Celeste

Honestly, I think a square footage of the substrate cleaned - physical hands on doing it properly, not supervising employees would be a better baseline for knowledge. Folks can be in business for years and do stuff Wrong wrong wrong.....of course that would mean those substrates have been cleaned just as wrong. Years in business would definitely be a plus in some cases so long as you could show that you'd been successful at it.....and not just muddled through. Who wants to learn from a muddler? I'll be the first to admit my bookkeeping skills SUCK! LOL I could use a good Quick Books course with motivational teacher.

Wow, 10 years certainly disqualify some folks.....including Beth & Rod - gee, I could have sworn that at one point Rod was qualified to teach a wood cert class...... Let's have a show of hands to see who all was approached by Alliance to teach a class of some sort - but only if you've been in business for 10 years!!! Time frame is about a stupid way to look at qualification....again, if it is okay for my children to be taught vitally important things like reading and writing and their teachers are only required what 4 years of school (which by the way is learning through lectures - not practical experience for the most part) then WHY does someone who may be ahead of the power curve in an area of this industry need to have 10 years in business? There are a few success stories in here that aren't even OLD enough to have been in business for 10 years. Celeste

What a beautiful family :) That's all the motivation you will ever need! Best of luck to you in 07 although it doesn't look like you need any! Celeste

Ohhhhhh Scott....noooooooo LOL Celeste

Yippee Carlos! Nice points! Celeste

And while I am ranting, Grass Roots Events IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION. It's purpose was never to do anything more than to promote education or networking. I'm willing to bet that more Round Table registrations have come through that lovely little FREE service that a CONTRACTOR unselfishly provided.....I know I've gotten over 30 emails for mine, don't know about Don's or Tom's but somehow I suspect combined we have more interest in small contractore organized events that are tailored to our interests than a big ole event. Celeste

And let me throw out this last one.......since we're not calling any names anyway. PLEASE tell my why I should want to take a marketing course from a particular organization that HAS been around for more than your alloted decade that NO ONE knows who they are? Does the new "industry teacher" advertise? Where, pray tell. Not through the mail, not at any major cleaning tradeshows and evidently no longer in the industry cleaning magazine. Boy, that's gonna get their phone ringing. Celeste

Okay - back up. Why 10 years? I distinctly remember a thread on the now defunct PWNA bbs that didn't use years for qualifications. Why not decide first what a REAL qualifier would be.....is it years of experience, by one person or a cumulative total within a company....or should it be by the literal amount of square footage cared for? Celeste

Hey, my countertops are getting the treatment but what holds them up looks like poooo :)

Thank you for speaking up Don......these are OUR Round Tables. We all own our own companies and until someone steps up and pays MY bills, don't start telling me how to grow my business, who to learn from and WHERE to spend my time. There is NEVER going to be an organization that satisfies everyone....some folks need to just get past that and realize that not everyone fits with everyone. It doesn't mean we're unqualified or don't have enough experience to help each other.....or maybe we're just not LEMMINGS, blindly following the "leader" off the cliff! Don, Barry, Ken.....I will help your function in anyway I can. I actually have quite a bit of literature that Nationally recognized companies and organizations have provided me. They will be getting table top displays that I will be more than happy to send your way with Bob. Far as I'm concerned, they can make the whole circuit of RT's. My contribution, my nickel. Celeste

Hey Squirt......have you thought about doing cabinets anymore? My kitchen looks like, well, poooo. Celeste

Well while everyone is deciding who is qualified to teach what and where to find these folks, those of us who don't feel the need to stagnate will continue to network via TGS, other bb's and Round Tables where I, for one, continue to learn something EVERYDAY about our industry, where it is going, who is helping or hindering, what I may or not need to do for MY business to achieve MY goals (which just for the record is not to make a million dollars and have many many employees). Each visit to me is a potential eye-opener, a new way to market, a quicker way to reach a goal, a motivational post or to welcome a new friend. It is beyond my comprehension WHY certain people, supposedly so successful, are so visibly shaken and threatened by contractors willing to help each other. Contractors networking with no other ulterior motive other than to make the industry better for ALL of us has clearly gotten some BVD's all wadded up. Sorry. We won't be stopping any time soon. Celeste

Tony, don't you get it though? If there are those out there with the knowledge and expertise that you are looking for.....where do you think you're going to find them - the yellow pages? And for you to only drift in and speak out once a year or so, how does that go toward your veteran experience helping to guide anyone? As far as forming negative opinions about people, you might want to check yourself since you started this thread disparging a fellow contractor for wanting to help his industry. Celeste

Mike, We have trained for our decorative concrete through Pure Texture (they're also hosting my Round Table in February!) Here's an example of how the concrete can be made to look like granite (not my work but from their contractor gallery) We would charge somewhere around $45 per sq foot, maybe less, however if you were able to do it, your materials would run you about $3.00 a square.

