Duncan Bennett Named 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

RIA’s Australasian Council held its first annual Conference & Trade Show from June 6-8, 2018, on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. One of the event highlights took place during the closing banquet dinner on June 8.

The Australasian Council had secretly planned the presentation of the council’s first annual RIA Australasian Council Lifetime Achievement Award (LTA) to be presented at the conference closing dinner. It is amazing that so many people were able to keep the recipient a secret — not even his wife knew.

The council leadership asked me in my role as the conference facilitator and RIA industry adviser, historian and steward of the Martin L. King award (MLK) to organize and preside over the presentation ceremony. RIA Executive Director Chris Mundschenk had the award plaque made in the U.S. and brought it down under in his carry-on luggage in the vein of a clandestine CIA mission. The inaugural LTA presentation and the selection and award ceremony for future recipients is modeled after the MLK award process held annually at the RIA Convention & Exposition.

Inaugural LTA Award Recipient Recognized for a Lifetime of Service

The council’s selection of longtime RIA member and advocate for our association in Australasia of Duncan Bennett, WLS, could not have been more deserving or appropriate as the inaugural recipient. Duncan’s legendary spirit of volunteerism in the region is on the scale of global advocacy. Over the years, he has served on the councils, committees and boards of RIA, IICRC and the regions’ local association NUCCA, which has, over the years, rebranded to NUCRA, SCRIA and now is operating under the auspices of ISSA. Duncan has always volunteered and served for the right reasons and to advance the association’s mission. He has done it with integrity and professionalism. Embracing these traits and values are what the MLK and LTA awards are all about.

A Word About the Ceremony and RIA Traditions

The LTA ceremony and award presentation was modeled after the MLK award, and the council leadership suggested I explain to the local audience the history of the MLK award as part of my introductory comments, as many of them had never been to the RIA Convention & Expo. After giving a short history of RIA and its traditions, including the high honor members place on receiving the MLK award, I read the annual MLK opening introduction and called for any MLK recipients in the audience to the stage. Longtime member Ashley Easterby joined me. Up to this point, no one besides the dozen council members and staff knew who the recipient would be.

As per tradition, at this point in the MLK ceremony, the previous year’s recipient is called to the podium to perform the presentation to the new recipient. Since this was the inaugural LTA award, the council asked that I perform that function based on my longtime friendship and history with Duncan and familiarity with the presentation protocols. Before calling the annual recipient to the stage, it is customary to share an overview of their professional accomplishments in a “This Is Your Life” style. This is often done with some good-natured humor injected and always done without announcing the recipient’s name until they are called to the stage, usually accompanied by a rousing standing ovation by the audience.

A Word About the Man and the Aussie Culture

I started the presentation speech by sharing the time I first met Duncan and how it led to a lifelong “association friendship.” Our first meeting was in 1996 in Bellingham, Washington, when he traveled to the states for the second Dri-Eaz Symposium. That year, I facilitated a Marketing and Pricing Workshop the day before the symposium, and Duncan was one of 85 attendees in that course along with representation outside of North America from several different countries including New Zealand.

After that first meeting, Duncan came over to the states. On his next trip, which was ASCR’s (RIA) 50th anniversary convention in San Francisco, he was joined by his friend and colleague Ashley Easterby, and they have been coming over ever since.

Duncan and many of his close professional friends from Australia who would come over for ASCR/RIA events were always willing to share their perspectives with fellow members and willingly brought what they learned back home to help grow the industry. In fact, in 2000, the murmurs started filtering back to ASCR HQ that “the Aussies” wanted the association to launch a chapter in the region. After ASCR rebranded to RIA in 2007, putting the association in position to grow globally, eventually the dream of Duncan, Ashley and many other longtime Aussie and Kiwi members came true. That type of association involvement is what global advocacy is all about.

The Crescendo and Culmination of the Ceremony

Before I called Duncan to the stage, concluding this tribute to him and the culture of our Aussie colleagues, I shared a handful of vignettes that demonstrate Duncan’s commitment of service to our association and the industry in his home region. In 2007, at the RIA convention in Orlando (the rollout of the rebranding of ASCR), Duncan was tasked earlier in the year to oversee a RIA membership drive in Australia encouraging an Aussie delegation to attend the convention. At the time of the recruitment effort, ASCR had a membership in Australia/New Zealand of approximately 20 members that had fluctuated over the years from 15 to 40. During the general session at the convention, Duncan asked to be heard from the floor and stood up and proudly announced, “Mr. President, I hold in my hand 50 paid applications for new members in Oceania.” Those of you who were there can recall the rousing round of applause he received.

