For the last five years, we have dedicated an issue of R&R to celebrating Women in Restoration. This year, we are thrilled to celebrate BELFOR’s technical trainer, Cara Driscoll. You can read more about her journey in the restoration industry here.

As I sat down to write this month’s column, I tried to think back on what the world was like just two months ago, when I wrote my editor’s note for the March issue. That column was on hockey, and embracing change. My guess is the last two months aren’t exactly the kind of change any of us had in mind.

Where do I even start this month?! I am writing this on Monday, March 23, several weeks before the issue will hit your mailbox or inbox. By the time you read this, it is likely the world will have seemed to change all over again amid dealing with the coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak.

My 5-year-old has been on skates pretty much from the moment he was born. The moment my husband could get him in skates, he did. In the beginning, of course, Levi couldn’t even stand – and often refused to even try.

There has been a lot of talk about hiring woes in today’s booming job market. In R&R’s State of the Industry study in 2018 and 2019, hiring and retaining employees was identified as the top pain point for restoration contractors. With the unemployment rate sitting at a very steady 3.7%, that’s not new news to anyone, right?