Kitchen & Bath Business - October 2019 - 10

October 2019

n k b a

LINKING UP

ur business, like many others, is all about connections. It's what you
know, who you know and knowing how to use all of it together.
The NKBA has been making great strides this year in our efforts
to open dialogue, encourage communication and inspire a unified
community throughout various elements of our world. Three areas
stand out in particular:
Our Global Connect program is opening doors and making introductions
in a number of international markets.
As part of our collaborative effort with other organizations to help alleviate the skilled labor crisis, our NextUp initiative is bringing awareness and
stirring interest in the next generation of K&B professionals by connecting
to high school students and encouraging them to consider career pathways
in our fields.
We're forging relationships with the connected home technology sphere
through our partnership with CEDIA Expo & CE Pro. Home tech is
among the most transformative developments to impact kitchen and bath
design, remodeling, product selection and product development in recent
memory. And it's growing at an exponential rate: As demand grows, costs
come down, and more homeowners get comfortable with the technology
and buy it. Their friends and neighbors see it and want a piece of the innovation, and the entire field snowballs.
Because it is so fast-moving, it can be tricky to keep up with all the developments and meet client expectations.That's why it's critical to connect with
a team that complements K&B design expertise with tech savvy. Bringing
in integrators in the early stages of the design process helps ensure that the
project is designed properly from the start.
This was the impetus behind our Thought Leadership Summit at the
CEDIA Expo in Denver last month, and it's why we are initiating another important program with our partners, Emerald Expositions and KBB magazine,
in December: The Design + Tech Connection, Powered by NKBA and KBB.
This initiative's primary purpose is to educate our kitchen and bath design
and building community about the blazing speed at which the tech field is
evolving and how to design these spaces with confidence and authority - but

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also strengthen the connections between designers and tech integration professionals. It takes a
village - a very tech-savvy village - to tackle the
complexities of this fast-changing area. Building a
team with whom to collaborate strengthens both
sides of the equation: the beautiful, functional
K&B design and the high-tech function of integrated home systems, appliances and fixtures.
The event will be held Dec. 11 in New York and
will be a full day of programming and networking. The future is already here, and this is just one
critical way for our industry to be proactive about
preparing for business in years to come. Request
more information at info@nkba.org.
***
Two important reminders: Kitchen & Bath
Hall of Fame nominations are open until Oct.
11. Since 1989, our Hall of Fame has honored
individuals who have contributed to the growth
and professionalism of the association and the
kitchen and bath industry as a whole. Inductees are selected by a standing program committee through member nominations. If you know
someone who has contributed to the industry in
a game-changing way, visit nkba.org/info/about/
hall-of-fame to nominate them for this prestigious accolade. New honorees will be inducted at
KBIS 2020, during the Kitchen & Bath Design
+ Industry Awards on Jan. 20 at the Encore Ballroom in Las Vegas, immediately preceding the
KBIS Opening-Night Gala.
Additionally, nominations for the Innovative
Showroom Awards will open Oct. 14 and close
Nov. 29. These awards recognize existing showrooms in the kitchen and bath space that are doing
a great job of engagement, creating an unforgettable experience and educating their customers.
Showrooms will be judged on their innovative,
unique and interactive design. Visit kbis.com/
show/innovative-showroom-awards for more
information. These winners will also be honored
at the Design + Industry Awards presentation.
We hope you'll participate in all the great events
and opportunities our association and industry has
to offer. It's a terrific way to stay connected.

BILL DARCY
CEO
National Kitchen + Bath
Association
BDarcy@nkba.org
Twitter: @NKBA_CEO

/ OCTOBER 2019 / KBBONLINE.COM / The official publication of NKBA (NKBA.org) and KBIS (KBIS.com)

9/25/19 1:11 PM

https://nkba.org/info/about/hall-of-fame https://nkba.org/info/about/hall-of-fame http://kbis.com/ show/innovative-showroom-awards http://kbis.com/ show/innovative-showroom-awards http://www.twitter.com/NKBA_CEO http://www.KBBONLINE.COM http://www.NKBA.org http://www.KBIS.com

Kitchen & Bath Business - October 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Kitchen & Bath Business - October 2019