NARI Loses Two More Chapters
The Omaha and DelChester chapters of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry today confirmed that as of June 25, 2021 the two (with NARI NY’s announcement making it three) have decided to terminate their respective chapter agreements with the organization. Omaha NARI will become the Professional Remodeling Organization of Nebraska and Iowa, while DelChester will become the Professional Remodeling Organization of Delaware Valley.
“We had no opposition from membership, and our board has reached out to every one of our members on the issue,” says Tom O’Grady, a longtime DelChester member, leader, and current advisor to the board. “If anything, members were asking why we hadn’t done it sooner.”
The decision was met with similar support in Omaha, confirms Chapter Executive Director Sarah Jensen. “Our members voted with a 94% approval rate to terminate the relationship.”
In describing the minority opposition (i.e., two members), Jensen says that while one offered no comment beyond their vote, the other, while disagreeing with the decision, would still ultimately “elect to be a member of both.
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Insider Sheds Light on PRO Organization
As to why the chapters alongside NARI NY (now PRO NY) sent their notices of termination to NARI National on the same day, O’Grady says, “it was by no accident.”
It was a statement of resolve, he says. “The chapters that have broken off represent a big chunk of membership. We never wanted to leave NARI, but this is not the NARI it was or could’ve been.”
On the status and possible future makeup of the emerging Professional Remodeling Organization brand, O’Grady mirrored a statement from PRO NY’s president Patrick Bentivegna, in which he said that a national organization is not the goal of the group.
"In light of our struggles having productive dialogs with NARI, we don’t want this to be a top-down group,” O’Grady, who’s been central to DelChester’s (now Delaware Valley’s) transition from NARI chapter to PRO organization, says. “We’re not trying to compete with NARI or have a national structure. We are going to be locally focused but still collaborate on education for members and opportunities of that nature.”
Five NARI chapters have now terminated their agreements since April 2021.
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