The Restoration Industry Association (RIA) is riding a powerful wave after its 2019 Convention in Phoenix, which had the highest attendance of any of its conventions in five years. There, the RIA rolled out its Advocacy and Government Affairs (AGA) Committee. The mission of the AGA is to develop and implement strategies to help create and maintain a fair and level playing field, financially and legally, for restoration contractors, by advocating for their interests, while working collaboratively with stakeholders involved in the restoration process. The mission will be pursued aggressively but diplomatically and ethically. The AGA has a specific mission laid out in a seven-step plan, known as the AGA Blueprint.
The AGA has completed the first two steps (creation of the committee, and prioritization of issues following member feedback), and it has made significant progress on step 3 (development of position papers, which will be an ongoing process), as well as step 5 (monitoring of issues and the building of coalitions). Ultimately, the AGA will also engage one or more industry advocates and lobbyists to pursue contractors’ goals and protect their rights. However, the success of this initiative depends on industry support with time, talent and treasure. Every restorer can and should invest at least a small amount of one of those three, if not all three.