MIA Releases 2015 Awards Program Call for Entries

Words: Dan KamysThe Marble Institute of America (MIA) has opened its 2015 Awards Program Call for Entries. The Call for Entries signifies that the MIA is now accepting entries for their various awards. These highly coveted awards honor and recognize natural stone companies, natural stone professionals, and architects from around the globe. Tiffany Aryeh of Amalfi Stone & Masonry, Inc. in Sun Valley, CA commented on the significance of winning a Pinnacle Award. “Being a recipient of the coveted Pinnacle Award is a dream come true. It is such an honor to be amongst so much talent and be part of a group of projects that represents exceptional stone work around the globe.” The 2015 MIA Awards consists of:
  • Pinnacle Awards - presented to companies whose projects’ beauty, creativity, ingenuity, and craftsmanship exemplify professional mastery in the use of natural stone in commercial and residential environments. Again this year, with the generous support of Informa 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 2016. The Pinnacle Awards consist of 6 separate categories:
      • Commercial Interior — sponsored by MAPEI
      • Commercial Exterior — sponsored by MAPEI
      • Residential Interior/Exterior — sponsored by GranQuartz
      • Kitchen of the Year (NEW THIS YEAR) sponsored by GranQuartz
      • Bath of the Year (NEW THIS YEAR) sponsored by GranQuartz
      • Renovation/Restoration — sponsored by Coldspring
  • Grande Pinnacle Award - sponsored by Marmomac is presented to the best project across all categories. Again this year Marmomacc will present a Grande Pinnacle Award to an architect from the firm involved in the winning project.
  • Natural Stone Craftsman of the Year Award - sponsored by Polycor, Inc. & TexaStone Quarries singles out one craftsman who has physically performed outstanding stone fabrication and/or installation over a period of many years.
  • Migliore Award for Lifetime Achievement - established to recognize an individual who has made extraordinary contributions to the natural stone industry and the MIA. The award is named for MIA's long-time Technical Director, the late Vincent R. Migliore, who was its first recipient.
  • 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.
To acquire Call for Entries, contact Helen Distelhorst at hdistelhorst@marble-institute.com or log on to www.marble-institute.com/awards/awards-overview. Deadlines begin in June. Apply today!
Design Choices That Endure: Specification and Installation Go Hand-in-Hand
May 2026

Design decisions don’t live on paper; they live on the wall, the ceiling, the floor, and throughout every space. Today’s projects are driven by highly curated design intent, from layered color palettes to mixed-material façades. But once those decisions

Marvelous Masonry: Tianjin Zhongshuge Library
May 2026

It is not unusual today for masonry to be treated as a surface decision rather than a structural one. Too often, brick enters a project late in the process, trimmed back by budgets or reduced to a veneer once the “real” building work is finished. The Tian

Fechino Files: Concrete Pavers around a Pool
May 2026

Many folks over the years have placed concrete pavers around their pool as a nice form of decorative pool deck. Early in the 2000’s, I took a class held by the Interlocking Concrete Paver Institute, then known as the ICPI. At the time I attended the class

Chairman's Message: Staying the Course
May 2026

Spring is one of my favorite times of year. There’s energy in the air. Jobs are picking up. Crews are hitting their rhythm. Schedules are filling up. You can feel momentum building again. And every year around this time, I find myself thinking about con