FAQ
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
Q: Where will The Hardwood Flooring Summit be held?
A: The Summit will be held in downtown Atlanta. The conference will be held at The Westin Peachtree Plaza hotel (which is the tallest hotel in the Earth’s western hemisphere). There’s easy access to and from the Atlanta airport (via either the MARTA light rail public transportation or a shuttle that costs about $15). The hotels are all within walking distance of the Georgia Aquarium (which is the largest aquarium in the world), the World of Coca-Cola, the CNN Center, Centennial Olympic Park, and about 40 different restaurants. If you’re a baseball fan, the Braves are on a home stand against the Cubbies and Giants that week, and Turner Field is about a ten minute drive from all of the hotels.
Q: What is The Hardwood Flooring Summit all about?
A: The Hardwood Flooring Summit can be defined with one word: EDUCATION. The Hardwood Flooring Summit aims to provide everyone interested in flooring with an outstanding educational resource for hardwood floors.
Q: Who is The Hardwood Flooring Summit organized by?
A: The Hardwood Flooring Summit is organized and operated by The Claims Advisor, which has been providing the flooring industry with consulting and educational services to the flooring industry for more than twenty years.
Q: When will The Hardwood Flooring Summit be held, and what will I do while I’m there?
A: The Summit dates are set for August 14th-17th. There’s also a two day claims information and inspection report writing class scheduled for August 12th-13th. One part of this class will focus on claims photography, which will be taught by an AP award winning professional photographer. The two day claims and inspection class is included with the cost of registration to the main conference. We’re hosting an optional wood flooring plant tour on August 12th and 13th as well, so that members of the industry can get a first hand look at the manufacturing process of hardwood floors.
Q: Who will be speaking and instructing at The Hardwood Flooring Summit?
A: We’re very excited to tell everyone about Don Connor and Ed Korzak (who are the President and CEO of The National Wood Flooring Association, respectively). We’re proud to have Chris Davis, who is the CEO/President of the World Floor Covering Association.
Another key speaker is Brian H. Bond–a Professor at Virginia Tech University’s Department of Wood Science and Forest Products. Dr. Bond obtained his PhD in the science of hardwood flooring. He’s going to be focusing on checks and splits, as well as moisture related issues in hardwood flooring.
We’ve recently added Scott Sandlin, who is Shaw ‘s Vice President–Hard Surfaces. In addition, Dennis Szczybor , the National Product Director of Hard Surfaces at Mohawk and Brian Carson, Mohawk’s President–Mohawk Residential, Hard Surfaces will be speaking to the attendees. It’s really great to have some of the power houses of the hardwood flooring industry giving presentations. Having the opportunity to connect with such experts on a candid level is what makes The Hardwood Flooring Summit unique.
Don Finkell (President and CEO of Anderson Hardwood Floors) and his daughter, Erin McCall will be giving a great speaker session! They are scheduled to give a Myth Buster’s style presentation, in which members of the audience will vote on whether commonly known things about the flooring industry are facts or myths. It should be very interactive, funny, and very informative. You certainly won’t want to miss it. Len Daubler (who is the Director of Technical Services at Anderson Hardwood Floors) will also be an instructor at the Summit. A host of claims managers and technical directors from many manufacturers and distributors in North America will be speaking at the Summit.
Check the Speakers page for more information. Schedule of speakers and instructors is subject to change.
Q: With so many speakers, will there be any sales pitches?
A: We’re implementing a rule to prevent this conference from becoming a sales pitch opportunity for any speakers who wish to talk specifically about their own products. This conference is dedicated to education, and we don’t think our guests would appreciate being submitted to a barrage of “Here’s why our company’s product is better than the competition”. Again, The Hardwood Flooring Summit is all about education. That being said, The Hardwood Flooring Summit will provide everyone in attendance with an excellent opportunity to rub elbows and network with industry peers.
