Defining the Profession: Chapters Lead the Way
On February 23, 1976, Ronald J. Passaro and a handful of home inspectors met in Passaro’s office to discuss the need for a professional organization.
“When I started in the home inspection business, I was operating in a vacuum and had no idea if what I was doing was too much, too little,” Passaro said. “So I reached out to try to find other home inspectors. I opened up the Yellow Pages™ and found maybe a dozen.”
The group formed as a result of Passaro’s phone calls held its first official meeting at the White Plains Hotel, New York City on April 13, 1976, with 18 members attending. By April 1977, another group in New England, headed by Phil Monahon, voted unanimously to join ASHI and formed the first local chapter of the new national society.
“The early years were a learning process,” Passaro said. “We went out with each other on inspections. There was no formal place to get education, so we learned from each other.”
These early pioneers defined a new profession. And they built their individual businesses by learning from each other at national conferences and through chapter associations.
This same pioneering spirit is embodied today in 80 chapter organizations stretching across the nation. From this base, ASHI members will continue to define the profession – now under the banner of The ASHI Experience.
Who better than chapter leaders to shape The ASHI Experience? And shape it they did at Chapter Leadership Day in October 2003, when they rejected some concepts, refined and added others.
Who better than chapter leaders to introduce the elements of The ASHI Experience to the membership? Last month, Chapter Rollout Toolkits were distributed to local leaders, providing them with tools to present the key benefits of branding to their colleagues.
The ASHI Experience will work for all ASHI Inspectors, but chapters will have the support, the tools and the spirit to maximize its benefits. Review chapter highlights for 2003 beginning on page 18 to get an idea of what was accomplished last year. As additional resources flow to the chapters, there will be a need for greater participation by the members. With greater participation, there comes greater reward. Learning from each other, defining the profession – ASHI was built on these concepts and chapters continue that tradition today. If you’re not a member of a chapter, join now. Turn to page 52 to find the chapter closest to you and call the contact person. Mark your calendar for the next chapter meeting.
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Did you know?
• Chapters and ASHI Inspectors can link their Web sites to The Virtual Home Tour on ashi.org.
• Chapter calendars on ashi.org keep important dates in front of chapter members.
• Chapters and ASHI Inspectors can link their sites to ashi.org’s “Can You See It?” advertisements answer key.
• The ASHI Experience banner ads are appearing on Homeseekers.com, Yahoorealtor.com, and homestore.com.
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