Coverings Honors 2026 Rock Stars and Coverings Champions

Coverings (coverings.com), the leading international tile and stone exhibition and conference in North America, has announced 22 honorees for two of the show’s prestigious annual awards programs, including this year’s Rock Star Award recipients and the 2026 Coverings Champions, ahead of the show’s return to the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, March 30-April 2, 2026.

The Coverings Rock Stars, an Emerging Leaders Program, emphasizes Coverings’ mission to support the success and growth of the tile and stone industry by celebrating the best and brightest young leaders. The 18 Coverings Rock Star inductees were selected following an extensive candidate review by a panel of tile and stone industry leaders. The winners hail from numerous industry segments and comprise top-notch talent known for fostering networking and educational opportunities.

Builder/Remodeler (2):

Catherine Atkins, Architectural Sales Thorntree Fine Porcelain & Natural Stone Dallas, Texas, United States

Michael Ray, Owner Ray’s Renovation Ramer, Tenn., United States

Contractor/Installer (6):

Designer (3):

Distributor (1):

Vidya Walia, CEO
Arista International, Inc.
Tempe, Ariz., United States

Manufacturer (1):

Leonardo Guardia, Technical Director and Partner
Cortag Tools USA Corporation
Hiram, Ga., United States

Other – Marketing (2):

Sara White, Associate Account Director Novità Communications New York, N.Y., United States

Vanessa Leite, Marketing Manager PBA Stones Vitoria, Espirito Santo, Brazil

Retailer (2):

Stone Fabricator (1):

Noah Marques, Manager
Marques Countertops
Slidell, La., United States

The Coverings Champions, an awards program first introduced at Coverings 2025, recognizes industry leaders for their outstanding contributions and advocacy for the Coverings show and tile and stone community. These influential visionaries are dedicated supporters who passionately promote the event and invest significant time, energy and resources to its advancement. Through their involvement in educational sessions, expert panels, special projects and outreach efforts, Coverings Champions drive industry innovation while elevating the Coverings experience and the future of the tile and stone community at large.

Coverings selected four nominees for the 2026 Coverings Champion, People’s Choice Award and invited the tile and stone industry to vote. Online voting took place Feb. 9-20, 2026, giving the tile and stone community a powerful voice in recognizing an industry leader who truly makes a difference. The four 2026 Coverings Champions, People’s Choice Nominees were:

The 2026 Coverings Champion, People’s Choice recipient is Jennifer Richinelli, having received nearly 1,500 votes. Richinelli, selected by her peers across the tile, stone, and fabrication industries, is recognized for her unwavering dedication and outstanding contributions to the industry and the Coverings show, including serving on the Coverings Installation & Design (CID) Awards judging panel for more than 15 years.

The 2026 Rock Star Awards & Coverings Champions Ceremony will take place in The Coverings Lounge, Booth 6014, Monday, March 30, 4-5 p.m. PDT, honoring this year’s Rock Stars alongside the 2026 People’s Choice Coverings Champion and Finalists. Showgoers are invited to participate in the festivities by attending the ceremony.

Coverings 2026 attendees can learn more about the Rock Stars & Coverings Champions Awards Ceremony at coverings.com/coverings-rock-stars. For more information and to register to attend Coverings 2026, visit Coverings.com.

About Coverings

Coverings is the largest and preeminent ceramic tile and natural stone trade fair and exposition in the United States and North America. It features exhibitors from 40 countries and is the stage for introducing some of the most innovative tile and stone products in the world with 1,000 exhibitors.

The exposition and conference, with more than 35 years of successful history, serve as a valuable and complementary learning resource for all segments of the industry, with dozens of educational opportunities throughout the show. Coverings attracts thousands of distributors, retailers, fabricators, contractors, specifiers, architectural and design professionals, builders, real estate developers, as well as journalists, reporters, broadcasters, podcasters and bloggers who cover the vital tile and stone industry.

Key sponsors of the show are Ceramics of Italy/Confindustria Ceramica, Ceramic Tile Manufacturers Association of Spain (ASCER)/Tile of Spain, Tile Council of North America (TCNA), National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA), Ceramic Tile Distributors Association (CTDA) and International Product Assurance (IPA) Laboratories.

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Blog: coverings.com/blog