. The outgoing 2018 Chairman of the Board, Lorenzo Marquet presented the annual Chairman’s Award.
Held at the Encore Ballroom, well-known designer and HGTV personality Kelli Ellis hosted the evening’s event alongside Bill Darcy, CEO, NKBA. The evening’s events and awards began with the introduction of three members whose membership goes back to the earliest years of the association and who each earned their certifications in 1969 and maintained their certification for 50 years.
50+ Years of Certified Membership Honorees
The NKBA was pleased to honor the following members who have maintained their certification and membership for over 50 years:
Robert M. Baker, CKD, who was a member of the board of the NKBA from 1966 to1980, helped start three local NKBA chapters, and served as National president from 1977 to 1979.
Peter Knobel, CKBD, whose family’s company, Kitchens and Bath by Knobel, was founded by his father in 1933, joined NKBA in 1968, and is still a member today. Knobel has been active in the Chicago Midwest chapter of NKBA, and held several offices, including chapter president, and served on the national board of directors.
Theodore Bogusta, CKD, of Hawthorne, New Jersey, started his business, Bogusta Designs Bathroom & Kitchen Remodeling in Hawthorne, and was an active member of the Northern New Jersey Chapter.
Chairman Awards
The next award was handed out by Lorenzo Marquez, NKBA’s past Chairman of the Board, who served for two years — 2017 and 2018. Marquez is the President and Founder of Marqet Group. Marquez presented the Chairman’s Award, formerly known as the President’s award, which was created in 2009 to recognize leading companies the Chairman deems to have had a positive impact on the Association and its initiatives, and that share a commitment to our industry. The NKBA was proud to present this year’s award to John Petrie, of Mother Hubbard’s Custom Cabinetry.
Chairman, Steve Joseph, CEO and co-founder of Smart Home Products was also honored. He served on the board for three years and was the Secretary/Treasurer of the NKBA last year. Joseph has been involved for more than two decades in the industry, including as president of Dacor, the luxury appliance maker founded by his grandfather, Stanley Joseph. Steve is the third generation of his family to lend their support to the NKBA. Stanley, as well as Steve’s father, Michael, and Uncle Tony are all in the Kitchen and Bath Hall of Fame!
Hall of Fame
The NKBA Hall of Fame award honors individuals who have contributed to the growth and professionalism of the association and the kitchen and bath industry as a whole. Whether recognized for their service to the industry; inventing a new product, manufacturing process or marketing technique; developing a groundbreaking technology, or otherwise affecting some aspect of our business, these individuals are game-changers. Their impact will be felt for years to come, and this prestigious award acknowledges their profound influence.
The NKBA is proud to recognize one of its own with the nomination and induction of Suzie Williford, NKBA’s Executive Vice President of Industry Relations and Chief Strategy Officer. Williford has been in the industry for 35 years and has served the association and the industry in several capacities. She started her career in a showroom in Texas, working her way up to vice president of sales, managing kitchen and bath companies catering to both the trade and consumer markets, and cultivating depth of industry knowledge along the way. Her volunteer efforts for the NKBA go back well over a decade, with 10 years on the board of directors and serving as our president in 2009.
Since joining the NKBA staff in 2012, she has played a key role in developing many of the initiatives that are helping the NKBAs membership and exhibitor community thrive and prosper. Now, with the launch of the NKBA Global Connect program, the association is poised to reach beyond its North American borders in a meaningful way.
“I am so very honored and grateful to be recognized by the Association,” said Suzie Williford. “I believe the only way to achieve success in any business is to surround yourself with good people, and I can easily say that the NKBA is filled with enthusiastic people, all of whom are working for a common goal. I have always felt proud to be affiliated with the NKBA, and this honor is icing on that cake.
The association posthumously honored the designer Ann Morris, CMKBD, who passed away in April. Morris was a longtime instructor and supporter of the NKBA. Her design career began in the 1970s in New York and was punctuated by a passion for color. Joseph E. Feinberg, CGC, owner of Allied Kitchen and Bath, who worked with Morris for 15 years, accepted the award honoring Morris.
And finally, the association had Bill Woodall, a third generation member of a three-generation kitchen and bath family was brought up on stage to honor his father, William “Skip”Woodall 2nd, a 41-year member of the NKBA. William Woodall 2nd joined the family’s company, Vent-A-Hood, started by his father, William Woodall Jr. — who is also in the Hall of Fame — 85 years ago in Dallas. He holds five U.S. patents in kitchen ventilation, he started “Vent-A-Hood University,” a factory training program created to educate dealer salespeople from all over the U.S. and Canada in the sound principles of kitchen ventilation.
The NKBA is proud to honor each and every recipient.
About the National Kitchen & Bath Association and the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show
The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) is the not-for-profit trade association that owns the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show® (KBIS), as part of Design & Construction Week® (DCW). With nearly 14,000 member companies representing tens of thousands of members in all segments of the kitchen and bath industry, the NKBA has educated and led the industry since the association’s founding in 1963. The NKBA envisions a world where everyone enjoys safe, beautiful and functional kitchen and bath spaces. The mission of the NKBA is to inspire, lead and empower the kitchen and bath industry through the creations of certifications, marketplaces and networks. For more information, visit NKBA.org or call 1-800-THE-NKBA (843-6522).
KBIS® and NKBA® are registered trademarks of the National Kitchen & Bath Association.
Contact:
Kelly Winkler
White Good
717-690-9768
kwinkler@whitegood.com
Jocelyn Hutt
White Good
717-725-0291
jhutt@whitegood.com
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