Sweeping Magazine - January 2021 by National Chimney Sweep Guild

Sweeping January 2021 VOLUME 45 #1

The Journal of Chimney and Venting Technology

How to Figure Out What Content Your Customers Want Continuing Education

Continuing Education: Is It A Part Of Your System?

Celebrating 10 magical years

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How to Figure Out What Content Your Continuing Customers Education Want

12 23

Continuing

Sweeping January 2021 Volume 45 Issue 1

Table of Contents President’s Letter 4 Editor’s Letter 6 Tech Q&A 8 Coach’s Corner 18 Membership Memo 24 New Members 29 Around the Tech Center 30 Date and Events 30 Classifieds 31 Darwin Award 32

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Smoke Chambers and Cast in Place Liner Installation (866) 283-8667 Ext. 706

Factory Built Fireplace Installation and Replacement (866) 283-8667 Ext. 701

Dryer Vents (866) 283-8667 Ext. 707

Gas Appliance Venting, Gas Logs and NFPA 54 (866) 283-8667 Ext. 702 Oil Appliance Venting and NFPA 31 (866) 283-8667 Ext. 703 Chimney Inspection, Documentation and NFPA 211 (Levels of Inspection) (866) 283-8667 Ext. 704

Installation and Venting of Pellet Stoves (866) 283-8667 Ext. 708 IRC and NFPA 211 (Code Questions) (866) 283-8667 Ext. 709 Customer Service and Customer Communication (866) 283-8667 Ext. 710 General Sweeping and Repair (866) 283-8667 Ext. 711

NATIONAL CHIMNEY SWEEP GUILD BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2019-2020

TECHNICAL ADVISORY COUNCIL

Masonry Fireplace Construction and Restoration (866) 283-8667 Ext. 700

Stainless Steel Liner Installation (866) 283-8667 Ext. 705

Be advised that advice given by NCSG’s Technical Advisory Council (TAC) reflects best practices of the chimney sweeping industry. However, we are unable to account for any particular type of situation since regional variations in construction practices and additional environmental, physical and geographical factors necessarily vary the level of service appropriate for a particular fireplace and/or chimney. Additionally, local laws and ordinances may govern and/ or supersede the information and any recommendations provided. Final determinations are the responsibility of a local professional with firsthand knowledge of the situation, and the local Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ). Neither NCSG nor any member of TAC will be held liable for any damages whatsoever resulting from the use of or reliance on information provided by anyone associated with TAC. By your use of this member benefit you acknowledge acceptance of these terms.

STAFF

Resources 2155 Commercial Drive Plainfield, IN 46168 (317) 837-1500 Fax: (317) 837-5365

Megan McMahon Executive Director mmcmahon@ncsg.org

Penny Seals Academic Coordinator pseals@ncsg.org

Annemarie Stockton Director of Communications and Marketing astockton@ncsg.org

Sara Sichting Systems and Records Coordinator ssichting@ncsg.org

Russell Dimmitt Education Director rdimmitt@ncsg.org

Tammy Bruner Program Coordinator tbruner@ncsg.org

Brittney Burton Membership & Outreach Coordinator bburton@ncsg.org

Kaitlyn Gonzalez Administrative Assistant kgonzalez@ncsg.org

Charissa Benge Mahaffey Certification Coordinator cmahaffey@ncsg.org

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Vice President, At-Large Director (Appointed) Thomas Hunkele topnotchchimney@gmail.com Treasurer, Region 1 Matt Mair matt@blackmoosechimney. com Secretary, Region 4 Jeff Keefer jeff@chimneycareco.com Region 2 Bill Thornton wissahickonvalleysweep@ yahoo.com

Region 6 Jesse Peralta chimcare@hotmail.com At-Large Joe Sauter joe@yourchimneysweep.com At-Large Director Steve Scally firesidesweeps@comcast.net At-Large Director (Appointed) Gregg Boss englishsweep@att.net Supplier Representative Stuart Karanovich stuartk@saversystems.com

Region 3 Ron Rust tophatswp@aol.com

COMMITTEE CHAIRS and TASK FORCES 2019 – 2020

To contact any member of the Technical Advisory Council, please call (866) 283-8667 and select the extension for the person who is best qualified to answer your question:

President, Region 5 Jasper Drengler (715) 304-8934 drengler01@gmail.com

Bylaws Tom Hunkele (641) 774-8056 topnotchchimney@gmail.com

NFPA 211 Representative Jim Brewer (757) 523-2400 jbrewer@magic-sweep.com

Ethics Joe Sauter (317) 243-9687 joe@yourchimneysweep.com

NFPA 31 Representative John Pilger (631) 863-2460 chimneyman@aol.com

Governance Bill Thornton (215) 540-9787 wissahickonvalleysweep@yahoo.com

NFPA 54 Jim Brewer (757) 523-2400 jbrewer@magic-sweep.com

Government Affairs Jeff Keefer 513-248-9600 info@chimneycareco.com

Technical Advisory Council Steve Scally (603) 895-8746 firesidesweeps@comcast.net

