A new association has entered the arena of competition for the meager membership dollars of our industry. The ICRA (Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Association) opened for business on April 1st. I'm not so sure there isn't some significance in that date.
Meanwhile, the RIA (Restoration Industry Association) and Clean Trust, (which was/or is) the IICRC (International Institute of Cleaning and Restoration Certification) have approved a working relationship. Clean Trust is rumored to be forming an association, too.
Color me old fashioned, but I really liked the days when nearly every city or state had a local group where colleagues got together once in a while to compare notes and have a friendly meal. Suppliers came calling on occasion to demonstrate the latest and the greatest.
But then the "bigger is better" mentality erased those quieter, productive and economical days just as big government in Washington has taken over the control of state business. They seem to think we hicks in fly over country can't figure out how to do anything on our own.
Walt Lipscomb, God rest his soul, wrote a history of our industry just before he died. It was titled "The Collected Works of Professor I. Lirpa." If you spell "I Lirpa" backwards you'll see how it may apply to what is happening in our country and our industry today. I sure miss old Walt.
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