It was an honor to attend the 2016 NARI Spring Business
Meeting in Austin, TX this past week. As
President of the NARI Central Indiana chapter
I was looking forward to learning new ways to help grow our great group of
members and also hear from industry experts on the latest trends and
developments in the industry.
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| Opening Remarks |
As one can imagine work force development was a hot topic
all week. The labor shortage we see
nationwide is staggering. Contractors
regardless of their field of expertise are desperately looking for employees
who know the trade or simply energetic people who are willing to learn on the
job! Whether it was a general contractor
in the Midwest Indianapolis or a Design-Build operation in Texas all were discussing ways to
handle the problem.
Some chapters currently have programs in place to work
through this problem such as working with the Department of Labor while others
were taking a more “grass roots” approach and striving to get the trades back
in high schools. As we all know college
isn’t for every high school graduate and NARI and its members want these young
individuals to know they have great options available to them in the remodeling
industry. More excited information on
several of these initiatives will be available in the coming months!
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| CoTY Awards Gala |
As a first time attendee, the only one representing the dumpster rental industry I was excited for the CoTY (Contractor
of the Year) Awards ceremony on Friday night.
This event, which was streamed live on the web for those that couldn’t
attend in person showed the fine craftsmanship of NARI members from coast to
coast in addition to some members from Canada.
Whether it was in the bathroom remodel category or a full house remodel
a large contingency of awards were handed out over the hour and fifteen minute
gala. To view the complete list of award
winners, click here. Congrats to all the regional and national
winners, you should be proud of your craftsmanship!
What was a pleasant surprise was to meet so many
knowledgeable people from around the country willing to share information with
each other. Any questions from a newbie
like me were answered in great detail.
The information exchanged through out the meetings in round table
discussions, panel forums and after hours dinners are truly what make
conferences like this so wonderful and informative.
As we all know large events like this cant take place with
out the help and support of great sponsors.
Companies like Home Depot with their wonderful Home Depot
Pro Rebate Program and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles with their Business
Link rebate program were showcased prominently through out the
meetings. In addition businesses like Qualified Remodeler Magazine, Guild Quality, Sen Design Group, CEDIA, MarketSharp,
Panasonic, Rebuilding Together and
PennTek all chipped in to add
insight on how their particular business can help chapters and their
membership.
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| The Spazmatics rocked! |
One can’t visit Austin and not enjoy the night life and live
music! A special thanks to the NARIAustin chapter for hosting a first class networking reception on Thursday night
in historic downtown Austin. In addition
to a wonderful spread of food and drinks all attendees were mesmerized by the
entertaining and comical Spazmatics
band. This networking event was another
excellent opportunity to speak and mingle with other chapter executives and
their wonderful members!
Special thanks to all the NARI members who made this Spring
Business Meeting a huge success. If
you’re a NARI member and have never attended one of these meetings I would
highly recommend it! If your thinking of
joining NARI at the local
level I invite you to reach out to your closest chapter and get involved. I know I cant wait til next year!
