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PHOTO CHALLENGE #91 FEEDBACK

Have you seen one of these fixtures at your local home center? Please pass along photos of the strange items you encounter.

UTAH HI CHAPTER FIASCO

Most of the readership of the MMM is unaware of the state of affairs here in Utah. Being situated in the wild west and being on the small remaining list of states without home inspector licensing, our profession is still in its infancy. There are probably 50 to 80 inspectors scattered throughout the state. Association memberships are varied with most inspectors not being affiliated with any trade associations at all. I was involved as a founding member in a group of inspectors three years ago that had a good goal of being mainly non-denominational. All inspectors were welcomed at that time. As with all righteous endeavors it is the nature of men that gain a little power to spoil the original intent for their own gain. Our original chapter president is and was an ASHI member and he arranged to get the chapter backed by ASHI even though there were only 4 ASHI members in the state at that time.

You can probably guess where this story is heading. The 4 ASHI members has grown to 8 and the non-denominational all inclusive chapter has now been turned into an ASHI love 'em or leave 'em chapter. It has been amazing to watch the power take hold of the hearts of these members at the same time they forget the original intent and promises made during the founding meetings. As if my life is not hectic enough, I have been forced to sever my mebership from the chapter. I remained true to my original vow to the chapter and I did not proselytize or recruit for AII. I was present to support the inspection industry in Utah.

This past Wednesday night there was a formal announcement that Non-ASHI chapter member dues were tripled immediately and that the focus of the chapter was now for ASHI to dominate the local marketplace. This was a very uncomfortable atmosphere and I refused to hold my tongue. It seems that I am often in situations where current leaders forget history and they need to be reminded of how we got to this point and what decisions and promises were previously made. After the very emotional meeting at which the chapter president lost his cool I waited to see what the fallout would be. I figured that after a few days cooler heads would prevail. Then came the following e-mail titled "Open Letter To All" from the chapter president and addressed to all of the members of the chapter.

OPEN LETTER TO ALL:

To those who attended the meeting last Wednesday and to those who did not:

First off, I apologized to Dirk Burton for having to sit through part of this. When we began discussing the changes, I was under the impression that he would be later than he was. I also did not expect the discussion to take as long as it did.

As far as how the discussion went, I believe that I could have handled it better than I did. How I meant to be was certainly not how it came out. I suppose I should have given more thought on how to present the information in a more positive manner. However, decisions had just been made prior to my attempt to present this information to all. Having let a few days pass, I would like to try and add some perspective to our position and decision:

It is very important that you all understand, I respect all of you and consider you professionals. Having said that, we must look at the issues from a professional perspective.

The ASHI Chapter of Utah is an association founded and made up of individuals who have chosen ASHI for their professional designation. Its charter is to provide a local chapter where ASHI members can meet and engage in education, marketing and the promotion of ASHI. It is also charged with recruiting new individuals into the ASHI organization.

As we begin our third full year as a chapter, we have only partially met our goals. Rather we tried to provide an atmosphere that would be attractive to all inspectors with the hope they would join ASHI at some point. While some have joined, others have chosen not to. We realized that the direction we wanted to move towards, with regards to marketing, advertising, etc. would be met with resistance by the non members. The feeling being that they did not agree with spending money raised only for the benefit of the ASHI members.

While an argument can be made to this end, the money collected from non-members was considered an "education" fee. We feel that the education has been provided and therefore the fees were justified. How we chose to spend the money left over was, and rightfully so, the sole decision of the ASHI members.

Associations are a common entity in all professions. Further, to participate and benefit from associations, one must belong. If you are a real estate agent and you choose not to belong to a local board, then you do not receive the benefits the board provides. If you attend training seminars or conventions held by an association or group, of which you are not a member, you pay more.

We all make decisions regarding membership in any organization based on a "what can it do for me" question. If you fail to find benefit, you simply do not join. This is a decision we all make at different times. I know I fought joining ASHI for 6 years. I finally realized that it was vital to the growth of my business to join. Following my joining ASHI I have seen a marked increase in my business. Therefore, for me, it was the right decision. It may or may not be the right decision for you.

