Let's Celebrate the People Who Make This Industry

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

This year has asked a lot of us. Our industry has taken hit after hit; regulatory upheaval, trade uncertainty, headlines that don't tell the whole story, and a steady stream of confusion about what comes next. I won't pretend relief is around the corner. I also won't pretend I don't know what it feels like inside a fabrication shop right now. The pressure is real, and so is the weight your people are carrying.

When things get chaotic, people need a place they can trust. ISFA exists to be that place, the unbiased, trusted source of information for the countertop and surface industry. We take that responsibility seriously. But being trusted isn't only about delivering the facts. It also means reminding everyone why we do what we do.  We do it for our workers, for our community, to provide for our families.

Industry legend Jon Kaplan of Kaplan Consulting said on our recent recording of the soon to be relaunched podcast of ISFA, “Core values are more than words a marketing team puts on a wall.”  He is so right!  You must live them every day, and sometimes you must stand up for them. I believe that with my whole heart. Right now, standing up for our values means stopping long enough to honor the people who cut, polish, seam, template and install beautiful work every single day, often under circumstances most people will never see.

So, here's what I'm asking,  let's spend the rest of this year celebrating our workers. Let's celebrate the beauty of what they create, the skill it takes, and the pride they bring to it. Let's make this a season where our industry comes together as a community, because in a time of confusion and need, community is how we get through.

The EDGE Awards Are Open to Everyone in 2026

As our gift to the industry, we're opening the EDGE Awards project categories to non-members this year. This isn't a membership pitch. It's an invitation to celebrate with your employees. Gather your team, pick the project you're proudest of, and submit it together. Put your people's names on it. Let them see their craftsmanship recognized. Every submission is judged by professionals from outside the countertop and surface industry. Why? Because fairness matters. No competitors, no suppliers, no favorites — just an honest look at the work. That's what an unbiased, trusted source does.

Project Award Categories

• Residential Excellence — Over $20K: The finest residential fabrication and installation project above $20,000, judged on design execution, fabrication quality, seam work, fit, finish and overall impact.
• Residential Excellence — Under $20K: The finest residential project at $20,000 or less. Exceptional craftsmanship isn't defined by budget.
• Commercial Excellence — Over $100K: The standout commercial project above $100,000, judged on scope, complexity, technical execution, and the finished installation.
• Commercial Excellence — Under $100K: Rewarding precision, problem-solving, and finish on more contained commercial work.
• Material Mastery — Quartz: Handling, seam placement, edge detail and showcasing the material's strengths.
• Material Mastery — Solid Surface: Thermoforming, seamless joinery, integrated features, and the design freedom the material allows.
• Material Mastery — Natural Stone: Veining and slab layout, matching, edge profiles, and the craftsmanship required to work a natural, variable material.
• Material Mastery — Ultra Compact: Cutting, handling, large-format installation and durable, precise detail in porcelain and sintered stone.
• Outdoor Project Excellence: Kitchens, bars, fireplaces and living spaces, judged on material selection for the environment, durability, and design execution.

The Heart of the EDGE Award

In the spirit of celebrating teams, I want to add an award that is exclusive and biased.  It honors a team that lives its values, not just posts them. It's for people who are always hungry to know more than they already know. They adapt when everything changes, they understand one another, and they offer grace. They are wonderfully different from one another, and they're stronger for it.

The ISFA staff is the industries own Brady Bunch. They don't just understand the core values ISFA has set for itself and for this industry; they live them as their own.

Joe Corona, our COO, has navigated an enormous amount of change at remarkable speed. He makes sure our systems keep pace with laws, trends, and the goals we've set for the industry's future.

Aaron Davis, our Chief of Education, is a fabricator and a true industry legend himself. He keeps showing up to help us reach our apprenticeship goals, offers industry knowledge and is a true representation on our team of the fabrication shop.

Mikaela Coffey, our Chief of Brand, has rolled up her sleeves to onboard staff and align our communications and marketing work. She wears her oath as an association professional, and the code of conduct we follow, as a badge of honor.

Emily Evans-Monce, our Executive Assistant, brings experience working alongside union leaders. She understands policy, procedure and due process, and she makes sure we do everything by the book.

Martin Bermudez, PE, CHMM, CPEA, CEMSLA, is our engineer, scientist, and regulatory expert. He brings humor to levels we never imagined, along with a real willingness to help us reach our goals from both the nonprofit and government perspectives.

Kanani Camacho is our resident historian. She has served in nearly every role imaginable at ISFA, now supports our education and training initiatives, and issues silica awareness wallet cards every week.

Ali Vinici brings grant-funded marketing experience from the food industry. She jumped right in with a plan of action and elevated our communications and branding.

Cash Weber, our sales intern, has earned more compliments than I can count for the way he connects with people and picks up the phone. People ask me how you find an intern like that. I tell them he may have had a good raising.

And of course, 2 very important contractors that serve as oversite and accountability to us and the actions we take, Human Resources, Trevor Burns and Bookkeeping, Lisa Hatt.

Every one of them deserves an award. I suspect your team does too.

Join Us

Join us for a webinar on Tuesday, October 5 at 9 am Central.  We'll walk you through how to submit a project for the EDGE Awards, from choosing your project to gathering photos to telling your team's story. [Registration link] · Submissions due date has been extended to support our community, the are due by Wednesday, October 14 at 5 pm EST.

The chaos may not let up soon. But we can choose what we focus on together. Let's choose our people. Let's choose the work. Let's choose each other.

With gratitude and pride,

Laurie Weber
Chief Executive Officer
International Surface Fabricators Association