International Relations John Pilger (631) 863-2460 chimneyman@aol.com Membership Jesse Peralta (503) 655-2446 chimcare@hotmail.com

DISCLAIMER The views expressed in Sweeping do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Chimney Sweep Guild or its employees. ADVERTISING RATES for Sweeping: The Journal of Chimney & Venting Technology may be obtained by contacting Malisa Minetree at (317) 815-4688 or sweepingads@me.com Layout and design by David Bruce, Red2 Design Bureau NCSG encourages industry partners to submit press releases and articles to editor Annemarie Stockton at astockton@ncsg.org. Submissions should contain items of interest or importance to the chimney and venting industry. Submissions should not contain direct solicitations, prices, or a call to action on the part of our readers. Submissions may contain images or artwork attached in a .jpg format. In all cases, NCSG reserves the right to edit submissions to fit space limitations, keep the release and publish at a later date, or refuse to publish the release for any reason. Neither publishing, nor refusing to publish the submission should be considered a statement of NCSG’s opinion regarding the release. NCSG further reserves the right to reject at any time any advertising determined not to be in keeping with the publication’s standards. Acceptance of advertising by Sweeping magazine does not necessarily constitute endorsement of products or services advertised. NCSG does not make any effort to review or substantiate claims made by advertisers. © 2021 National Chimney Sweep Guild, 2155 Commercial Drive, Plainfield, IN 46168. (317) 837-1500

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Jasper Drengler President

I 4

hope you are enjoying a Happy New Year and making goals for 2021. We all make goals: work less, better ourselves, be more productive, be more profitable, etc. All of us want to be the best possible version of ourselves. We should always try to learn, grow

President’s Letter and improve ourselves in all aspects of life. I personally have plenty of room to improve myself. One true belief is that we never stop learning. I know I'm a hands-on learner and that there is no replacement for years of field work. Learning from books and memorizing codes is great, but living it in the real world is much different. We all know of someone who brags about how long they have been doing something whenever someone tries

to point out a mistake. Truth is, we have to still stay current on code changes and the newest technologies — especially with gas fireplaces. All education is good education. We all have our favorite teachers to learn from. To this day, I still visit Fred Beyer, my high school shop teacher. When he retired, I built two fireplaces in his new home and we regularly meet up to chat about motorsports, business and kids these days. He has talked me into helping hang his lights a few times just because I couldn't stand to think of him on a ladder.

As part of your 2021 plans, I hope you include the National Chimney Sweep Guild Convention. You will definitely learn something as well as get the biggest bang for your buck in CEUs. To learn more, visit www.ncsgconvention. org. I really hope in 2022 we can get back to in-person meetings! Be safe, be profitable!

NCSG President Jasper Drengler

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Editor’s Letter

appy 2021, Sweeps! The new year always brings about a sense of reflection and renewed vigor, and that’s no different this year. In fact, I think many of us are more ready than ever to tackle the challenges this new year will bring. I wanted to first say congratulations to all

of you for persevering through a tremendously challenging time. Whether you saw your business reach new heights or you had to really dig your heels in to power through, you should celebrate how far you’ve come. We here at NCSG are proud of each and every one of you, and we are thrilled to take on 2021 together. When you’re making your plans for this year, don’t forget to plan out the continuing education of yourself and your employees. So many of our industry partners are putting out some stellar opportunities this year,

so I encourage you all to seek those out. Steve Scally in his article in this issue says, “You don’t know what you don’t know until you know.” He perfectly sums out how important it is to continue to grow and seek knowledge from those around you. That’s never been easier for many than it is right now! With both virtual and live offerings throughout the country, there is something for everyone. I hope you’re including the NCSG Virtual Convention on that list, too. You can’t miss it, March 17-20. If you can’t make it to

convention as the sessions are going on live, all registered attendees will have access to ALL sessions for a full 2 weeks after the event. While we encourage everyone to have a well-rounded education, we are excited to be a source that brings all different types of topics, knowledge, and viewpoints to you in one place. I hope to see you all there! Sweeps Luck to you all this year – may it be your best yet.

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Steven Scally

Technical Q and A What Makes Continuing Education So Important?

