← Back to 60th Page

The NKBA Hall of Fame inductee shares lessons learned as an employee, teacher and NKBA member.  

by Elisa Fernández-Arias

David H. Newton, CMKBD, Founder of David Newton and Associates and NKBA Hall of Fame inductee, has been in the kitchen and bath industry for over 50 years. He joined NKBA as an employee in 1986 as the director of training, teaching the three-day Kitchen Specialist Training and the Bath Design course. Newton became a sub-contractor in 1988 and, in 1989, he left the NKBA to begin David Newton and Associates, but continued to teach and develop NKBA training programs until 2018. Newton was inducted into the NKBA Hall of Fame in 2008. 

NKBA recently sat down with Newton to talk with him about his time as a teacher at NKBA, the work and projects he’s undertaken since his induction into the Hall of Fame and what he sees as the future of the kitchen and bath industry.

What is your favorite memory or most memorable NKBA moment?

Several years ago, after the Design Awards Presentation at KBIS, a former student approached me holding a trophy she had just received. She said I was the reason she earned the award. I thanked her for the compliment but reminded her that I was only a part of her award. Creativity was never a subject I taught in my 30 years with NKBA. I taught how to apply the NKBA Guidelines for safe and convenient kitchen and bath spaces. It was her unique talent and experience, combined with her NKBA education, that put her on the stage that night. She, and others like her, were the reason why I loved to teach for the NKBA.

What is the biggest change you have seen in NKBA since you were inducted into the Hall of Fame?

Online Learning has evolved tremendously since my induction into the Hall of Fame. This type of training has reduced the cost to NKBA members by cutting travel expenses while maintaining subject matter experts. “Zoom” type meetings also enable “face-to-face” communication as a better way to share thoughts and ideas. But one only has to look at the seminar events at KBIS to see the desire to sit in a room surrounded by industry experts to see that actual face-to-face learning is still needed and welcomed in our industry. 

Since being inducted into the NKBA Hall of Fame, what have you been doing?

Cancer ended my involvement with NKBA. I was diagnosed upon my return from KBIS 2018. My final trip gave me a chance to participate in a CLIPP panel and introduce the Student Design Competition Winners for that year. Nothing like going out on a high note. I still do limited design consultations but then turn the client over to a local NKBA member to complete the project.

Throughout your career, what is the best advice you have received?

I was inducted into the Hall of Fame for changes to training methods. Blackboards, slide projectors, flip charts and overhead projectors were the norm. I brought computerized training into use. A former head of education at NKBA sent out an email one day stating the following: “From now on, develop your classes for in-person, on-line and recorded.” That is the best advice I have received in regards to education in my career.