As part of the National Tile Contractors Association’s (NTCA) Total Solutions conference held at the Las Vegas Hilton, three people were honored during an awards banquet for outstanding industry contributions.




Tom Vaughn displays his 2006 NTCA Tile Person of the Year Award.


As part of the National Tile Contractors Association’s (NTCA) Total Solutions conference held at the Las Vegas Hilton, three people were honored during an awards banquet for outstanding industry contributions.

Tom Vaughn received the Tile Person of the Year award, Tom Ade and Harvey Powell the Ring of Honor award and Davis Leichsenring the Best Practices award.

Tom Vaughn of Akona LLC, recognized for his contributions to the ceramic tile, stone and allied products industry as well as keeping with the association’s purpose, programs and goals, has a distinguished career that includes positions for HB Fuller as product line manager and technical director, working as a general manager for MAPEI and Minnesota Tile and starting his own company in 1994 as a C-Cure manufacturer affiliate. He served on the NTCA technical committee for over 25 years and has conducted numerous training schools in Minneapolis and the Midwest for regional education on cementitious self-leveling underlayment method.

Tom Ade, a contractor of Filling Marble and Tile in Cologne, N.J., helped the company in the 70’s go from near bankruptcy to being a profitable enterprise. Ade served a term on the NTCA board of directors, and was named NTCA Tile Person of the Year in 2000. Harvey Powell, of Lake Lanier, Ga. and formerly with the Noble Company, retired as president in 1996 and again in July 2006 as president of Noble Holding Company. Currently Powell is president of Powell Group Ltd., a consulting firm involved in developing waterproof, lightweight and inorganic backerboard.

Davis Leichsenring of Holland Tile, Rockville, Md., is recognized for going above and beyond the call of duty to promote education and National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA) membership in his region, stating, “It has been an incredible journey to come to a foreign country with less than $20 in my pocket, …and 15 years later to… network with the best professionals in the [tile] field.”