Thank You for a Memorable and Successful Year

As I sit here at my kitchen table with a cup of coffee and the sun coming up, I’m realizing that this is my last message for the Reporter as ASHI’s President. Where do I start? I’m reminded that we started this year by celebrating ASHI’s anniversary with the theme “40 Years of Trust.”

Troughout 2016, I’ve had the opportunity to experience rsthand what this theme really means. As I traveled to chapters and conferences and to Washington, D.C., to visit with government officials, it is obvious who we are and what we stand for.

The first event I attended was in Dallas, TX, where I watched Mike Crow raise $10,000 in contributions from his inspector group for ASHI’s InspectPac. This money is used for lobbying efforts in Washington on behalf of the entire inspection profession—not just for ASHI’s interests, but for all inspectors. This substantial contribution represents the trust we have gained from a broad audience of inspectors.

I then journeyed to Washington, D.C., with Frank Lesh, our executive director, and Randy Pence, our Washington lobbyist. We visited with top key government officials and at every meeting, we were greeted with the utmost respect and were recognized as the leaders of the inspection profession.

Throughout the year, I attended conferences sponsored by ASHI chapters and associated groups. I met ASHI members, as well as inspectors from other organizations. I will never forget when one inspector, who was not an ASHI member, approached me to shake my hand and tell me how proud he was of ASHI and that he would soon be joining our membership because he wanted to be “one of those ASHI inspectors.”

Numerous times, people asked me to be in a photo with them and as I joined them to smile for the camera, I knew that, at those moments, I was the “face” of what ASHI represents—trust and professionalism. To maintain this trust, we must all do the best we can—not only by being good inspectors, but also by being fair and professional to the people we serve and work with. Remember, what we do as individuals can influence others and can result in either a positive or a negative effect.

I have said before and I will say again that I could not have been ASHI President at a better time. I want to thank all the ASHI Board members for their support, wisdom and dedication. I also thank the committee members for their time and commitment. Whether or not we agreed about an issue, at the end of the day, we all had respect for one another. Our Board has made great progress, providing members with needed programs to achieve ASHI’s mission. Thank you, Tony Smith, for continually reminding us what that mission is: “to set and promote standards for property inspections and to provide the educational programs needed to achieve excellence in the profession.”

Our great staff, led by Frank Lesh, has developed and implemented beneficial programs. Our online free education has grown and is better than we imagined under the guidance of Michele George. Thanks to Arlene Zapata, the Reporter has expanded and we now offer print services, along with many other services, to our members. Dave Kogan has worked tirelessly to bring new member benefit programs to our members. Russell Daniels, our membership director, always works hard and brings respect to everything he touches. Mike Rostescu not only is our IT director, but he always is at the ready to help members with Web-related issues and other inside programs. I know I didn’t mention everybody—there’s also Harry, Jen, Bonnie, Mark, Toni and more—all of these people make this organization run. There is one more person I need to personally thank who works in the background, dotting my i’s and crossing my t’s and editing all my articles—thanks, Carol. You can see it takes lots of people and their commitment to provide you with the ASHI programs and services you need. I thank them all and the Board for a successful year as ASHI’s 2016 President.

I will conclude my term as President with this thought. We, as ASHI members, have proudly represented ourselves with professionalism and knowledge for 40 years, resulting in “40 Years of Trust.” As we continue providing this knowledge and striving to be the best we can be, I know that we will have “40 More Years of Trust.”

As always, do the best job you can provide and be safe.