The Marble Institute of America (MIA) has expanded its Wine & Stone program to include a CEU component.
The expanded program will offer the same engaging information found in the original Wine & Stone presentation—developed by MIA’s Women in Stone initiative—with added information to educate participants on the mineral composition of stone and other factors that make each stone type unique. CEU credit will be available for architects and designers through the American Institute of Architects, Interior Design Continuing Education Council, Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System and National Kitchen & Bath Association. The original 30-minute Wine & Stone presentation is still available.
The 90-minute Wine & Stone CEU presentation includes six wine comparisons and six stone comparisons, plus additional content about the effects of various finishing details. It is designed to meet the following learning objectives:
1. Find out how formation and mineral composition affect the characteristics of natural stone as a building material.
2. Compare and contrast similar types of stone.
3. Learn how to create appeal for natural stone by telling the interesting stories about how and why they look and perform differently.
4. Learn how climate and soil factors affect the flavor and acidity of wine.
“MIA has received numerous requests to expand the Wine & Stone program to include CEU credits," said Carol Wilkins, MIA's accreditation and special projects manager. “This is a great way for stone companies to reach out to designers and architects in their region.”
Sarah Gregg, MIA's CEU administrator, said, “Members of the design community will be more likely to attend an educational event if their CEU needs can be satisfied. The additional wine and stone comparisons increase the program’s capability to teach attendees how to tell the story of natural stone in order to create appeal for their clients.”
The first Wine & Stone CEU event was recently held at Laticrete International in Bethany, Conn.
“We chose the CEU option because it was requested by several distributors—there are not very many programs out there that add a little wine with learning,” said Marcella Prado, strategic accounts manager at Laticrete. “Our event was very well received; we actually received letters from participants who told us how much they enjoyed it and expressed interest in hosting similar events in their areas. I would definitely recommend this to others.”
For more information, visit marble-institute.com/wis-wine-stone.
