Each month, I try to shine a light on issues affecting the industry and use this space to open up a wider conversation. This month, however, I wanted to take a moment to talk about a few of our own offerings. We are a business publication, after all, so I wanted to highlight some of the ways we look to help you in your business.

The first, the FCI Product eNews, is designed to keep our readers informed of new products and services in the industry. We launched the enewsletter in January and it has quickly eclipsed every enewsletter our parent company BNP Media publishes in terms of having the highest open rate (which is a fancy way of saying a large percentage of our audience opens the enewsletter when it hits their inbox instead of just deleting it sight unseen.)

Like its name indicates, the FCI Product eNews is about sharing information on the newest products for the flooring installer and contractor. I think the simplicity of this monthly email is what has made it so popular.

The enewsletter is published in a bilingual format—both in English and Spanish. Why Spanish? Because we realize how many crews have Spanish-speaking installers, and we wanted to be sure the right information gets out into people’s hands whatever language they speak. We need to get all installers on the same page if we ever have any hope of elevating the perception of this trade. Find out more at www.fcimag.com/eNewsletters.

I also wanted to mention our second annual FCI Installation Awards, sponsored by ProKnee. The contest is open to anyone in the flooring installation trade who wants to share exemplary projects from the last three years. It gets visibility for you and your work, with a special feature set to appear at the end of this year focusing on the winners and their projects. Just like last year, ProKnee will generously give away one pair of knee pads to each category winner.

We are still working out the details of the next part of this announcement, but I’m too excited to wait before I share it. In partnership with Informa Exhibitions, we will be announcing the winners of this year’s awards at The International Surface Event East (TISE East), set for Nov. 2-5 in Orlando. We will make the announcement from a new centrally located section of the show floor called “The Porch.” Plans are also under way to include some type of cocktail or beer reception. Like I said, we’re still working on the details, but I wanted to let everyone know now. To vote in this year’s awards, visit fciawards.fcimag.com.