There appears to be a geographic imbalance in the make-up of the council and to me, that does not properly represent home inspectors or the unique qualities of homes in florida. On a geographic scale, we have:
4 members from the Greater Tampa region (includes Sarasota)
3 members from SW FL (Naples, Ft Myers area)
1 member from Orlando
1 member from Green Cove Springs (NE FL near Jacksonville)
None from SE FL (Ft. Lauderdale thru Miami)
None from the Panhandle
thus, 7 of the 9 members represent Tampa thru Naples or west coast.
The largest market (# of HI’s) is SE FL and there is no representation for that geographic region.
All of the Internachi council members are west coast (Tampa/Ft. Myers).
Since the members are appointed or elected by their organization, I fail to see the relevance.
You fail to note that in some orgs the decisions are based on that orgs board. So what difference would if make where the person is from if that casts a vote based on the organization’s desires. Example, Fabi’s President(elected) lives by me and appoints a council member. Our Chapter alternative rep is from West Palm Beach. We have a board member from the panhandle. Russ has asked many times for input from here.
I have personally talked with many people about things we are doing. Including people that are not on the council but are members of other boards. We need people that are going to bring inspectors together, not tear us apart.
John, stop from being so defensive. The post is not critical of any person nor does it imply that. Simple point is the folks who are leading the charge are not necessarily representative of the different geographic regions of the state. What is important in the panhandle is not the same as Miami as homes are built differently. Many homes in NW FL have furnaces whereas homes in Naples have heat pumps, etc.
It’s a simple post so don’t try to make it political or accuse me of “tearing down the house”. That is your MO for everything - accuse anyone who doesn’t always agree with you with being “against the brotherhood” . That is childish BS and you have NO AUTHORITY over me and as a member of InterNachi and a licensed HI, I will voice my opinion whenever and wherever I please. Sorry, but you are not the annointed one in my book so go ahead and sick you little DIS gang on me.
Will, my only point was , why are you looking for differences an not things we have in common? We(inspectors) have bigger issues. You do have a voice, through Nick, Russ, Richard and yourself, I would never presume to speak for anyone other than myself and on rare occasions my wife.
In my opinion his point is valid. Additionally, I am not aware of one general meeting in Miami-Dade, Broward or Monroe Counties. The Fl Keys would be a great place for a general meeting. Take a vacation, fish, dive ski,etc… and deduct on your taxes.
Our chapter has always asked were would everyone like the next meeting. We have never had anyone able to find us a place in the South and had a real hard time in the panhandle. The bigger issue the further from the center of the state we get, the less participation we get. I do not think he was implying the chapter meetings, though.
I have been to meetings in Weston and Lake Wales, there has been legislative updates in South Florida. Reality is, it is difficult to put these things together, it is more difficult when you can not be there to know where to go and compare. You need time and money.
Some have traveled to Tallahassee, including Milton, from Miami.
What could “we all” do differently to get more participation from these areas?
The FHIC meetings follow the F@bi meetings for cost and efficiency. I have considered having joined chapter meetings with them for the same reasons.
So is there a person out there who wants to read eamils, spend money and I mean spend money in Travel, take time away from their work and loved ones to get together to meet and talk about what is going on and then decide we don’t have the money to do what needs to be done.
The job was vacant for months with no takers, the only reason I took it was because I felt it was an important position to leave unfilled.
No one wanted it, so I told people I would do it. Now remember, with this job comes a $5000 guarentee to the lobbyist. You don’t raise it, it comes out of your pocket. So not only do you spend a ton of money on travel and the other items mentioned above your also on the hook for 5K…
So glamerous, I know. When I am voted out by the board or relinguish the position, people within the chapter are more than welcome to throw their hat in…
For Pete’s sake, Russell, the post is not about you or any member of the council. For what it is worth, even through our constant fueding, I have expressed both appreciation and support for your effort. At one point, I was seriously about to contribute to the legislative fund until I was unjustly attacked and quite hurtfully, referred to as “an old man”. You should be grateful for my generation as we gave you viagra and no generation could ever do more for its sons. One day, when you’re all grown up, you will understand.