A 8

sweep owned a company that was recognized throughout the industry as being a leader in learning new technology and workmanship. This was early in the industry, back in the 80’s. The company had a great reputation in their area for workmanship and knowledge, and he thought he knew it all. This attitude trickled down to the head sweeps. They believed they knew everything and were the best at their trade. This sweep took his company to all the conventions and brought his head sweeps with him. Unfortunately, none of the head sweeps took these conventions seriously. After a few years, the owner stopped bringing his sweeps, and eventually he started to not go to the conventions. Back then there were regional conventions as well as the NCSG national convention,

and these were the only learning/training opportunities around. After a while, one of the head sweeps discovered he was missing things on the job. The company he worked for had changed hands, focusing more on the money side of the business than the training and skills needed to do the job in an ever-changing industry. The head sweep decided to leave this company and start out on his own. This is when the learning and life-training really started! He soon discovered he didn’t “know it all,” and if he wanted his own business to succeed, he needed to get a tremendous amount of information and training — not only on the sweeping/servicing side, but also on the “how to run a business” side. Right around this time new opportunities were being offered from the NCSG. One such opportunity was called “Diagnosis and Documentation,” D&D

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as we called it back then. This class was offered all around the country with Jerry Isenhour, Tom Urban, and Ken Robinson as instructors. These

Our industry is unique in that sweeps oftentimes help fellow sweeps and share what they have learned through their own experiences three did a two-day class that blew the new entrepreneur’s mind. He realized there was always something new to be learned and began to look for what was next. He found out the hard way that he did not know everything, and it humbled him a lot. He is now a well-known businessperson in this industry and continues to learn what he does not know. You don’t know what you don’t know until you know it. With today’s learning platforms that are

available and with the ever-changing classes and updates, we can always learn more. I would also recommend looking outside the industry for classes and information that you need in order to run your business or to be the best you can be as a technician, mason, sweep, reline expert, gas expert, etc. Our industry is unique in that sweeps oftentimes help fellow sweeps and share what they have learned through their own experiences — whether it be a cool new tool that will help you do your job more efficiently or a spreadsheet they’ve developed to better track their business. I was sitting in a Zoom seminar this past year when something really hit me. I had heard the speakers talk about their subjects many times before. It was not what they were saying that changed… it was my understanding that had changed. I was finally in a place where I could really

hear what they were saying, and it changed how I did business. This particular Zoom meeting was with Chuck Ryodhouse and Mark Stoner. We have all heard them speak somewhere at some point, especially if you have gone to a convention or two. But my point here is to NEVER assume you know what is going to be said or presented, even when you have taken that class before or heard those speakers before. Go into every

class with an open mind and the curiosity of “what new thing will I learn today?”

The one thing that makes continuing education so important is the fact that change is constant. In closing, what I would like all of you to do is to not be like the sweep in the story. Be open and humble yourself to the possibility that you are not the best at what

you do and you’re not the most knowledgeable person in this field. There is always something more to learn. There is always someone out there who you can learn from. We all have gifts we bring to the table. You just need to come to the table and be open to the gifts that are being presented.

industry, everything was always changing. We can choose to change with it and learn from it or be left behind.

The one thing that makes continuing education so important is the fact that change is constant. Since the beginning times in our

NATIONAL CHIMNEY IS EXPANDING. WE ARE INVESTING IN ALL OUR MANUFACTURING LOCATIONS TO KEEP UP WITH THE INDUSTRY'S HIGH DEMANDS!

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Sweeps Say What's one educational opportunity that you'd recommend all industry members take? “So many different ones - depending on where I was in business at the time. As a tech - Chimney physics, gas, - as a business owner Pricing for profit, MIX groups.” – Bob Ferrari, White Glove Chimney and Duct

“I would say in the field it would be Bob Priesing’s class on ladders/scaffold/safety that he taught in Florida (I think that’s right) in 2015. Business wise, Bill Ryan’s “Eliminating the Slow Season” was definitely a game changer!” – David Steward, Copper Ridge Chimney LLC “Definitely the Business Symposium class.” – Bob Faughnan, Champ's Chimney Sweep, LLC

“Here's two that have changed my business completely: Professional Chimney Inspection with Michael Segerstrom and Bill Ryan and F.I.R.E. certified inspector training with Dale Feb.” – Eron Armour, Armour Chimney Service

“Chimney Physics is a winner for hands on stuff. Aside from that I think Rob Lindemann's keynote many years ago really hit me.” – Matt Mair, Black Moose Chimney and Stove LLC

“Chimney Physics - Can correct many air issues associated with tight homes and pressure problems.” – Joseph Sauter, Your Chimney Sweep, Inc.

Look out for each month’s Sweeps Say question on Facebook!

