April in Iowa

ASHI schedules annual media tours usually to New York City, often to Washington, D.C., and this year to Des Moines, Iowa, home of Meredith Corporation, known for its home-related publications.

For Don Norman, ASHI president, this tour kicked off early with a 6 a.m. live, in-studio ABC interview. He covered the importance of choosing a professional ASHI home inspector for buying/selling as well as other needs. The ASHI Web address and toll-free number were posted at the end of the segment.  

The next stop on the tour was a presentation at Meredith Corporation to seven attendees from various groups, including Meredith Books (the home improvement titles sold primarily through Home Depot); three senior editors from the Special Interest Publication group; the home editor from Midwest Living; the senior editor from Better Homes & Gardens (the flagship publication); and Greg Cook, the editor of bhg.com, the interactive Web site for Better Homes & Gardens.

In the afternoon, three ASHI Members from Iowa joined Norman for a walk-a-along inspection. Tony Smith, House and Home Inspections Services, Cedar Rapids, and Greg Guyler, AmeriSpec, Des Moines, walked along while Jon White, Homestead Inspections, Des Moines, conducted the inspection for Greg Cook, the bhg.com editor from Meredith.   
In the evening, Norman spent time talking with the local ASHI membership.

Also in April, Norman was a phone-in feature guest on Michael Finney’s “Consumer Talk” program, the #1-rated news and talk show in the California Bay area. A show summary and the press release, “2005 ASHI Outlook,” were posted on the Web site www.kgoam810.com.

Online pickups

ASHI continues to see exciting results from using MarketWire (electronic distribution) for selected press releases. Within four days, the press release, “Home Owners Realize the American Dream With an ASHI Inspection: ASHI Home Inspections Offer Peace of Mind and Added Value,” was picked up by 36 online services, including Google, MSN News, MSN Search, MSNBC, Lycos, Excite-Money, Ask Jeeves Search, AOL News and Optionetics (an investment educational resource).

Here and there

ASHI Member Gil Hendrickson, Gil Hendrickson & Assoc., Kokomo, Ind., saw ASHI featured on MSN News April 26, 2005.

ASHI Member Jack Milne Jr., Tri-County Inspection Co., Inc., Yardley, Pa., was pleased to see ASHI mentioned prominently in the Saturday, April 2, 2005, Bucks County Courier Times. The article, “Inspect a home before you buy,” included several quotes from Don Norman, ASHI president, as well as the directive to “look for an inspector who is a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors (www.ashi.org).”

ASHI Member Robert Fico, Ace Home Inspection, Inc. Westfield, N.J., saw a recommendation to contact ASHI to find a home inspector in the April 3, 2005 Sunday Star-Ledger (Newark, N.J.). It appeared in a home Q&A column written by Henri de Marne.

ASHI Member Burdell (Dell) Oye, Oye Home Inspection, Inc., Prior Lake, Minn., reports that an article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune recommended a home inspection by an ASHI inspector.