The Year in Review
The year 2011 flew By. Now that I know what to do, I am going to pass the baton of ASHI leadership that David Tamny and the other past-presidents passed to me to my friend Marv Goldstein. This is strange as Marv was a charter member of ASHI. And I am going to pass the baton to this young whippersnapper. The year 2011 was a blast. It is not about being the President of ASHI; it is about ASHI and being its president.
ASHI is the oldest and most respected home inspection association in North America. ASHI is the gold standard of home inspections. Be proud of our your Society. Proudly display ACI behind your name.
We
We can achieve more collectively than we can individually. It is beneficial to review ASHI’s mission statement: “To set and promote standards for property inspections and to provide educational programs to achieve excellence in the profession.” How true this is. And a large part of ASHI’s strength comes from its chapters.
Goals for 2011
Some of the goals we set for ourselves in 2011 were to enhance and tackle issues concerning our chapter and membership categories. In next month’s ASHI Reporter, we will address how well we did.
Tackling the important tasks
It is tempting and easy to go after mundane tasks. It is more difficult to go after the harder and more rewarding tasks. We, as ASHI, set the foundation for following activities of healthier chapters and changing our membership categories to respond to a changed home inspection landscape that are true to ASHI’s core values and mores.
Going into the archives of the ASHI Reporter, I found this written by 2002 ASHI President Mike Casey:
“Change the way we do business, both as individuals and as an association. We must think more about our decisions, and be sure we make every effort to obtain all the information possible, including how the decisions will affect stakeholders. Anything is possible for our Society, if we work together, and understand the current professional arena. This is the reason for ASHI.”
ASHI is the gold standard of home inspections
ASHI is the gold standard of the home inspection industry. Back in 1976, a group of foresighted individuals met to establish ASHI. They set a Standard of Practice and a Code of Ethics. The inspection was of small residential properties. That was back in 1976. The early leadership set up a network of independent chapters to deliver education and build camaraderie.
Earn your stripes
ASHI should and must remain true to its core values and mores. At the same time, we need to look at the changed landscape of home inspector legislation. I am breaking the rule of we. I firmly believe, from the bottom of my soul, ASHI should evolve from “jump through these hoops” to “earning your stripes.” It is my belief ASHI can raise the bar for membership and, at the same time, grow our membership.
Promoting ASHI collectively
We can make a difference. It may seem trite, but as John F. Kennedy said: “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can you do for your country.” We can apply the same to ASHI.
Personal development
Throughout 2011, I shared with you ideas for personal development. Hopefully, you found something of interest you could apply to your personal life.
Ancillary services
Our Standards of Practice direct us to identify those systems or components that are unsafe. There is clear and undisputed evidence that lead-based paint is a hazard to infants, young children and pregnant women. Radon is real. Radon is a Class A carcinogen. There are specific action levels for lead-based paint and radon. I am not stating that our standards call for us to do environmental testing; rather, this can be entree to additional billable services beyond our Standards of Practice.
What is ASHI? What makes ASHI go?
We are about being better and the best home inspectors. Integral to this is education, which we deliver in several ways. Nationally, we provide education at our annual conference, InspectionWorld® (IW) and through our online Smart Track™. In October, we introduced additional education, the “e-Learning Catalog.” Chapters continue to deliver the most student hours through chapter meetings and annual/weekend seminars. ASHI is successful because of the combination of our chapters and national.
And, speaking of going … Thank you for the opportunity to be the President of ASHI in 2011. I wish everyone the best of success in 2012 and beyond.
To Read the Full Article
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