ARLINGTON, VA -- Coverings, the largest international tile and stone exhibition in North America, will feature over 65 sessions in the 2017 conference program. Distinguished speakers will share their knowledge and cutting-edge industry information with Coverings attendees. The conference program will highlight the most pressing topics for the tile and stone industry throughout the show from April 4 to 7, 2017, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL.

The conference sessions build upon Coverings' dedication to providing world-class education with content tailored to each attendee segment: architects, builders/remodelers, designers, distributors, fabricators, installers, retailers and Spanish-speaking attendees.  New for 2017, Coverings will offer contractor advanced business topics, contractor beginner-intermediate and the thin tile mini-track. The conference is open to all attendees and, with many CEU credits available, these sessions continue to bring unmatched and invaluable free education to the show.

Coverings 2017 will present 10 featured sessions highlighting various topics from industry leaders. To learn about the full range of conference sessions at coverings visit Coverings.com/conference.

Featured Sessions:

On Tuesday, April 4 from 8 to 9:30 a.m., executive director of the Tile Council of North America (TCNA), Eric Astrachan, will moderate the panel "Critical Changes to Industry Standards, Guidelines and Best Practices" with participants Stephanie Samulski of TCNA; Martin Howard, EVP of David Allen Company, Inc.; Kevin Fox, owner of Fox Ceramic Tile, Inc.; and Chuck Muehlbauer, technical director of MSI+BSI. Focusing on the ever-changing industry standards and guidelines, the panel will provide attendees an overview of the most critical recent changes to better specify, sell, bid and install tile and stone.

On Tuesday, April 4 from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute and Director at Eiseman Center for Color Information and Training, will share insights on the origin of color trends, understanding upcoming trends and assist attendees in determining the best choices to make when specifying with color palettes in her session titled, "Communicating with Color/Design: Inspiring and Defining Essential Trends."

On Tuesday, April 4 from 3 to 4 p.m., Edie Cohen, deputy editor of Interior Design, will sit down with Hagy Belzberg of Belzberg Architects, Denise Cherry of Assembly Design, Jennifer Kolstad of Interior Architects and hospitality designer, DB Kim, for "Design: A Global Affair." As much of designers' work took place overseas during the economic downturn, this conversation will center around the global influence on current design trends within the U.S. and address tile and stone within these current trends.

On Wednesday, April 5 from 8 to 9 a.m., president and owner of Stone Trends International, Vince Marazita, will discuss the state of the stone industry in his session "Stone Trends: A Historical Perspective." Focusing on information, sourcing, marketing and application trends in the stone industry over the last year, topics will include international sourcing channels for natural stone, how stone is used in interior and exterior architecture and design, and an overview of testing criteria for designing with natural stone.

Presented by Contract Magazine, editor-in-chief, John Czarnecki, will hold a fireside chat with Todd-Avery Lenahan, founder of TAL-Studio, on Wednesday, April 5 from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. This intimate conversation will focus on the power of design, Lenahan's experiences, and the influences which led to his current creative vision and how he successfully authors and implements design standards for global brands.

On Wednesday, April 5 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., Joann Gonchar, senior editor of Architectural Record, will highlight addressing extreme weather events and sea level rise in her panel "Coastal Resilience -- Rethinking Design for Extreme Weather Conditions." Joined by Ramiro Diaz, Waggoner & Ball; Douglas Pierce, Perkins + Will; and Reinaldo Borges, Borges Architects + Associates; the team of experts will discuss what types of infrastructure are suited for different climates, explain the differences between hard infrastructure and green infrastructure and address challenges around flood protection and building codes.

On Wednesday, April 5 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., in his session titled, "Behind the Curtain to Zero-Incident Safety!^TM" David Sarkus, MS, CSP, speaker, consultant and coach will dive into strategies and tactics that assist in achieving zero-incident workspaces for years of sustainable success.

On Thursday, April 6 from 10:45 to 11:45 a.m., moderator Stacy Garcia, founder of StacyGarcia, Inc., will lead the panel "What's Trending in Hospitality?" along with panelists Malcolm Berg, EoA, Inc.; Justin Colombik, Puccini Group; Glen Coben, Glen & Co. Architecture. This group of industry professionals will share key information on how to stay ahead of the competition and create spaces that authentically speak to the consumer when it comes to hospitality design.

On Thursday, April 6 from 5 to 5:30 p.m., CEO of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), Randy Fiser, will be the keynote speaker for the Keynote and Cocktails event hosted by ASID and Interior Design. In his session, "Design, Health and Wellness in the Workplace," he will discuss how our physical surroundings have a significant impact on our behaviors, decisions, and overall health and wellness. To further the discussion, there will be a reception immediately following with ASID and Interior Design in the Destination Lounge.

On Friday, April 7 from 10 to 11 a.m., owner and president of Dionco, Inc., Jim Dion, will present ideas and strategies to enhance customer engagement in the retail environment both online and offline in the session, "What's Next in Customer Engagement -- More Than Ten Ideas Your Customers Will 'Like' and 'Love' You For."

For more information, visit coverings.com or contact Taffy Events, Coverings Show Management, at (703) 539-5504.