“Job Costing!” – Jesse Peralta, Chimcare

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12 Carter Harkins and Taylor Hill

How to Figure Out What Content Your Customers Want

hat’s the one thing every business owner has in common? We’re all short on time. Our to-do lists grow, but the number of hours we have to get it all done never grows. And a lot of us aren’t so much blurring the work-life line — we’re erasing it altogether. In other words: we don’t have time to waste. We need to know that everything we put effort and time into is going to have a return. That it’s going to be worth it. But here’s the challenge: How do you know if the content you’re creating is worth the time it takes to create? The Facebook posts. The Google My Business (GMB) posts. The blog posts. The videos. They all take time to create. And then there are the

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questions that inevitably come when you consider setting aside that time. Like: What should you even post? What if no one cares? Is any of it actually worth doing? Maybe that’s why you haven’t been as active as you know you need to be on your business’s social media pages. Maybe that’s why you haven’t written any blog posts lately, posted to Google My Business (GMB), or created any videos to go on your website. Hey, we know the feeling. Our head copywriter feels this way at least 4x a week. (She’s probably lying — it’s probably more.) But you know what helps that feeling of “Is it worth my time?” When you know the content you’re creating is the content your potential customers and existing customers are looking for.

The type of content they want. So, how do you figure that out before you put in the time and work? Here are our four favorite tricks:

#1 PAA (People Also Ask) + Searches Related To There’s a killer trick for discovering what people want you to cover in your content, and it’s as easy as doing a quick search in Google. When you type something into the Google search bar — like “Do chimneys need to be cleaned?” — you’ll see a section below the featured snippet answer called “People also ask.” Take a look... “People also ask” is one of the greatest Google gifts for anyone creating content around a specific topic. Essentially, Google is saying, “Hey, if your audience wants to know the answer to this question, they probably also want to know the answers to these questions.” Which means, you can create content that’s more thorough. Content that covers all the angles and all the questions your customers have around a specific topic: like chimney cleaning. And the more thorough and centered around the questions your customers have your content is, the more worthwhile it’ll be to create.

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Now, once you’ve jotted down all the “People also ask” questions, scroll down to the bottom of the search results for some more helpful info from Google. That’s where you’ll see “Searches related to [whatever your question/topic is],” and another list of questions people are asking Google. Like in the screenshot below. Bam! We entered one question into Google and got 12 related questions out of it. It didn’t require any paid tools, any brainstorming, or any interaction with humans. (Now we know why our head copywriter loves this hack.) So, when you have writer’s block or you just don’t know what questions people have around your topic or services, go where everyone else goes: to Google. It’s a quick and easy way to figure out what people really care about, so you can cater to that in your content and be confident that the content you’re creating is worth the time and effort.

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Bonus tip: Before you X out of search results, check to see what types of content people have created to answer the questions you’re considering answering or cover the topic you’re considering covering. Are they all blog posts? Maybe you should create a video. Is everyone leaving key questions out? What’s missing from each piece of content? Give the search results a once over, so you know what type of content you need to create and what you need to do to make yours better and more comprehensive. That way, your content will have a better chance of showing up in search results when someone heads to Google to get info around that topic.

#2 Answer the Public Another hack you’re going to love is answerthepublic. com. Simply type a keyword or question into the search box, hit enter, and scroll down to see a visual of all the different related questions people have. You can even download a CSV file (for Excel), which means you don’t have to jot every question down or copy and paste them. Hallelujah! Below, you’ll see the related questions results for “chimney cleaning.”

If you scroll down further, subtopics will be grouped by preposition. For example, you can see all of the questions and subtopics that include the phrase “chimney cleaning” + “for,” or “chimney cleaning” + “without.”

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And if you continue scrolling, you’ll see search phrases that include words like “versus,” “like,” “and,” “or,” and center around comparisons. Finally, you’ll find an alphabetical list of related topics, subtopics, and searches. Like the PAA and Searches related to features in Google, you can use this info to guide the content you create and make sure you’re answering the questions people have around the topics you’re covering.

#3 Pay attention to social media convos Another place to go to discover the questions your customers and potential customers have so you can answer them in your content is social media. What types of questions are people asking on your Facebook page? Or in your Facebook Messenger? Consider doing an AMA (Ask Me Anything) Facebook Live and having someone on your team record all of the questions you’re asked. If one person is asking a question, you can be sure other people have the same question. So answer it in the Live, but consider also writing a blog post or shooting a quick video for YouTube to cover the topic.

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And always consider intent. Why does someone want the answer to this question? What other questions might they have if they have this question? What else do they need to know? Go deeper. Be thorough.