We hope that you choose to remain part of our group and by doing so, you will at least become a candidate member of ASHI. As our numbers continue to grow, we will become an ever more dominate force in the market place. We would love to have all of you be part of that movement. Should you choose not to, we will, regretfully, respect your decision to move in another direction. We would encourage you to form a separate group to that end.

We will continue to hold our meetings each month and will continue to provide educational speakers. The fee will be $150 for non-ASHI members and $75 for ASHI members. Beginning January of 2003 we will become an ASHI Chapter only. Nothing would make any of us happier than to see all of you be apart of this.

I would appreciate your letting me know of your intent, concerning the rest of this year, as soon as possible. Due's for everyone are due at this time.

Your responses are welcome.

Respectfully, Ted Johnson

This letter was not the letter that I was prepared to recieve at all. I hate to receive bad news. I also dislike confrontation. On the other hand I hate to be mislead and played like a fool. Secular groups are difficult to be involved in if all the participants are not honorable members. I pondered long and hard and here is my reply that was sent to all the recipients of the Open Letter To All e-mail......

Ted: I will interject my immediate emotions followed by my formal collective thoughts. I have found it better to be straight up with you rather than conceal my emotions.

TJ: To those who attended the meeting last Wednesday and to those who did not:

First off, I apologized to Dirk Burton for having to sit through part of this. When we began discussing the changes, I was under the impression that he would be later than he was. I also did not expect the discussion to take as long as it did.

ML: Why should you apologize to Dirk in this e-mail when he is not on the list of recipients of this e-mail. He got to see the chapter in action. Disputes of opinions are part of collecting a diverse group of inspectors, such as ours has been. When the discussion was ended we switched into the electrical mode and we all gleaned a great deal from our attendance. No apologies are necessary to Dirk because nothing was out of line. He gave a wonderful presentation and we were his audience for the full time span.

Your impression of how long the chapter topic would take to be discussed shows that you are completely out of touch with the feelings of those members who are Non-ASHI. When is the last time that you have discussed with me any chapter direction changes?…… I can’t think of a discussion either. You asked for my support in the past and I gave it. You said that you would tone down the conversion tactics by Mr. Solomon and I supported you. Then you turn on me and others without any thought and for this I cannot support you.

TJ: As far as how the discussion went, I believe that I could have handled it better than I did. How I meant to be was certainly not how it came out.

ML: I think that your message came through just as you meant it. You have certainly not curtailed your comments in this e-mail posting as I have read and re-read it several times in the last 24 hours. I was hoping for a complete retraction of the ASHI power play.

TJ: I suppose I should have given more thought on how to present the information in a more positive manner.

ML: Since Non-ASHI chapter members make up a huge percentage of the attendees, why not treat them as human beings and consult with the group as a whole instead of just those that have jumped through the ASHI hoops. Little regard was given to the Non-ASHI chapter members before the chapter meeting presentation or since.

TJ: However, decisions had just been made prior to my attempt to present this information to all.

ML: Once again, the only input you are taking is from ASHI candidates and members and not the faithful group as a whole. Remember those of us who have been attending for three years with few misses.

TJ: Having let a few days pass, I would like to try and add some perspective to our position and decision:

ML: Your perspective and position are apparently unchanged. You are just resharing them with careful word selection and lacking your real emotion.

TJ: It is very important that you all understand, I respect all of you and consider you professionals. Having said that, we must look at the issues from a professional perspective.

ML: I believe that what you meant to say is that you want to look at the issue from an ASHI perspective and not a professional perspective.

TJ: The ASHI Chapter of Utah is an association founded and made up of individuals who have chosen ASHI for their professional designation.

ML: Wrong. It was founded by a collection of inspectors from throughout the state. How soon we forget. Check the minutes. Check the original lest of “Founding Members” and you will see a great many Non-ASHI members on that founding member list. Check the goals established by all of the chapter members in the first two years. The goals have all of the sudden taken a massive power shift to ASHI only, when this was never the focus before.

