Learning the restoration business is how I spent my summer vacation. I officially took over as editor-in-chief of Restoration & Remediation magazine on June 1. But that wasn’t my introduction to the field. That took place in 2008.

My family had been living in our house for less than a year. One Saturday morning, we were minutes away from walking out the door. My wife was taking the kids someplace and I was off to run errands. The five of us stood by the front door making our final plans when we started to hear running water, as if someone upstairs turned on a faucet. We all looked at each other for a moment, confused by this seemingly ghostly noise. My wife and I raced upstairs to discover a broken pipe under the sink in the master bedroom’s bathroom.

We headed for the basement to turn off the water, but a large quantity was already coming through the first floor ceiling onto our dining room table. For some reason, we decided the best course of action would be putting a massive amount of towels on the table. Our then-11-year-old daughter said, “Why don’t you just move the table?” She’s still smug about that today.

We shut off the water and then called our insurance agent. I’m not sure if we ever ran those errands. Over the next few weeks, numerous workers came through our house, repairing water damage on all three levels, replacing carpeting and basically making it seem as if nothing ever happened. My wife was home to oversee the work and she was impressed by the skill and professionalism of each worker.

So I’m glad to contribute something to this business in my own way. I know first-hand how you help people when they are in some of the most stressful situations of their lives.