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#4 Get the team involved And the final hack? Create a spreadsheet where the entire team â&#x20AC;&#x160;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x160;CSRâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, techs, office staff monitoring your website chat, and anyone else interacting with customers â&#x20AC;&#x160;â&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x160;can compile questions as theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re asked. Everyone on your team is having different interactions with customers at different stages of the buying process. So theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re likely hearing different questions. If you have a shared place where everyone can document the questions theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re being asked, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll know exactly what content you need to create for all the stages of the buying cycle. The Right Content Will Make You a Trusted Resource

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Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the thing: At the end of the day, prospects are going to call the company that answered their questions, provided value, and showed authority and expertise well before they were ready to buy. You need to make sure youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re the company building that

trust and providing that value, and creating the right content can help. So use these four hacks to guide the content you create. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll save you tons of time and help ensure youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re creating the type of content people actually want. The type of content that builds trust, provides value, and brings real ROI. The type of content thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worth every minute it takes to create. Carter Harkins and Taylor Hill are the co-founders of Spark Marketer, a Nashville, Tennessee-based digital marketing company that works primarily with service businesses. They're also cocreators of the award-winning app Closing Commander, which helps contractors close more estimates effortlessly, and co-authors of the book, Blue Collar Proud: 10 Principles for Building a Kickass Business You Love. Both regularly speak at service industry trade shows and conferences across the nation. Visit www. sparkmarker.com, www.about. closingcommander.com, www. facebook.com/sparkmarketer, or www.facebook.com/ closingcommander.

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Jerry Isenhour

Coach’s Corner Continuing Education: Is It A Part Of Your System?

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hen Annemarie sent the reminder of the deadlines for this month’s issue, she said that the theme of the issue would be Continuing Education, and I thought to myself what an excellent subject to write about for the month as we head into 2021. The question is: How are you putting continuing education to work in your business, including yourself and your team members? As you are receiving this issue at the beginning of the new year of 2021, likely this offers an excellent time to discuss the subject of ongoing continuing education for your workforces. As we discuss this subject matter, we should recognize how education is so much more readily available to industry members today than it was just

a few short years ago. Not only the number of opportunities, but also the number of sources that education and training is available from and the vast amounts of subject matter including many options available at the simple click of a mouse. But we must acknowledge that getting our team members into an ongoing task of continuing education is a challenge, and we must design a process to make this happen. Continuing education requires a commitment of both time and resources to make the results real. Looking back over the history of the chimney service industry, one should realize that in earlier times education was not as readily available as it has become in today’s world. In the formative years of the modern era of chimney service,

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there were limited opportunities. We could look back and see the early educational events that were sponsored by August West, the National Chimney Sweep Guild, various state & regional guilds and even suppliers such as Copperfield Chimney Supply, who clearly took the lead in these earlier times in our industry history. However, as time moved forward, the opportunities have enhanced greatly in the number of offerings. As we survey 2021, one can see that education offerings have become an extremely competitive arena for the companies offering training opportunities. Today we have training coming from trade associations, educational foundations, distributors, manufacturers and from companies providing training to

industry members as a part of their product line. Even the delivery methods have drastically stepped up to a higher level of distribution of training. Today you can attend an industry training event, or you can have training delivered to you in any number of presentation formats including classroom settings, hands-ontraining, ride-a-long with your crews, or in a virtual presentation mode with both livestreamed classes or recorded classes available to you – all providing a high return on your investment. In the world we live in today, the use of virtual online training to provide ongoing training content makes the development of an inhouse training program easier than ever to implement and produce. This is due to the ability to utilize the

internet as a classroom. Use of online training presents the lowest cost to industry companies, providing an ideal method of doing continuous ongoing training for all the skills that are needed in a progressive, highly skilled and effective company in today’s world. Only today I registered for a 3 day virtual coaching conference that would normally have cost me thousands of dollars to attend, along with a day of travel to and from the conference, flights, rental car and hotel costs. One thing

is clear: 2020 has shown us that training is now so much easier to access than at any time in our history. The process of ongoing training, no matter the method of delivery, requires a commitment, both on the part of the management of the company and the workforce. This requires the scheduling, tracking, measuring, and accountability of the workforce by management. But success will also require that the workforce understand the need to continue to hone and sharpen

their skills. To move to the level you aspire, spend the time developing your process, and invest into the system that works best for your market, your company and your workforce. Make the commitment to have a continuous training program for your team members. It provides you a way to accomplish more with less, reduce your waste, raise technical expertise, develop a higher level of communication skills and operate in a more effective manner every day. The following are

questions to address for 2021 in regards your training process: • Have you established a budget for training for your team members for the coming year? • Have you assessed the training needs for your team and for your individual team members? • Do you understand the learning style of your individual team members? • Have you established a curriculum for your team members to follow? • Have you set up a process of assigning,

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tracking, measuring, assessment, and accountability for your team as a whole and for the individual needs? Training is a process where you need to establish your goals and how they will be reached. Training is not simply tossing classes at them and saying, now learn. You as the manager must be the facilitator of the process and the guide for your team. Either you do this, or someone must be delegated this task if you are to realize success.

depend on your training process and commitment to the process as you operate in a rapidly changing and evolving world. The opportunities are there and the processes are available as never before. It is now up to you to engage them for your team.

