We had a very nice turnout of almost 30 attendees this year. Tim Johnson with Smith, Jadin, Johnson and Sean Stevens with Carlton Insurance Agency did a great job of educating attendees and answering important questions that directly affected their business.

We had another great turnout in Rochester. Tim Johnson with Smith, Jadin, Johnson and Sean Stevens with Carlton Insurance Agency did a great job of educating attendees and answering important questions affecting their business. Special thanks to Beacon – Rochester and Jason Melbostad for making this event a huge success.

CAM held our 3rd Xactimate Level 2 class on January 29th and 30th. We had 7 attendees that learned the ins and out of the Xactimate Software to prepare for Level 2 Certification! Congratulations Attendees!

CAM held our 4th Xactimate Level 1 class on January 27th and 28th. We had 17 attendees that learned the ins and out of the Xactimate Software to prepare for Level 1 Certification! Congratulations Attendees!

Things are going well for CAM! We just had a very nice storm event that should have everyone finish strong for 2019 and start off 2020 in a good position.

CAM has had over 10 years of hard work by members, suppliers, manufacturers and former board members building the foundation for our organization to face the challenges and the opportunities that lie ahead.

CAM has built a good working relationship with the Department of Labor and Industry that did not exist 10 years ago. We have a full time lobbyist protecting our interests and quashing any rogue ideas the insurance federation comes up with at the Capitol. There has not been one piece of harmful legislation that has gotten through in 10 years, but Lord knows they have tried. CAM was also able to push through our first piece of legislation regarding notifying homeowners that waiving deductibles is against MN law.

In the last several years, we have met with the Department of Commerce concerning insurance carrier misbehavior, the Minnesota Department of Health in regards to Lead RRP, and the top building code officials in Minnesota to try to enforce insurance to build to MN code. Several of us have testified at the Capitol when the insurance federation was trying to play fast and loose.

We are now an affiliate of the National Roofing Contractors Association-NRCA- and look forward to offering benefits, education and discounts to all of our members.

We have a good working relationship with the Builders Association of MN and have joined forces fighting harmful bills that would have negatively impacted our businesses and our homeowners. This spring we participated in Builder’s Day at the Capitol and about 30 of us from CAM were able to sit down and meet individually with each of our senators and representatives. That was a powerful day. I would like to see 100 of us there next year.

We have an education committee that has been traveling the state to teach contractors best practices for running a business in today’s environment. Tim Johnson from RSJ and Mike Goldenstein from GAF spent their spring in Mankato, Duluth, Rochester and multiple locations in the Twin Cities educating contractors about the law and manufacturing specs-how to use them to make sure a home is properly restored. We have also teamed up with the BBB to help homeowners when their home suffers a loss and all the different services the BBB provides to contractors.

We also have a group of dedicated board and committee members who take time from their busy life to volunteer for the good of our industry as a whole, not just their own company.

So, what does the future look like? As we continue to have storm events that are more severe and expensive, this will have far reaching impact on all of our businesses. We need to proactively create our future, not just blindly react to insurance companies, regulations and legislation after the fact-when it might be too late.

What do we want for the future of CAM?

We want 100 contractors at Builders Day next Spring- we want them to know CAM is a force to be reckoned with. We want CAM to be a resource for homeowners to find a good contractor- for our seal to mean they have found someone they can trust. We want to help contractors become better business people, to be leaders in the industry. We want everyone to stop using the phrase “Code Upgrades” and start using the correct term- Minimum Code Standards. It’s not an upgrade, it’s the law and we should be paid for it!

Most of all we want us as contractors to get beyond our own competitiveness and work together against the insurance companies – because right now they are kicking our ass out there every single day. Until we get over ourselves and look at that other contractor in the truck at the stop light with the ladder hanging out–not as an enemy, but as powerful ally- they are going to continue to kick our asses.

What can you do to help?

Get the word out! If you are a sponsor, you see many more contractors on a daily basis than our contractor members ever will. Let your customers know about how we protect their businesses and our upcoming education events. Every time you can help your contractors, you make them more successful. Every successful contractor you work with makes you more successful.

If you are a contractor and not a member, you should be. We are the only ones fighting for you out there.

No other association looks out specifically for the Exterior and Remodeling Contractor like we do………

We have a great opportunity to make real progress for our organization and our industry. Let us take that opportunity and run with it.

Tracy Dahlin
Chairperson – CAM Voting Board