TJ: Its charter is to provide a local chapter where ASHI members can meet and engage in education, marketing and the promotion of ASHI. It is also charged with recruiting new individuals into the ASHI organization.

ML: Those goals are imposed by ASHI national and not from with our group collectively. The chapter group goals have always varied from ASHI national because we were a unique chapter. Please don’t try to change that fact now. Please don’t try to parade around as though this has always been a traditional ASHI chapter, because it just isn’t true. Has ASHI national come down hard upon you for running a non-denominational chapter? Has the fact that you cannot market ASHI as strongly as you would like for your own business growth been nagging at you? Has the fact that the chapter hasn’t grown as quickly as other chapters around the nation put you in a less powerful position nationally got you down? If any of these questions ring true, then it is a sad day for us because we really did have a pretty good three year run of it. As with all coalitions the power destroys the group as a whole.

TJ: As we begin our third full year as a chapter, we have only partially met our goals. Rather we tried to provide an atmosphere that would be attractive to all inspectors with the hope they would join ASHI at some point.

ML: This was a sideline goal and not the major emphasis of the chapter, until now.

TJ: While some have joined, others have chosen not to. We realized that the direction we wanted to move towards, with regards to marketing, advertising, etc. would be met with resistance by the non members. The feeling being that they did not agree with spending money raised only for the benefit of the ASHI members.

ML: That’s right. There is something wrong with the mental picture of Mr. Solomon having a chapter sponsored hole at a realtor golf tournament and later trying to say that he was marketing for the chapter and not for his business alone. Was anybody else invited to be at the hole with him? Is so, it was by private invitation only. His later report of the event was a mockery as he tried to portray his time spent for the betterment of the whole and not for his own business networking.

TJ: While an argument can be made to this end, the money collected from non-members was considered an "education" fee. We feel that the education has been provided and therefore the fees were justified. How we chose to spend the money left over was, and rightfully so, the sole decision of the ASHI members.

ML: Interesting thought. I guess it was a change of thought midstream. Since we were dumb enough to allow all of the power into your hands, I guess that we have to allow the decisions to be made your way.

TJ: Associations are a common entity in all professions. Further, to participate and benefit from associations, one must belong. If you are a real estate agent and you choose not to belong to a local board, then you do not receive the benefits the board provides. If you attend training seminars or conventions held by an association or group, of which you are not a member, you pay more.

ML: You are rationalizing your actions.

TJ: We all make decisions regarding membership in any organization based on a "what can it do for me" question. If you fail to find benefit, you simply do not join. This is a decision we all make at different times. I know I fought joining ASHI for 6 years. I finally realized that it was vital to the growth of my business to join.

ML: Now come on Ted. You invested big dollars in your franchise. Your training is Amerispec training and your success comes from your efforts to follow Amerispec guidelines which have proven successful to everybody in your franchise. Your success is not a fluke. Your success is not the result of membership in one organization. Your success comes from hard word and focused attention on gaining marketshare to keep you and 3 other inspectors busy.

TJ: Following my joining ASHI I have seen a marked increase in my business. Therefore, for me, it was the right decision. It may or may not be the right decision for you.

We hope that you choose to remain part of our group and by doing so, you will at least become a candidate member of ASHI. As our numbers continue to grow, we will become an ever more dominate force in the market place. We would love to have all of you be part of that movement. Should you choose not to, we will, regretfully, respect your decision to move in another direction.

ML: Wait a minute here. Who changed the direction? Who changed the focus? Who is taking their game ball to another court?

TJ: We would encourage you to form a separate group to that end.

We will continue to hold our meetings each month and will continue to provide educational speakers. The fee will be $150 for non-ASHI members and $75 for ASHI members. Beginning January of 2003 we will become an ASHI Chapter only.

ML: Finally the small group has become big enough to kick the Non-ASHI members out of their nest.

TJ: Nothing would make any of us happier than to see all of you be apart of this.

ML: Of course, more membership gives more power to the leadership.