About the Author: Jerry Isenhour is an industry consultant, educator and coach who authors a monthly article in Sweeping as a service to the industry. A Past President of NCSG & CSIA along with serving in several volunteer industry positions over his career. For more information about Jerry and how his team can assist you individually and your business in your quest for success and your ascent to the next level, take a look at his web site www.cvcsuccessgroup.com He can be contacted at jerry@ cvcsuccessgroup.com or by phone at (704) 425-0217. You can also obtain great business tips from his Facebook page CVC Coaching and YouTube channel CVC Coaching.

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Continuing Ken Hoelscher

've been a chimney sweep for over 30 years in an industry that I love very much, so I look at continuing education as the biggest advantage that we have in the industry. When we first started many years ago, we didn't have the educational opportunities that we have today. Today, we have multiple companies that provide continuing education, whether it be in-person, online, or video classes. Many of our industry product suppliers are also creating live classes and online courses. With that being said, you can choose your own continuing education at your own pace. We no longer have to travel to get continuing education. Instead of sending yourself and your employees on week-long trips for training and missing out on making money, you can do it conveniently when you're able to do it – and it will save you some money in the long run. Yes, I understand not going to a convention or inperson class does seem a little impersonal because you don't

get to be around other people and float ideas with them. I am an old school-er and a people person; I like going to the NCSG Convention and different inperson classes. One of the most important things when I do go to NCSG Convention and other classes is being able to talk to other sweeps and employees in the industry. Other sweeps can help you think outside of your box. Their daily challenges and triumphs may be entirely different from your own letting you learn from an entirely different view point.

Education is one of the key points of this industry because what you don't know could hurt someone else. When you’re a doctor you need to keep up on the most up to date medicines and practices, so why don't we do this for our industry? Every industry does offer some kind of continuing education. Our industry allows us to keep up to date and learn about new tools and products that can help us do the job safer and faster.

Continuing education is very important in this industry as codes are changing and new products are being developed every day, month, and year. Each time something new comes out, we learn a little bit more. It’s important to remember that in the United States, the chimney industry is still very young. Through continuing education, we learn more about our industry. Anyone can call themselves a sweep with a brush and a ladder. To become a true chimney sweep, you need to keep learning and growing further with your education.

We have many industry giants in our field; they have years of knowledge and experience. When you hear them talk, make sure you listen. I get excited when I see certain names on conventions or classes because I get the chance to learn from that person. Continuing Education is by far the best thing for our industry because you can only keep going up. Change your game, step it up, get out there and learn. Only you can stop yourself from learning.

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Brittney Burton

Membership and Outreach Coordinator

Membership Memo

The New Year is here!

We welcome 2021 with big hopes as we say goodbye to 2020. Now is the time to decide how we are going to better ourselves and our businesses this year. Continuing education is important, not just to uphold certifications, and licenses, etc., but it’s integral to our ability to keep moving forward and growing. Here at NCSG we offer several ways to grow your business, but three specific points stand out to me while thinking about continuing education:

Learn from NCSG Partners Take advantage of the free webinars included in your membership and all of the business advice offered right here in these pages. Every month, NCSG Partners share marketing advice, sales tips, leadership pointers, and more through live webinars with recordings hosted on your Member’s only login and in their monthly articles in this magazine.

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Attend Convention

Learn from your Peers

While we all enjoy a chance to get together once a year, the convention is built around continuing education opportunities. Each class is selected to offer you the opportunity to grow your skills and/or your business. Best of all, this year you don’t even have to choose which classes are going to be most beneficial! You can take every single class at convention. You can even listen to a class a second time to make sure you didn’t miss that one major game changer. See the full session list at NCSGConvention.org.

The best education can often come from those that are able to relate to your situation and give specialized advice. Knowing this we have updated our Mentor Program to pair you with another member of the industry with knowledge and skills in the categories you could use the extra advice. With three sessions available throughout the year, this is the most customizable educational experience to completely fit within your busy schedule. You can see all the program details at NCSG. org/MentorProgram.

