Around The CoRner

I think sometimes we forget that ASHI is a society. It’s not a club, not an association, not even an organization. In this (our) society, each of us has certain rights, privileges and responsibilities. It’s that last idea—responsibilities—that I want to explore.
Let’s get the most obvious responsibilities out of the way…dues. Dues are the taxes of our society. And the ASHI Standard of Practice and Code of Ethics are the laws that we must follow. Those are the easy parts. What’s not as easy, but just as important, is being a productive member of the society. (Warning: If you stop reading now, I will find you and make you listen to a lecture on the popularity of Serissa foetida in commercial bonsai cultivation. Not kidding, it’s really fascinating.)
Wait, I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to discuss “responsibility” anymore. What’s the next idea I want to explore? Community! Growing up, I was in charge of mowing the lawn and shoveling snow for an older couple who lived across the street. My dad often made his famous chili for neighbors in need. (It was “famous” because he put olives and water chestnuts in it. I miss my father dearly, but I don’t miss that concoction he called “chili” at all.) We had a neighborhood cleanup day every spring when we’d all help each other with yard work. Our neighborhood sparkled.
The point is, people in communities help each other because when we do, we grow, we become stronger and we take pride in our shared identity. It’s the “we of me,” as author Carson McCullers so poignantly penned in The Member of the Wedding. We home inspectors might be individualistic, sometimes insufferable know-it-alls at heart, but we are, more importantly, the pride of our profession. Remember that every day. If a fellow inspector asks you for help (or even if he or she doesn’t ask for help, but it seems to you that he or she could use some), give it.
Remember the saying (usually found framed in a bathroom) that starts off, “If you sprinkle when you tinkle…”? Maybe we should think of leaving every inspection in the same way that we should think of leaving a bathroom (that is, with the ending of that saying, “…please be neat and wipe the seat.”). In other words, we know that others will be where we’ve been after we’re long gone. So, as home inspectors who are also ASHI members, we should strive to leave all of our customers and agents impressed with the quality of our work so that when they need another inspection, they’ll be sure to hire an ASHI member again so they can benefit from the high level of professionalism we demonstrate every day.
WE ARE ASHI. Write me with your great ideas for ASHI at speaker@ashi.org. ~ Jim
James Funkhouser, Speaker, ASHI Council of Representatives, speaker@ashi.org
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