The memberships of the Marble Institute of America and the Building Stone Institute have voted 565 to 25 to authorize a merger of the two associations. Effective January 1, 2018, the combined association will be known as the Natural Stone Institute. 

In 2018, David Carnevale (Carnevale & Lohr) will serve as the first president of the merged organization. Greg Osterhout (Northern Stone Supply) will serve as vice president, Robert Zavagno (Cleveland Marble Mosaic Co); will serve as secretary, and Kathy Spanier (Coldspring) will serve as treasurer. 

Carnevale commented: “I look forward to serving as first president of the Natural Stone Institute. I want to thank the many current and past industry leaders from BSI and MIA who had the foresight to see what was possible with a merger. The Natural Stone Institute is well positioned to further advance the combined association’s role as a technical and educational leader. We will continue to offer a wide array of opportunities for networking with both industry and design professionals.” 

The membership of the combined association will exceed 2,000 members. In 2018, leadership will focus on technical and education initiatives intended to further advance the use of natural stone. A new logo will be revealed in the coming weeks, with an official debut slated for TISE 2018 in January.