MIA Wine & Stone Program Now CEU-Eligible
OBERLIN, Ohio — The Marble Institute of America (MIA) expands its Wine & Stone program to include a CEU (continuing-education unit) component.
The 
CEU 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 following organizations: American Institute of Architects (AIA), Interior Design Continuing Education Council (IDCEC), Landscape Architect Continuing Education System (LACES) and the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA).
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:
- Find out how formation and mineral composition affect the characteristics of natural stone as a building material;
- Compare and contrast similar types of stone;
- Learn how to create appeal for natural stone by telling the interesting stories about how and why they look and perform differently; and
- 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 accreditation and special projects manager. “This is a great way for stone companies to reach out to designers and architects in their region.”
MIA CEU Administrator Sarah Gregg, added that, “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, LATICRETE strategic accounts manager. “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.”
The original 30-minute Wine & Stone presentation is still available.
For more information about MIA’s Wine & Stone program, including how to schedule a Wine & Stone event, please visit www.marble-institute.com/wis-wine-stone.
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