As I’m writing this article, Hurricane Florence is about two days away from making landfall in the Carolinas. According to CNN, if Florence stays the course, it will be the furthest north on the East Coast that a Category 4 storm has ever made landfall. Currently, the storm is nearly 550 miles wide, making it larger than the State of Michigan. More than 20 million people are in her path.

Almost every day, I see restoration companies posting openings on industry Facebook pages like the Rebels, NORRP, RIA Young Professional Restorers, and others.

When it comes to business, trust and relationships are key. In mid-June, I heard Mike Gallina speak at the Violand Executive Summit. Gallina is the Vice President of Communications and Community Engagement for AultCare Health Insurance Plans.

The very latest report from CoreLogic is here – and it includes some interesting projections on 2018 hurricane season and the cost of reconstruction.

The story of our lives is written one day at a time. One success at a time. One failure at a time. One solitary moment at a time. Often, life’s defining moments happen without our knowledge. 

Many people look at January and the New Year holiday as a time for a fresh start. I don’t know about you, but there aren’t many things all that inspiring to me about the New Year – although that could partially be because in Michigan, we are in the midst of months of gray skies and snow up to our eyeballs.

In R&R, we often have articles about industry trends. Typically, these trends are broad – like working with TPAs, catastrophe restoration, and hiring problems. However, there are other topics being talked about just as regularly among contractors – especially online.

Life in 2018 is complicated. Headlines are ravaged by shootings, sexual harassment cases (which we will talk about later in this issue), politics, what’s good for us, what’s bad for us, and on and on.

Odor removal in general can be one of the trickier elements to any restoration project. When it comes to large loss, removing the smoke odor (for example) from a warehouse the size of Ikea is no easy feat. It takes a knowledgeable restoration company and the right equipment to get the job done the right way, so there is no residual odor – and the odor doesn’t return later.