Board Elections
Natural Stone Institute
Board Elections Set for November
Meet the Candidates
(2022-2025 Term on the Board of Directors)
Six candidates vying for three board of director positions will be presented to the membership for consideration in November. Voting occurs in November to select one individual from each category to serve a four-year term (2022-2025). Eligible voters will cast their votes through electronic ballot beginning Monday, November 15 and concluding Wednesday, November 24.
North American Installer
Sam Arcot
Rugo Stone, LLC
Lorton, VA
Sam is the Special Projects Manager at Rugo Stone in Lorton, VA. With over 22 years of experience, Sam began his career in the Indian stone industry at the age of 17 as an entrepreneur. Sam is also an MBA graduate and has a strong background in Sales, Marketing, and Business Development. Having joined Rugo Stone in 2010, Sam has spearheaded the company’s marketing initiatives to promote natural stone products and to strategically diversify operations to target niche markets which require a combination of highly skilled/experienced workforce as well as the latest technology in stone fabrication. Sam was the recipient of the Natural Stone Institute’s Natural Stone Scholarship in 2013 and has volunteered for many NSI delegation trips and Stone Summits. Sam is also currently a mentor in the Women in Stone Mentorship Program.
Company Member Since: 2013
Years Employed in Stone Industry: 22
North American Installer
Pamela Van Dina
Precision Stone
Westbury, NY
Pamela is a graduate of Lehigh University with a BA in Architecture and BS in Civil Engineering. After graduating, she worked for a high-end residential general contractor in New York City for 5 years. She has spent the past 10 years at Precision Stone as a Project Manager and became a partner in 2020. Precision Stone specializes in custom stone fabrication and installation for high-end residencies and has most recently been collaborating with The Stonemasonry Company working on post-tension and cantilevered stone staircases. In 2021, Pamela has served as a mentor in the Women in Stone Mentorship Program.
Company Member Since: 2014
Years Employed in Stone Industry: 10
North American Quarrier
Reid Kubesh
Coldspring
Cold Spring, MN
Reid is Director of Sales for Coldspring in Cold Spring, MN. Having joined the company in 2013, Reid led the company’s initiatives in developing a new market in Bismarck, ND and spearheaded the start-up at this location. His successful management of this selection center led to his current expanded role at Coldspring’s headquarters, where he leads and oversees sales for dimensional block in domestic and international markets, slab sales for the countertop market in the Midwest, and landscape products. During his time with Coldspring, Reid has helped provide donations to support the Natural Stone Institute’s auction, the first natural stone pavilion and Women in Stone Amazing Race during StonExpo/Marmomac at TISE 2020. Reid has also participated in association events, study tours, and donated material to the Gary Sinise Foundation R.I.S.E. program. Reid currently serves as the steering committee chair for the North American quarry advocacy group.
Company Member Since: 1985
Years Employed in Stone Industry: 8
North American Quarrier
Darrell Petit
Stony Creek Quarry
Branford, CT
Darrell Petit has worked in all capacities of the Stony Creek Quarry since 1990. He has led the team on many projects including: The Statue of Liberty Museum, The Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, Columbia University, the Second Division Memorial in President's Park, DC, and 550 Madison in New York City. An internationally renowned sculptor, he has worked with quarries around the world—such as Lundhs in Norway—to complete monumental sculptures including those for the Chubu Museum and Cultural Center in Japan, for the Yale University Peabody Museum, for the Four Seasons One Dalton Boston and for the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. Darrell has been a member of the NSF Joint Committee on Dimensional Stone to develop the ANSI/NSC 373 sustainability assessment for natural dimension stone and currently volunteers as a mentor for the Women in Stone Mentorship Program. He was an early adopter of the Natural Stone Institute’s testing lab and currently volunteers on the association’s sustainability committee.
Company Member Since: 2016
Years Employed in Stone Industry: 31
Associate Member
Filippo Emanuel
TENAX USA
Charlotte, NC
Filippo Emanuel is the founder and CEO of TENAX USA LLC. After 14 years spent in the Italian Navy both as a jet pilot and as a captain of a ship, Filippo moved to the US in 1998 to develop the market for TENAX S.p.A, the leading Italian manufacturer of consumables products for the stone industry. In 2000 he founded TENAX USA LLC and became its general manager. Since then, the company has grown exponentially, making the INC 5000 List of fastest growing companies in the US 5 times in less than 8 years. From 2012 to 2016 Filippo was also in charge of TENAX do BRASIL, acquiring an enormous amount of experience on the stone industry both from the manufacturing point of view and of the fabrication side of the business. Filippo has supported the association’s safety committee and multiple networking events. He has also provided equipment resources for the association’s testing lab.
Company Member Since: 2000
Years Employed in Stone Industry: 23
Associate Member
Rick Stimac
BB Industries
Knoxville, TN
Rick Stimac, CEO & President of BB Industries (BBI), has made a huge name for himself in the stone industry by increasing BBI’s revenues to the highest levels in company history and extending his belief in true partnership to industry associations, vendor partners, and customers. He always has a vision and a strategy to make it reality and hones his skills regularly with involvement in the CEO group Vistage, as well as implementing EOS systems to constantly strive for improvement.
Company Member Since: 1997
Years Employed in Stone Industry: 4