In 2008, the year following the rebranding of RIA, the council structure was reorganized to accommodate international expansion. A two-day, in-person meeting was held at a hotel in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor for the Restoration Council (RC) to set their agenda and prioritize council initiatives that would support RIA’s strategic plan coming out of the rebranding process. The meeting was facilitated by RIA’s executive director, and attending in an advisory role were RIA technical adviser Marty King, CR, ASA, and myself. The council had five members, but only four could attend in person: Chair Mike Goldberg, CR; Frank Headen, CR, WLS, CMH; Sam Bergman, CR; and Kent Rawhouser, WLS, CMP.

There was one other member of the RC who couldn’t make the meeting in person but could call in via Skype: Duncan Bennett. He called in for eight hours each day, waking up at 2 a.m. local time to participate. There may have been a few times over the two days when one of the committee members shouted out, “Duncan, you still there, mate?” as they thought they may have heard some snoring. All in all, it was a productive two-day meeting that set the RC agenda for six years. Reflecting back on that fruitful meeting, those in attendance can take pride in the fruit it bore for RIA members and the industry, including RIA’s Glossary, Standardized Contracts, AFMG (accounting guidelines) and seeds were planted for the Fire Standards and CR Body of Knowledge.

In 2016, when Duncan started to wind down and consider his retirement plan, he vetted and recruited his handpicked successor to chair the newly formed Australian Steering Committee, which is now the RIA Australasian Council. At RIA’s 70th anniversary convention in Orlando, Duncan accompanied Ross Riek to his first RIA annual convention, and Duncan introduced him to council and board members and RIA staff. Ross eventually agreed to chair the Steering Committee and, under his leadership, the committee achieved council status. Ross recently passed the baton to longtime member Owen Boak, CR, WLS, CMP, at the June conference.

Duncan’s passion and commitment was shown earlier on the day of the LTA ceremony at the RIA member meeting in the conference hall. He so eloquently laid out a path his fellow members might consider to “Make it Better” in the region. It was evident to anyone in the room that the challenges and issues Australasian restorers and RIA members grapple with aren’t much different than their North America and U.K. counterparts when it comes to dealing with insurers, builders, government entities, property owners and other stakeholders involved in restoring fire-, water- and mold-related projects.

The Big Moment and its Aftermath

Once Duncan was called to the stage, the audience immediately rose to their feet to give a thunderous standing ovation that lasted several minutes. This allowed a visibly shaken and emotional Duncan to snake his way through the table configuration in the room and find his way to the stage. He was greeted by Ashley, Ross and Owen. Anyone who was in the room will never forget the sincere and heartfelt emotion of the ceremony, which I think validated the council’s choice of who should first receive this high honor representing the region on the international stage. Duncan gave an impassioned acceptance speech prefaced by recognizing Marty King and how humbled he was to receive such an honor modeled after Marty’s lifetime contribution as one of the restoration industry’s founding fathers.

Closing Thought

I’d like to encourage my fellow North American members (the U.K., too) to consider traveling down under next June once the 2019 second annual RIA Australian Conference & Tradeshow dates and venue are announced. What better way than to take a once-in-a-lifetime trip halfway around the world? You’ll get a chance to experience the Aussie and Kiwi relaxed culture, world-class hospitality and the fun-loving nature of your fellow international members.

Pete Consigli, CR, WLS, is RIA’s industry adviser, an honorary member, 2008 MLK award recipient and widely considered the associations’ historian. He is a resource for vetting the roots of the restoration and remediation industries. Pete is RIA’s Water Loss Specialist certification program adviser and WLS prep course facilitator. He also sits on the C&R Editorial Committee. Pete served as the Australian Conference & Trade Show facilitator and led a North American subject matter expert team to Australia to help support member and conference sponsored workshops. Pete can be reached at pcpathfinder@yahoo.com.