Coverings, the showcase for ceramic tile and natural stone floor coverings, announced that the Marble Institute of America (MIA) will serve as a co-sponsor of Coverings 2004, slated to be held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando from March 23 - March 26, 2004.

As co-sponsor, MIA is responsible for developing educational sessions related to the stone industry that will be part of the Coverings conference program. MIA also will assist in the administration of the Prism 2004 Stone in Architecture awards, Coverings' annual competition that honors originality and creative excellence in the use of natural stone products in residential and commercial projects.

In addition to MIA's co-sponsorship of the 2004 show, Coverings will sponsor a series of instructional CD-ROMs developed by MIA. These CD-ROMs are designed to expand and increase the level of competency in the fabrication and installation of natural stone.

The sponsoring organizations of Coverings are ASCER (Spain's Ceramic Tile Manufacturers Association), Assopiastrelle (Association of Italian Ceramic Tile and Refractories Manufacturers), CTDA (Ceramic Tile Distributors Association), NTCA (National Tile Contractors Association) and TCA (Tile Council of America).

In addition to MIA, the co-sponsors of Coverings include the American Institute of Architects (Orlando Chapter), the Associazione Italiana Marmomacchine, The American Society of Interior Designers (North Florida Chapter and Florida South Chapter), the Construction Specifications Institute (Greater Orlando Chapter), International Interior Design Association (Florida Chapter), the Terrazzo Tile and Marble Association of Canada, the Tile Contractors' Association of America, and the Tile Heritage Foundation.