Social Media/Digital Marketing

Shaniah Rieke – 3Kings Flooring

Sharon Cherneva – Fairbanks CarpetsPlus

2:30pm – 3:30pm in Cibolo Ballroom 1 & 2

Social media can feel overwhelming or intimidating for a lot of businesses, but it can also be one of the most fun and powerful ways to connect with people. In this forum, we’ll talk about how to navigate modern social media, share authentic moments from your business, and use it as a tool to grow your brand. It doesn’t have to be perfect just real, creative, and a little fun.

Claims

Corrine Gilbert – Gilbert’s CarpetsPlus

Don Cantor – Lake Interiors

11am – 12pm in Cibolo Ballroom 1 & 2

Claims Management & Prevention brings together industry professionals to share real-world strategies for reducing and managing product claims. Featuring insights from Don Cantor and Corinne Gilbert, this session explores common claim causes, prevention techniques, and effective resolution processes. Attendees will gain practical tools, improve documentation practices, and learn how strong communication and relationships can lead to better outcomes and reduced costs.

The Dynamics of Growth by Expansion

Todd Ramsey – 3Kings Flooring
Ben Case – The Carpet Collection
John Coleman – Carpetland USA

1:30pm – 2:30pm in Cibolo Ballroom 1 & 2

Expanding your business is exciting… until it’s not. Growth through expansion brings real opportunity, but also real risk, uncertainty, and a surprising number of decisions that don’t have obvious answers. In this interactive forum, we’ll break down the five biggest challenges we’ve experienced firsthand when scaling into new or larger spaces. From the mental hurdles that keep businesses stuck, to the practical realities of moving, financing, and maintaining your customer experience, we’ll discuss what we got right, what we underestimated, and what we’d do differently.

The $3 Million Wall

Will Jones – Tom’s Carpet & Flooring

Adam Wilson – CarpetsPlus Flooring Design

10am – 11am in Cibolo Ballroom 1 & 2

Most flooring businesses hit a ceiling where growth creates more chaos, not more freedom. In this session, two owners at different stages share what it really takes to push past the $3 million wall. From being stuck in daily operations to building systems that scale, we’ll unpack the hard lessons, mistakes, and mindset shifts required to grow. Whether you’re buried in the showroom or starting to step back, you’ll leave with practical strategies to build a business that runs with you—not because of you.

Breaking into Commercial Work

Adam Arnquist – Arnquist Flooring

Brad Saltenberger – Cardinal Flooring

2:30pm – 3:30pm in Cibolo Ballroom 3 & 4

Expanding into commercial flooring can unlock new revenue streams, larger projects, and long-term client relationships—but it also comes with different expectations, processes, and challenges than traditional residential work. In this session, Adam and Bradley will share how they’ve successfully entered and grown their separate commercial flooring business. From finding the right opportunities to adapting operations and building the right partnerships, this discussion will explore what it really takes to compete and win in the commercial space.

A.I. In Your Business

Bob Pireu – Bob & Pete’s Floors

Ethan Strauch – Floor Craft

11am – 12pm in Cibolo Ballroom 3 & 4

AI can serve as a powerful assistant for every member of your team, streamlining daily operations and improving overall efficiency. From managing emails and coordinating schedules to organizing notes and generating basic business documents, AI reduces time spent on routine tasks. It also supports more advanced functions, such as reviewing blueprints, assisting with job estimates, and analyzing financial data. As technology continues to evolve, AI will play an increasingly important role in estimating and financial planning, helping businesses make faster, smarter decisions.

Multi-Family Specialization

Mike Montgomery – Montgomery’s CarpetPlus

Mike Hammond – Mid-Michigan Floor Coverings

Michael Hammond – Mid-Michigan Floor Coverings

1:30pm – 2:30pm in Cibolo Ballroom 3 & 4

Breaking into and scaling a multi-family business takes more than just competitive pricing. It requires operational excellence, strong relationships, and the ability to consistently deliver in high-demand environments. Mid Michigan Floor Coverings has built a thriving multi-family apartment business rooted in dependable service, clear communication, and long-term partnerships with property managers. Montgomery’s CarpetsPlus brings a complementary perspective, specializing in multi-family work within senior living communities and hospital environments. Together, they’ll share how they’ve approached growth in different segments of the multi-family space. This session will be a practical, experience-driven discussion designed to help you identify where you can enter or expand within the multi-family market and how to do it successfully.

Getting More Out of Rebates

Rob Boland – Theory Farm

Rachel Stanely – Alliance Flooring

10am – 11am in Cibolo Ballroom 3 & 4

Managing supplier rebates shouldn’t require a spreadsheet, a magnifying glass, and a lot of hope. This forum introduces a new Rebates Reconciliation tool built specifically for Alliance Flooring members – one that compares your actual sales data against the rebates you’ve earned from suppliers, so you can quickly spot anything inaccurate or missing. We’ll walk through how the tool works, including a built-in workflow for submitting rebate claims and tracking them over time. But this isn’t just a demo – we want your input. What would make a tool like this actually useful in your day-to-day? What are we missing? What have your own experiences with rebate reconciliation looked like? Come ready to share what’s working, what isn’t, and what you’d want to see next.