The NKBA is accepting nominations for the Kitchen & Bath Industry Hall of Fame through Sept. 30.
By Dianne M. Pogoda
NKBA is looking for the game-changers.
The Kitchen and Bath Hall of Fame recognizes individuals whose outstanding accomplishments and contributions have impacted the kitchen and bath industry, through design, invention, innovation, education or service, and across all specialties and disciplines. Nominations are open for remarkable individuals to be considered for induction into the Class of 2022.
Honorees will be recognized and celebrated for their significant and enduring contributions to the industry at KBIS 2022, Feb. 7 in Orlando, at the Design Competition and Industry Awards. The deadline to enter is 5:00 pm ET, Sept. 30, 2021.
Selection is based on outstanding achievement throughout one’s career, leadership and corporate citizenship. Although nominees are not limited to NKBA members, nominations must be submitted by NKBA members. All nominations will be reviewed by a selection committee. Nominations must be submitted online on NKBA.org.
The NKBA created the Kitchen & Bath Hall of Fame in 1989, and over the last three decades has inducted more than 90 individuals. In 2020, Kathleen Parrott, Ph.D., CKE, became the most recent Hall of Fame inductee. A longtime educator at Virginia Tech, Parrott is a founding faculty member of VT’s Center for Real Life Design. She was also instrumental in creating the NKBA Professional Resource Library.
All members of the Kitchen & Bath Hall of Fame are featured in a special gallery at NKBA’s New Jersey headquarters. Among the luminaries featured in the Hall are:
- Dr. Donald H. Slocum, inventor of the first “Solid Surface” product, DuPont’s Corian. He’s known as the “Father of the Solid Surface Industry” and held more than 40 patents. His innovative countertops made a major contribution to the kitchen and bath industry with a product that continues to grow in recognition, use and market volume. Inducted 1997.
- Inventor Alfred Moen, who developed the first single-handle washerless mixing faucet in 1937. Today, more than 40 percent of American homes have the single-handle faucets, considered a standard in the industry. Moen retired from Moen Inc. in 1982, and held some 75 patents, most of which are related to enhancements in plumbing products. Inducted in 1993.
- Percy Spencer, an engineer who joined Raytheon in 1925 and eventually headed its Microwave and Power Tube Division for 17 years. While testing a microwave device used by radar, a candy bar in Spencer’s pocket began to melt. Curious, he decided to experiment, and in 1947, Raytheon introduced the world’s first microwave oven, the Radarange. In 1965, with Spencer’s microwave oven as an attraction, Raytheon acquired Amana. Spencer helped Amana develop and market a 110-volt, kitchen countertop unit and the microwave revolution began. Inducted in 1995.
- Louis Jenn, Founder, JennAir. One of the industry’s most prolific inventors and innovators, Lou Jenn developed the first downdraft range, which reigned alone for so many years. He held more than 100 patents in the kitchen and bath industry and in other fields. Inducted in 1989.
Look for more featured Hall of Famers all month, visit the Hall online, and nominate an outstanding individual for this honor by Sept. 30.