Oh but Barry, if we are on here weeding through, we must not be busy!!! Maybe we need to learn from those guys that are soo busy they're doing their wood work IN THE DARK!!!! lol

Hey Mike - you've just give yourself the perfect reason to come south :) The Pure Texture products can be used over your existing countertops and finished to look like granite for about 1/4 of the cost. You can take the class, buy the products and do it yourself AND get yourself an interesting winter sideline as well :) Celeste

Here was our first Extreme Solutions experience - it's when we found out that Russell will answer the phone any day of the week :) Weeeeelllllllll, maybe not.....seems that I have exceeded my quota for posting pics. :lgtear:

I keep waiting for John T to pipe up here since he's the only PWNA BoD that is allowed to post. John, can you answer the questions here? If I want to attend the PWNA cert class in Vegas, am I only going to get the NADRA condensed version? I know the org is having another one of its "reorganizations" or "regrouping" or whatever it's being called this year, but since no information is ever forthcoming from the org that is supposed to be our industry leader, the only choice being left to the general population - oh and the membership as well from what I understand - is SPECULATION! How can you offer a class to the membership for wood restoration that results in a test and certification......then offer a "different" class with "different" materials for LESS money to a group that would be perceived to be competition to the membership ANYWAY! I didn't see where two "different" courses were offered during the schedule either. Oooo.....maybe the deck guys get an advanced course so they can be MULTIPLE steps ahead of the regular certified mom/pop company who will have to pay even MORE money to keep up with the deck companies. Are the class lengths the same? What's missing or added? Okay, bottom line is.......I join NADRA, take the wood class offered at Deck Expo.....what is my certificate going to say....NADRA or PWNA? These are not difficult or political questions? As a woodie, I will ALWAYS look at furthering my education but I want to make certain that if I spend my hard earned money to take a class that I know who the "cerifying agency" is going to be. Celeste

I proudly use my company name....with all of my contact information and real names in the signature.

Raise your coffee cups, your soda bottles, beer, wine or whatever you may be indulging in....let's toast the "newbies" in the industry for they give more than many credit them for. Newbies bring interesting new concepts and ideas.....they bring OPEN minds, willing to learn and share what has been imparted on them. Newbies are the guinea pigs of the industry - they're willing to try new things where some old dogs just won't even crack open their tightly closed minds and because of this, can provide insight that years of experience can't. A newbie can try and reinvent the wheel and be successful! Newbies are unselfish with their successes and failures and unabashedly appreciative of what they gain - or avoid losing! Newbies also bring an immeasureable amount of other knowledge to the table that we can all use, even if it has nothing to do with this industry in particular. Newbies are the future of this industry just as our children are our country's future. Here's to the newbies - may you/we all be successful in 2007! Celeste

THOSE people with all of THOSE years in business that are supposedly providing educatin to OUR industry ..... hmm, maybe I'll shut up until next year :) Celeste

Hey, how's this for an idea....stop the death penalty here and send them over to one of the numerous sandboxes that so many of our young Americans are dying in. Let's keep our troops here at home defending our borders against the illegals that everyone dislikes so much. As for housing that evil SOB with one penny of my tax dollars - well that just pisses me off. He probably ate better and had better medical care than half of this country that belongs here. Ooh, cranky, need to go to bed. Celeste

I love the shot with the ceiling fan and pine tree branches - takes your breath away - NICE WORK and nice photography! Celeste

I figured either that one or the Flood Spa n Deck (same principal - oil base coat, acrylic topcoat) I have say that we have put Spa n Deck down on two projects and both after 2+ years still look outstanding! Shane's seen some bad messes with that product I think though. Celeste

Nope - we've used Flood's product. Only thing we'll use from Cabot's is their solid oils. We've not heard anything good about the SPF so haven't bothered with it :) Celeste