WA 2025 Annual Meeting

January 25-28 in Clearwater Beach, FL! 

We look forward to greeting everyone in Florida on January 25-28 at the Opal Sandpearl Resort in Clearwater Beach to celebrate yet another WA Annual Meeting! 

Register For the Meeting & Book Your Room

Annual Meeting Registration

• CLICK HERE to register
  
• Should you have any questions about your meeting registration, please do not hesitate to contact our WA team at info@wallcoverings.org or (312) 224-2574.

Hotel Room Reservation

• CLICK HERE to book your room at the Opal Sandpearl Resort
  
• Please see below for more information about the resort and accommodations

Accommodations

The Opal Sandpearl Resort is an elegant escape on the White Sand Beaches of Clearwater and is the home to the Wallcoverings Association 2025 Annual Meeting.

The contracted room block for the Wallcoverings Association 2025 Annual Meeting includes a variety of room types. A limited number of suites and rooms are available, so don’t delay making your reservations to secure your suite. For details on room and suite amenities please visit their website.

All rates include a $50 rebate, payable to the Wallcoverings Association to offset the annual meeting expenses.  The current local and state room tax is 13% and is subject to change. 

The resort fee of $35 per night, per room is waived for Wallcoverings Attendees who book within the group room block. All the features are included as follows: Group will have complimentary access to access to the state-of-the-art Gulf Front Fitness Center, unlimited local calls and toll-free number access, wired and wireless internet access for guestroom, and public space, daily newspaper, in-room coffee and two bottles of water, nightly shoe shine, access to the Business Center and beach/pool towels and complimentary bicycle rental (one, per room per day) based on availability.

Why Staying at the Conference Hotel Matters:

Choosing to stay at our host hotel, the Sandpearl Resort, ensures you’re just steps away from all events. By booking within our designated room block, you not only enjoy convenient access to meeting activities but also contribute to the success of the event.

WA can conduct high-quality meetings at desirable ‎locations for a reasonable fee because of a block of hotel rooms contracted for meeting ‎attendees. In exchange for filling the required number of sleeping rooms, WA uses the ‎hotel meeting space at no or reduced costs, thus keeping registration ‎fees low. In addition, meeting attendees receive a reduced rate for their sleeping room. ‎Please make your reservations using the link provided below to book directly with the hotel in the WA room block. ‎Kindly note reservations made outside of the WA room block are not counted towards our room’s ‎pickup and have a financial impact to WA.‎

Reservations:

Make your reservations online here or by calling 1-855 454-0484 and identify yourself with the Wallcovering Association 2024 Annual Meeting.  A credit card is required at the time of reservation and full payment is due 7 days prior to arrival.

The deadline to make your reservation is Friday, January 3, rooms may sell out prior to the deadline.

The resort is sold out of standard view king rooms on January 24 and 25, there are still double queen rooms available through the booking link

Check-in time is 4:00 pm and check-out time is 11:00 am.

Valet parking is available at a discounted rate for Wallcovering attendees at $20 per day.

Airport and Ground Transportation:

The Tampa International Airport is approximately 21 miles from the resort. For information on ground transportation please visit the TIA website.

Visitor information:

If you are looking for ideas for your leisure time, please visit the Clearwater Visitors Website for a full list of attractions and things to do.

Keynote

Steve McClatchy
Steve McClatchy is a keynote speaker and author of the award-winning New York Times Bestseller Decide: Work Smarter, Reduce Your Stress & Lead by Example.  Decide has enjoyed global success and has been translated into 11 languages including Chinese, Russian, Japanese, and Spanish.  In every speech Steve weaves insight, interaction, and actionable content with humor, inspiration, and motivation.  For over 20 years Steve has worked with the most prominent organizations in the world including Google, Under Armour, Disney, John Deere, Microsoft, NBC Universal, Accenture, HP, Tiffany’s, Wells Fargo, Campbell’s Soup, and many teams in the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB.   He speaks frequently at Harvard, Wharton, and Chicago Booth.  He has appeared on CNBC, ABC, CBS, Fox News, WSJ TV, and NBC’s The Today Show and has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, WebMD, Oprah Magazine, Entrepreneur, and Investor’s Business Daily. His new book Leading Relationships will release in February of 2025 (Wiley).  Steve’s passion is for continuous improvement and believes that when we stop growing, learning, gaining experience, and achieving goals we stop living.  

Economics Update

Chris Kuehl, Armada Corporate Intelligence
Dr. Chris Kuehl serves as Armada’s Chief Economist working with a wide variety of private clients and professional associations over the last 21 years. He serves as the Chief Economist for several national business associations. He is also the Economic Analyst for the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association and writes their bi-weekly publication, Fabrinomics, which details the impact of economic trends on manufacturers.

Sustainability Session

Amy Costello, Armstrong World Industries 

Amy Costello, P.E., is the Product Stewardship and Sustainability Manager at Armstrong World Industries, where she provides leadership and management oversight in developing, implementing, and driving product stewardship and sustainability initiatives. Prior to that role, she served as the Head of Sustainability for Armstrong Flooring. Under her leadership, Armstrong Flooring established its global sustainability council and published its first third-party assured SASB and GRI report. Amy chairs the ASTM Sustainable Manufacturing Committee and serves on the WELL Material Advisory. A former member of the Board of Directors for ASTM International and the United States Green Building Council, Amy is a licensed Professional Engineer who received her master’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and holds a LEED and WELL Accredited Professional certification.

Sustainability Session

Giselle Walsh, Juno Solutions Group 
After a career of over 20 years of industry experience, Giselle founded Juno Solutions Group in 2016 to assist organizations to expand their reach into the architecture and design markets to achieve greater market success. Juno Solutions Group's passionate team of professionals is committed to marketing, sustainability, and employee training needs. In 2015 The Wallcoverings Association awarded Giselle with the President’s Award for her efforts to create the NSF 342 online CEU training module, conduct training sessions at TecTrac, the wallcovering industry’s premier training program, and presenting the CEU at NeoCon. Giselle also worked with The Wallcoverings Association on the technical committee from 2008 to 2016 on such projects as the development and ongoing modification of the NSF 342 standard.

Interested in Sponsoring with the WA?

The WA Sponsorship Program gives both WA members and non-members the opportunity to sponsor different WA programs throughout the year. The Sponsorship Program runs from January to December. Please visit the Sponsorship Page on the WA website for more details! 

Schedule of Events