By Deirdra Watson
The old adage, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, certainly didn’t apply when the Canadian Flooring, Cleaning and Restoration Association (CFCRA) was in Las Vegas for the IICRCA (International Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Council of Associations) event from May 6 – 8 at the Rio.
The inaugural IICRCA event was held in conjunction with the Restoration Industry Association (RIA) Conference. CFCRA was an exhibitor at the event and we utilized our presence to launch and showcase Canada’s new nationwide flooring association to the flooring, cleaning and restoration industry.
Industry leaders, suppliers and member trade associations exhibited, presented and demonstrated products services and new techniques in the floor cleaning and restoration industry.
CFCRA networked with many attendees and exhibitors sharing ideas, and further developing industry relationships heading toward a future of shared success.
Sessions presented during the event included The Chemistry of Chemspec, Make your Business Chemspectactular; Not-for-Profit, It’s a Tax Status; Is your Substrate Ready for Floorcoverings: Determining Proper Moisture Levels for Restored Substrates; Market Your Business to be Known as the Expert in Your Market, Create an Online Strategy That Makes Your Phone Ring, and the key panel session, attended by over 75 attendees, was the educational session: S500 Water Damage Restoration, panel discussion.
Substantial changes to the S500 Water Damage Restoration Standards have been in the works for a number of years, and the panel discussion highlighted those changes that are still in review and not finalized. Howie Wolf, IICRC Standards Committee chair, introduced the panel discussion. It was moderated by Joseph A. Hughes, Jr., CIEC, IAQ Training Institute; Cliff Aoltnik and “Radio Joe” Hugest of IAQ Radio. Panelists included Darren Hudema, WLS, Dri-Eaz Products Inc.; Ron Reese, REE-Construction/First General Idaho; Jeremy Reets, Reets Drying Academy; and Niclas Willems, Team Terra DKI.
For IICRCA, the inaugural event the was a success and the next event will take place Oct. 23 – 24 at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino, in conjunction with the ISSA show at the Las Vegas Convention Centre Oct. 21 – 23. Attendees of the IICRCA show will gain access to the ISSA show and attendees to the ISSA show will be able to attend the IICRCA show at no additional cost. More information on the event in October can be found at https://the-iicrca-event.org. As the industry grows, the member associations of the IICRCA will continue to work together to provide a better experience for the membership. Working together with the IICRCA, CFCRA along with the other members associations — NICFI, LMCCA, PCRA, CRCII, NWFA, CCINW, ARCSI, TRSCA, and SCRIA — will be involved in being that voice as well as promoting training and policies and standards.
With the involvement that CFCRA has with the IICRCA, we are excited about what is happening in the industry. As we all strengthen our related industries through services, best practices and events such as the event hosted by IICRCA and future events and educational sessions that we are developing for our members, we see our role as being the “go-to” flooring, cleaning and restoration association in Canada.
The Canadian Flooring Cleaning and Restoration Association is Canada’s newest national trade association addressing the needs of the flooring, cleaning & restoration industry in Canada. CFCRA offers our members an opportunity for leadership, camaraderie, networking and professional development with seminars on topics of interest to the industry, with an aim to provide our members a platform to foster a standard of excellence in the industry. We are offering seminars in September, October and November of 2015, check out our website at www.cfcra.ca for more details.
Deirdra Watson is a certified public relations professional and serves as the business manager for the CFCRA.