TJ: I would appreciate your letting me know of your intent, concerning the rest of this year, as soon as possible. Due's for everyone are due at this time.

Your responses are welcome.

Respectfully, Ted Johnson

Ted: Your recent e-mail and your disposition last Wednesday saddened me greatly. We are witnessing what a little power given to a small group can do. Power is fracturing the makeup of our group of home inspectors. Power has changed the focus of the group. And power is damaging friendships made within our little group. Then again, I guess that it had to come to this point. I believe that for the sake of ASHI you have allowed the few ASHI members to rearrange the values of our group. You have placed the gauge of success of the chapter by how many ASHI members have been converted. In other words, if you are not an ASHI candidate or member you are not welcome unless you are planning to become one. It is now an ASHI playground and you are making all of the new rules. Isn’t that a switch?

Lets reflect on history for a moment. Three years ago Kurt Solomon would have loved to start a pure ASHI chapter, but he did not have the support or the membership needed. If he had gone that route there would have been just 4 or 5 guys sitting around the table. So he took it upon himself to get a coalition of home inspectors to unite all of us in one brotherhood. Everyone was welcomed. Everybody’s opinions meant something. Oftentimes Mr. Solomon went on a recruiting binge that everybody was patient with, yet our measure of success was how many inspectors showed up to the meetings. Success was not measured by how many ASHI members were on the roster. With each recruiting effort came a drop off in attendees until the mood was toned down once again. Then our numbers would increase again. The rest of us Non-ASHI members tried to make new attendees comfortable by trying to downplay the heavy conversion tactics were being employed. Some of us even became candidates and members because of the good parts of ASHI and in spite of the local power hungry tactics being demonstrated.

It saddens me also to hear and read your attitude that it is only because of the ASHI members that this chapter has been successful. Non-ASHI members are riding your coattails to success has been the mantra of the leadership in the past year. Let’s be serious Ted, I am not successful because I am riding your coattails. My business success has little to do with this chapter. I feel like I have been played for a fool by the chapter because I have shared a lot of my business tips and woes with the membership, not realizing until now that this would end up in a bloody holy war. I certainly haven’t been out on any recruiting maneuvers for the American Institute of Inspectors and other Non-ASHI members have not been proselyting for people to join their ranks. Instead, we checked our associations at the door so that we could have an environment of learning during our chapter meetings. There are many inspectors like myself that come faithfully to the meetings and have contributed time and effort to make the chapter a success. Your success as President is partially due to their support, yet you have both drawn a line in the sand and belittled them because they have not joined ASHI. You have told them to form their own group if they do not want to join ASHI because ASHI is set to dominate the marketplace (as if it is some kind of war), and you talk to them as though their training, credentials, and membership in other associations is of little value because they are not ASHI.

Instead of a coalition of home inspectors in Utah that really would warrant on strong united voice on the political front, you now have a small group of ASHI members thinking that they represent the profession of home inspectors here in Utah. Ted, I think that you and the ASHI members have made a terrible judgment call and have taken too much power upon yourself. You cannot force a group to be united. You cannot force compliance. You cannot offend those same individuals that you are trying to convert. I believe that your judgment has been clouded with a little power and I do not think that my words here are going to change your outlook one bit. I have watched the local ASHI leadership try to represent our group without asking for any input until after their actions were taken. It scares me to know that certain ASHI leadership members are meeting both politically and with the state and local Board of Realtors getting their own views accepted as though they represent my voice too. The actions displayed have been for power and not the betterment of our profession as a whole.

Please remember Ted that you changed the focus of our group from being engaged in a work to better the profession in Utah to being a group of ASHI members who are going to dominate the inspection marketplace. This is a scary thought and you can’t have it both ways. This is a goal that I cannot stand idly by and allow to go unchecked. I cannot have the obviously power hungry individuals represent my voice when it comes to future political legislation. Your current goal of marketplace domination is one that is established on false principles and will hurt our profession more than help our profession and I cannot support it. At your insistence I am forced to publicly resign as a member of the group. What a shame!

Sincerely, Michael Leavitt - Orem, Utah