Grizzle Named New Chairman at CRI Annual Meeting
NASA Official, Floor Focus Publisher Highlighted Speakers
Contact: CRI Communications Department, 706.428.2103
 Outgoing Chairman Jeff Lorberbaum of Mohawk Industries |
Dalton, GA (December 1, 2004) - Russell Grizzle, President of the USA Carpet Division of Milliken & Company, was elected as Chairman of the Board of the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) at the trade associations annual meeting today.
Mr. Grizzle moves up to the position after having served as Vice Chairman for the past year and will replace outgoing chairman Jeff Lorberbaum of Mohawk Industries.
"I would like to thank Jeff Lorberbaum for his outstanding service in leading our Board of Directors and for his many contributions to our industry. It has been a pleasure and an honor for us at CRI to serve under his guidance, and we look forward to continuing to serve the industry in a positive way under the leadership of Russell Grizzle. The Carpet Industry will continue to thrive thanks to such strong leadership, and CRI will continue to have a positive impact on the issues that affect the industry, said CRI President Werner Braun.
Jim Bethel of J&J Industries was elected to serve as Vice Chairman for 2005. The CRI Board of Directors is comprised of six permanent members from the Institutes largest manufacturer members which include Robert Shaw of Shaw Industries, Jeff Lorberbaum of Mohawk Industries, Carl Bouckaert of The Beaulieu Group, Dan Hendrix of Interface, and Mac Bridger of The Tandus Group. The Board also includes three members from the largest fiber producers which include Alan Wolk of Invista, Dick Prinstein of Honeywell, and Brad Hill of Solutia.
The remaining four members of the Board are rotating seats which will be filled for 2005 by Dan Frierson of The Dixie Group, Jim Bethel of J&J Industries, Jack Ganley of Mannington Carpet, and Mike Gallman of Blue Ridge Industries. Also, Gerald Embry of Shaw Industries has been reappointed to serve as CRI Treasurer for 2005.
In addition, the newly elected Board appointed six members to the CRI Policy Committee for 2005. Those appointed include Grizzle, Shaw, Lorberbaum, Bethel, Bouckaert, and Wolk.
Aside from the election of officers, the CRI Annual Meeting was highlighted by recognition for several individuals who have served CRI through their contributions on various committees and boards. Board members recognized included Jeff Lorberbaum of Mohawk Industries, Jim Jolly of J&J Industries, and Jule Smith from SI Flooring, while Shaw Industries Carey Mitchell and The Dixie Groups Paul Frierson were each honored for their committee service. Mohawk Industries Frank Endrenyi was also recognized as the recipient of the 2004 Joseph J. Smrekar Memorial Award for contributions to CRI and the industry.
Following the business portion of the meeting, some 150 guests were entertained by Frank ONeill, publisher of Floor Focus Magazine and co-owner of floordaily.net, the website for Floor Focus and Floor Radio. Mr. ONeill spoke on the future of the Carpet Industry.
Fred Schramm, NASAs Engineering Directorate and Administrator of the Research and Development Program for Marshall Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., highlighted the luncheon by announcing NASA and CRI had joined forces to introduce Space Technology into the way carpets are cleaned. The exciting new program will have a launch date in the spring.