Roydhouse Round Up

by Chuck Roydhouse, CSIA President president@csia.org

A Dedication To Bo Tasso “Mr. Continuing Education” “There is a divine beauty in learning. To learn means to accept the postulate that life did not begin at my birth, others have been here before me…” Elie Wiesel “Others have been here before me;” what better way for me to pay homage to someone who has given so much to our industry and is the godfather of CSIA Continuing Education Units. For over two decades, Bo Tasso conceived, managed and expanded one of the most important client benefits: recertification through CEU’s. The concept was simple, allow our clients a way to be rewarded for staying active in training and encouraging renewal with CSIA accredited classes in lieu of retesting every three years. This new concept allowed our credential holders to take multi-disciplined courses over a three-year period to diversify and learn new ideas as well as hone the basics of the trade. Bo adeptly chaired the committee that would review the class offerings to ensure they met his and CSIA’s high standard before dispersing to the committee for input and approval. Bo created a partnership with NFI so a shared, recognized and accepted awarding of credit would cross over to each association. This established and standardized the process so each certification agency could benefit mutually. Bo gave me my start working with CSIA on his CEU Committee. I queried then President Pilger how I could give back to CSIA for helping me and my company excel

over the years, and John introduced me to Bo. Bo asked me what I was passionate about. My response was education; to paraphrase L. Frank Baum author of the Wizard of Oz, “no one can rob you of education, making it the most valuable treasure”. Working with Bo on the committee was a true educational experience, affording me the ability to learn and understand the processes and reasons behind the rules of what and why something is accepted or not. Over the years working on the CSIA Board of Directors and the CEU Committee, Bo became a mentor and friend. We talked regularly about the direction of CSIA Education and what the next steps should be in constant improvement to help our credential holders succeed. When my cell phone would ring and the Mr. Clean icon appeared, I knew I was in for a rousing discussion beginning with the salutation, “Hello Chuckles”. We had many commonalities besides our love for CSIA and Education. We both believed in the American Dream, the 2nd Amendment, the United States Military and honor. Bo’s one son, a Naval officer, was married at the Naval Academy Chapel in my hometown of Annapolis, Maryland. The thing that I will always think of when reminiscing about Bo is that he was a man of honor and respect. Looking back, I now believe Bo spent so much time explaining the innerworkings and history of the Committee so that I would be ready to chair the committee when the time came. Bo understood how CSIA came about and its importance in certification and education of our sweep technicians, knowing we were going from infancy to adulthood rapidly and must move to meet the next level of educational need. Thank you, Mr. Tasso, for the blood, sweat and tears you donated to make CSIA Continuing Education what it is today. You are a Giant of CSIA, and we are truly grateful for your service to our industry. May you have fair winds and following seas. Because we are in an ongoing evolutionary industry change, it is a must to practice continuing education. The

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October 2019 chimney industry is comprised of technical and business knowledge equally mixed to form a successful future. Certification, hands-on training and academic theory are just one part of the formula. The other ingredients are educating our customers, pricing for profitability, financial planning and marketing. Without the correct aligned pieces of the business puzzle, your secret sauce will not be that pleasing. How do you craft your custom secret sauce and who can help you with this? Why the Chimney Safety Success Institute of America, of course! Our 2021 Education and Certification event calendar is mega palooza of offerings near you. The Certified Chimney Sweep Review & Exam will be offered in TN, PA, CA, IN, NH, AR, OR, IA and during the NCSG Virtual Convention. CDET Review and Exams will be at the Tech Center in January and August, as well as during the NCSG Virtual Convention. The one and only CSIA National Training Academy will be offered 5 times in 2021 starting in February. We kick the New Year off with the Business Symposium January 12th -13th in Nashville, TN and again in Indy June 16th- 17th. Take your business to new heights of operational efficiency and profitability. The Masonry School and 2- Day course are sheduled, as well as the sought-after Gas Class August 9th-13th.

New and updated courses are: Chimney Science and Chimney Documentation to Reduce Liability and Increase Profits offered across the United States 5 times this year. Factory Built Fireplace Change Out will roll out April 7th-8th in the brand-new addition of The Prior Training Structure. April and May have the return of the Rope Course in Bell Buckle, TN. Learn how to safely set up fall protection systems and safely access roofs of any pitch. Lastly, Reline Basics will be taught during the NCSG Virtual Convention and in Fairfield, IA July 16th. As you can see, our team of educational professionals and volunteers have been working for you, the credential holder, to ensure quality, affordable training for you and your employees while making it easier to maintain your CEU’s and or certify with CSIA “Knowledge is a weapon. I intend to be formidably armed.” Terry Goodkind CSIA IS THE STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE IN THE CHIMNEY & VENTING INDUSTRY Chuck Roydhouse CSIA President

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NEW CERTIFICATIONS Ohio Jason Charles Chimney Professionals and Masonry Experts LLC Columbus Indiana Ryan Cimbaljevich Four Seasons Chimney Sweeps Hobart

Pennsylvania Charles O’Brien Advance Chimney Sweeps Uniontown

Missouri Kyle Phelps Custom Masonry Raymore

Vermont Matthew Green Black Magic Chimney Sweeps of Southern Vermont Manchester Center

