My Chapter, Your Chapter

One of the greatest benefits of ASHI membership is the privilege of belonging to the Arizona ASHI Chapter. AZ ASHI was established in 1991 at the Phoenix annual conference by five inspectors who were dedicated to the standards, ethics and values that were and still are core ASHI principles.

AZ ASHI has remained a single, unified chapter over the years in spite of the size of our state and the length of travel times to our meetings. Our chapter is divided into regions: north, central and south. In addition to quarterly educational chapter meetings, the regions host monthly meetings.

Belonging to my chapter has provided a richness of education, an abundance of camaraderie and repeated professional opportunities to help shape the inspection profession.

As a fledgling inspector, I was eager to learn as much as I could about a building’s systems and components and how to inspect them. Even when our chapter was small, our meetings focused on education specific to the needs and desires of local membership. In the early years, seminars covered inspection basics and how to report what we observed. As our profession expanded, we debated whether it was a good business decision to require our clients to sign contracts that would limit our liability and detail exclusions! Now, of course, our education focuses on more ancillary and technical issues such as new home phase inspections, infrared cameras, environmental inspections, etc. Today, I continue to count on my chapter to provide my most relevant education and local information.    

Perhaps even more important than the technical education provided by the chapter are the friendships and relationships with other inspectors that have developed over the years. I learned much and benefited greatly from sharing inspection experiences with my chapter buddies. Learning from other inspector professionals who struggle with similar issues is the best way to grow as a professional. I always look forward to the heated discussions between inspectors about the different methods and techniques for performing inspections. After sharing experiences with others, I have left many chapter meetings convinced that I needed to change the way I inspect or report.

I value what I’ve gained from belonging to a group of professionals unified for a common purpose. AZ ASHI has been influential in the development of regulations that have impacted our profession over the past years. Using the ASHI Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics as a guideline for performing inspections, the chapter helped develop the expectations and framework of the entire inspection profession in Arizona. Without the strong chapter presence, individual inspectors would have much less impact than they do today.

I had the honor of serving and representing my chapter in various capacities in state and national arenas. While serving my chapter, I learned leadership skills that have served me well. By representing my chapter as a member of the Council of Representatives (COR) when it was first created, I participated at the national level. The national exposure motivated me to serve on several national committees, the board of directors and now as ASHI’s president.

My chapter has played an important role in my personal and business development, and I am grateful to my inspector buddies with whom I have had the privilege of associating. I urge each of you to get involved in your chapter. Help it grow and thrive. The chapters need what you have to offer, and you may be surprised how the experience will give back to you!