The Marble Institute of America(MIA) has issued its 2013 Awards Program Call for Entries. The Call for Entries signifies that the MIA is now accepting entries for its various awards. These highly coveted awards honor and recognize natural stone companies, natural stone professionals and architects from around the globe.

The 2013 MIA Awards consists of the following:

The Pinnacle Awardsare presented to companies whose projects’ beauty, creativity, ingenuity, and craftsmanship exemplify professional mastery in the use of natural stone in commercial and residential environments. As a Pinnacle Award winner, you will receive widespread recognition for your professional accomplishments. Again this year, with the generous support of Hanley Wood Exhibitions, all Pinnacle Award of Excellence and Merit winners have the opportunity to invite an architect from the firm involved in their winning project to StonExpo/Marmomacc Americas 2014. The Pinnacle Awards consist of four separate categories and also seeks to identify and award a project in one of the categories that demonstrates environmental responsiveness and successful resolution of sustainability goals. The four separate categories are:

Commercial Interior— sponsored by Custom Building Products and Aqua Mix.

Commercial Exterior— sponsored by Custom Building Products and Aqua Mix.

Residential Interior/Exterior- sponsored by Blanco.

Renovation/Restoration— sponsored by Coldspring.

The Grande Pinnacle Award, sponsored by Marmomacc, is presented to the best project across all categories. This award includes a beautiful trophy and a trip to Marmomacc 2014 in Verona, Italy. Marmomacc will present a Grande Pinnacle Award to an architect from the firm involved in the winning project. In addition, the architect will win a trip to Marmomacc to attend Veronafiere’s week-long continuing education program on designing with natural stone.

The MIA Natural Stone Craftsman of the Year Award, sponsored by Polycor, Inc. and TexaStone Quarries, singles out one craftsman who has physically performed outstanding stone fabrication and/or installation over a period of many years. The individual candidate must have served as an apprentice stonemason and risen through the ranks as journeyman stonemason, foreman and superintendent. In addition, the person honored must have a solid track record of leadership and mentorship — a real educator for those he works with.

The Migliore Award for Lifetime Achievementwas established to recognize an individual who has made extraordinary contributions to the natural stone industry and the Marble Institute of America. The award is named for MIA’s long-time Technical Director, the late Vincent R. Migliore, who was its first recipient.

The MIA Natural Stone Scholarship Award, sponsored by Coldspring provides educational opportunities for aspiring fabricators, installers or administrative apprentices interested in furthering their careers within the natural stone industry. The scholarship covers travel and registration costs for one or more recipients to StonExpo/Marmomacc Americas and MIA’s Annual Meeting. Attendance at StonExpo/Marmomacc Americas and the MIA Annual Meeting offers the scholarship winner the opportunity to gain valuable technical and practical knowledge, meet and network with leading stone professionals, deepen his or her commitment to a career in the stone industry and explore his or her potential for future leadership.

To acquire an Awards Program Call for Entries, contact Helen Distelhorst at hdistelhorst@marble-institute.com or log on to www.marble-institute.com/awards. Deadlines begin in August.