New Jersey Ricardo Vagas East Coast Fireplace Manalapan

Washington Mike Johnson South Sound Sweeps Inc Tacoma, WA

Glen Zisko East Coast Fireplace Manalapan

Wisconsin Travis Kreft Wausau

Arizona Dave Zeldin Dryer Vent Pros LLC Prescott Florida Bryan Pablo Doodlebuggers Service Network Pensacola Kyle McGregor Doodlebuggers Service Network Pensacola North Carolina Jon Stave Smoke Alert Garner

North Carolina Jon Stave Smoke Alert Garner Hunter Deese Owen’s Chimney Systems, Inc Monroe

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January 2021

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MINNESOTA Gray Duct Technologies • William Winfield • Lakeville Superior Sweep• Mark Spinler • Grand Marais

CALIFORNIA Super Sweeps • James Barthol • Petaluma

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NEW JERSEY AMC cleaning 2020 LLC • Abraham Alpren • Lakewood Township PENNSYLVANIA C & M Fireplace and Chimney Specialists, LLC • Mark Kerwood • Levittown Gallo’s Chimney Sweep • Daren Gallo • Warminster

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Megan McMahon Executive Director

Cheers to the New Year! 30

Around the Tech Center We have been busy here at the Tech Center gearing up for a fantastic 2021 with lots of new offerings. Both CSIA and NCSG have some great things in store for both credential holders and members. CSIA is offering more of their courses both in person and virtually. Never has it been easier to gain the CEUs and education you need! Not to mention, we have some brand new and revamped courses to share with you: Chimney Science, Chimney Diagnostics to Reduce Liability and Increase Profits, Factory Built Changeouts, and updates to the C-DET certification. And with the new CSIA Certified Chimney Specialist® designation, you can make 2021 your year to show your customers that you are taking your education and dedication to the next level.

As I’m sure you know by now, NCSG has moved the annual convention to a virtual platform. That doesn’t mean it’s going to be just the same as all of those over boring Zoom meetings you sat through in 2020. We’ve partnered with a top-notch virtual platform to bring you all of the education you have come to expect from attending this yearly tradition. We’ve designed this year’s convention to fit within your schedule – and your budget – better than ever! Check out what it’s all about and register today at www. ncsgconvention.org. From all of us here at the Tech Center, we wish you a very Happy New Year!

Dates and Events Educational Dates & Events listings from NCSG Members. Please check with the host organization listed below prior to making travel commitments.

Chimney Safety Institute of America

Blue Collar Chimney Expo

Copperfield Chimney Academy

For more information or to register visit www.BlueCollarChimneyExpo.com

For more information call or text (570) 340-0482

‡ Spring Show April 1st-June 30th 2021 ‡ Fall Show Labor Day through the end of 2021 ‡ Chimney Expo 2021 – Date Change King of Prussia, PA Valley Forge Casino June 3-5, 2021 For more information or to register visit www.chimneyexpo.com

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For more information or to register visit web.csia.org/events Check out the Full Education Calendar on the CSIA Update pages

‡ Hands on Rip and Replace January & February 2021 Lancaster, PA Oxford, NY Pittsburgh, PA Richmond, VA Knoxville, TN Cedar, MN Valparaiso, IN Cincinnatti, OH Republic, MO

Taylor, TX Stockton, CA Portland, OR ‡ Week Long Masonry School March 2021 Canton, OH Reno, NV ‡ Hands on Relining Workshop April 2021 Elkridge, MD Knoxville, TN Antrim, NH Shipshewana, IN Skiatook, OK Pittsburgh, PA Portland, OR Denver, CO ‡ Professional Chimney Inspection June/July 2021

Classifieds GasVent Software for Sizing Chimneys only $195 Call 1-800-648-9523 for more info and visit www.elitesoft.com to download a free trial version CLASSIFIED ADS FREE FOR NCSG MEMBERS Members can run one 35-word classified free each year! Regular classified ads are $2/ word or $1/word for NCSG members. Classified ads are non-commissionable and must be pre-paid. To place a classified ad, please email office@ncsg.org or call 317-837-1500.

Loomis, CA Springfield, MO Lancaster, PA Sturbridge, MA Asheville, NC

‡ Professional Inspection Delivery August 2021 Portland, OR Bensalem, PA Lancaster, PA Worcester, MA Canton, OH San Clemente, CA

HPBExpo For more information or to register visit hpbexpo.com/ Louisville, KY Exhibition June 24-26, 2021 Education June 23-25 2021

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Darwin Award How's this for a Darwin award? Venting into an 8x12 flue with broken tiles. Erik Bloomquist Bloomquist Chimney Services Grandville, MI

See a chimney in your area that had you scratching your head? Send it to the editor, Annemarie Stockton at astockton@ncsg. org for publication in Sweeping. Include a few words about the scene and location.