Elberton Granite Association, Inc., officials announce that the E.G.A is sponsoring the Monument Industry's foremost continuing education, the Elberton Granite Training Institute, for the 23rd consecutive year. “The Monument Business…A Woman's Perspective” and “The Monument Retailers Basic Course” will be available in 2004, according to Training Director Doyle Johnson. “The E.G.A. Board of Trustees is again sponsoring the institute as a symbol of our commitment to the U.S. Monument Industry, and our long-standing partnership between manufacturers and their retail customer friends,” stated Johnson. “We are offering two information-packed sessions led by some of the industry's most knowledgeable professionals at both the retail and wholesale levels.”

The “Monument Business…A Woman's Perspective” is scheduled for September 27-30. Instructors will include nationally-known author and gender expert, Connie Glaser of Atlanta, GA, and Monument Industry leaders Linda Willis Morris CM, Vice President of Willis Granite Co., Inc., Granite, OK, and Jacqueline Calkins, President of Ketterhagen Memorials Inc., Burlington, WI. Course topics will include: “Advantage of Being a Woman in the Monument Industry,” “Problems Associated with Gender,” “Gender Communications Styles Differences,” “Sales Force Management,” “Monument Industry Terms,” “Monument Setting and Cleaning” and other pertinent subjects.

The “Monument Retailers Basic Course,” designed primarily for persons new to the industry, will be led by retailers Gerald Atchison and his wife, Dixie, owners of Atchison Monuments LLC, Clinton, MO, and Tim Allison, Lane Monument Co., Canton, OH. The subjects will include: “Communication with Suppliers” “Monument Setting,” “Cleaning and Restoration,” “Layouts and Proportions,” “Identifying Monument Shapes and Components” and other relevant topics.

The $225 registration fee pays for instructional materials, daily lunch, an evening meal and a reception. All applicants must be sponsored by an E.G.A. voting member, and no more that two persons from a retail firm may be registered per session. Room reservations at the Days Inn Motel at a rate of $60 for a single room and $65 for double occupancy may be made through E.G.A.