“Choosing these select members out of such an amazing group is difficult” says Eric Demaree, President of Carpet One Floor & Home. “But we feel it is important to recognize those that go above and beyond in representing the Carpet One Floor & Home cooperative.”

Awards were presented in the following categories

Alan Greenberg Award

This award recognizes the member who most embodies the Carpet One spirit and who best represents what CCA Global Partners co-founder, Alan Greenberg, stood for. It is based on overall participation in programs, contributions to the cooperative, and support of fellow members during the previous year. 

This year’s Alan Greenberg Award winner, Steve Dalene, was a member of Carpet One's Advisory Council. His business, Dalene Flooring Carpet One was started in 1949, and Steve is part of the fourth generation of Dalenes who are actively involved in the business, that is over 66 years! 

Dalene is very active with his Regional Network Group (RNG), taking a leadership role in creating custom trainings and installer certifications. He invests in training to help his employees grow both personally and professionally. Employees are treated as family members and customers are treated as friends. 

Dalene's stores have been awarded Best In Flooring, by Best of Hartford Magazine for five consecutive years. 

Wally Hileman Award

The Wally Hileman Award was created in memory of Wally Hileman, Carpet One Floor & Home’s first vice president of membership who, from 1991 through 1998, brought in many of the great members that have made Carpet One Floor successful. This Award recognizes members who have been in Carpet One Floor & Home for no more than two to three years and have shown an outstanding commitment to the cooperative.

Winner Marty Pelosi joined Carpet One in 2013 and embraced the cooperative culture and its commitment to customers from the beginning. He started working as a flooring installer when he was a young man in Brooklyn, N.Y., and when he moved to Howell, N.J. in 1996, he decided to open his own flooring store and commercial business. 

Winner Tony Bledsoe of Georgia Direct Carpet in Richmond, Ind., grew up in the family flooring business. He started hanging out in the store at the age of five and left only for a three-year period when he served in the Army. After returning to the store in 1994 when his tour with the Army was complete, he focused on retail sales and then progressed to launching an outside sales department that eventually focused on commercial work. 

Since joining Carpet One in 2013, he opened a branch location and doubled his purchase volume. He wowed attendees at the Summer 2015 Convention as the lead singer of The Shaggs, the Carpet One member band.

Supplier Partners of the Year

Each year, the Carpet One members vote on the Supplier Partner of the Year and Specialty Supplier Partner of the Year. These awards recognize the organizations that have made the greatest commitment and most significant impact on the membership over the past year. 

This year’s winners, as voted on at Convention by the Carpet One members are:

Supplier Partner of the Year—Shaw Industries

Shaw has been very supportive in supplying exclusive product lines like Tigressá Soft Style, Tigressá Cherish and Tigressá H2O. In addition to their collaborative efforts on some of Carpet One Floor's best-selling product lines, they excel in their execution of these programs. The level of service given to our members has contributed greatly to the success of Carpet One.

Specialty Supplier Partner of the Year—Kraus

Kraus participates in many of Carpet One Floor merchandising efforts in both the U.S. and Canada. They provide sheet vinyl, LVT, commercial and residential carpet, hardwood, laminate, commercial carpet tile, cushion and sundries. A forward-thinking company with excellent customers service, Kraus provides an exceptional design and style library to meet the needs of Carpet One Floor members.