Finding My Way

*pinch*

Yes, that was me pinching myself. I remember the first time I walked into the RIA annual board meeting after being appointed chair of the Restoration Council just three short years ago. I felt like such an imposter. How did I earn the right to be sitting here with all these talented, wise and, in some cases, legendary restoration business leaders? What could I possibly bring to the table? Did I belong here?

It wasn’t the first time I had this feeling. I had a flashback to when I was first introduced to the restoration industry more than 24 years ago. At the time, I was working as an in-house graphic artist for a furniture retail company. After earning my art degree and working in that industry for 14 years, I realized that print advertising was rapidly on the decline, as was the retail furniture industry. I needed to figure something out, and rather quickly. Enter John Pletcher, who had recently purchased a ServiceMaster franchise and was looking for a mitigation estimator and project manager. I had no idea what any of that meant, nor had I even heard of a ServiceMaster, but a friend of mine who worked for John encouraged me to interview for the position. John took a chance on me, and subsequently, my new career was launched. I remember sitting at my desk that first day and again feeling like an imposter. What did I know about restoration? I didn’t know anything about estimating. Did I really belong here?

Eight years later, I was working for a commercial restoration contractor and arrived at my first-ever major commercial water loss, ever. I’m standing in the middle of the National Institute of Health (NIH) Medical Research Library outside of Washington, D.C., doing my best to sell our capabilities to their director. The project entailed the drying of a water loss that impacted three levels including their lecture auditorium. Priceless research manuscripts and artifacts were at risk, communications systems and presentation equipment was impacted, and business interruption needed to be minimized as there were upcoming events that could not be rescheduled. You got it; I felt like an imposter. What did I know about managing a loss of this size and caliber? Did I really belong here?

In reflection, there were a few constants that sustained me through my incompetence. Much of what I know today I must credit to John, who first took me under his wing and mentored me. John was an avid member of AIDS (an unfortunate acronym), which became ASCR, which evolved into today’s RIA. John encouraged me to learn all I could, provided me with the monthly C&R magazine, and regularly quizzed me on industry topics. John introduced me to leaders and teachers in our industry like Marty King (one of the biggest contributors to making our industry a professional one, and who is sorely missed) and Pete Consigli (still very active in our industry and a tremendous wealth of knowledge). RIA became a regular resource for me as I worked my way through my career, whether by phone calls to Marty to make sure my logic was correct, articles researched to provide answers on technical projects, or as a referral source for consultation services such as when I walked into that tremendously intimidating NIH loss.

Borrowing heavily from the book “The Founder’s Mentality” (which describes a company’s business cycle from insurgency to stall-out, to decline), our industry’s life cycle seems to be in the second stage of stall-out. When I first entered this industry, restoration was still in the infancy/insurgency stage. There was tremendous growth opportunity on all fronts. Drying logs weren’t even a thing. We used our fingers as moisture meters. We made our own drying equipment by adapting blowers and dehumidifiers from other industries to suit ours. As advancements were made on all fronts (estimating, technology, software, education and insurance coverage), things began to slow down and we entered adolescence/stall-out. We began to learn from experience, and put processes and procedures in place to ensure a more predictable outcome of projects. There was still room for growth and technological advancement, but not anything like in the infancy stage.

As we move from adolescence/stall-out into adulthood/possible free-fall, our industry has the propensity to grind to a halt and stagnate or decline. We must combat the possible negative aspects of this next phase and bring our industry back into a place of insurgency (Zook & Allen, 2016). We need newer, younger, energized ideas. How do we adapt new technology to our industry? What new insurance products are being developed that restorers can capitalize on and adapt their business models to? How do we develop training that offers better instruction, costs less, and is available wherever the contractor is located and designed the way they prefer to learn? I truly believe that RIA is uniquely positioned to answer these and other questions one may have in a way that will aid our industry and support the restoration contractor. RIA needs you. We need the next generation of restorers to be involved, contribute, teach and lead.

So, I’m walking into my first RIA board meeting as the newly appointed Restoration Council chair. Out of my element, completely intimidated and very nervous. What I found was a group of “Level 5 Leaders that exhibited a blend of [excitement], humility, and professional will” (Collins, 2001). Leaders that embraced me, made me feel at home and gave genuine concern to my well-being as a board member. After attending a few meetings, I am much more at ease and have even had the honor of contributing something noteworthy from time to time. The leadership on our board is truly dedicated to the welfare and growth of our industry, and especially to the care of the contractor. Many times, hearts and souls have been laid bare, and I must say that “it is good.” RIA is your house. There is a seat here for you. You are not an imposter. You will be welcomed just like I was. Our industry needs your involvement, not only for its continued growth, but for its survival. Serving our industry through RIA has been an honor and a truly humbling experience for me. I fell in love with our industry many years ago, and my hope is that when I do leave it, I leave it just a little better off than when I found it.

Steven V. Lowry has been with Jenkins Restorations for six years and is the director of the safety and contents/cleaning/environmental services divisions as well as special adviser to Jenkins Emergency Services. Lowry has more than 24 years in the property restoration industry, 19 of which are in the mitigation/remediation. Lowry is currently a board member of the Restoration Industry Association (RIA), the chair of the Restorations Council and is also actively involved with the Property Insurance and Restoration Conference (PIRC). Lowry also sits on the board of Dandelion Meadows, a nonprofit organization based in Purcellville, Virginia, guiding women in recovery, so they may learn life skills and embrace emotional, physical, mental and spiritual wellness.