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February 2008 Newsletter         
                     View an index of all our newsletters
 

From the Desk of
Arthur Lazerow

Spectacular Holiday Party

On Saturday evening January 12 at Timpano Italian Grill in
Rockville, Alban celebrated its thirtieth annual holiday party. This was an especially joyous affair. Not only was it the culmination of all of our holiday celebrations, but it marked the anniversary dates of many of our colleagues. Several other special awards were received and Bill Carey, director of Membership and Community Relations for Strathmore Music Center in Rockville, and his wife Kathleen, were guests of honor.

Quintin Satterfield, Alban’s chief lead-based paint inspector for the past 12 years, was commended for his continuing fine work in representing Alban Home Inspection Service to our clients with exemplary skill and enthusiasm. A donation was made to the Martin Luther King Memorial Fund in Quintin’s name and honor. Tina Yarborough, our home inspection scheduling secretary, also received an honorable mention for her dedicated work these past 3 1/2 years.

Joe Dempsey received his Alban briefcase. This is a rite of passage for Alban employees and marks Joe’s early involvement with the company as an ASHI home inspector. Joe has performed over 70 home inspections already and has qualified to be an ASHI Associate with Logo Privilege, which is the last step before becoming a fully certified ASHI inspector, awaiting only completion of his 250 inspections.

Thirty years employment in any organization is a note-worthy achievement. Sandy Watkins represents the absolutely top level of performance and commitment to service to all of the Alban business interests, but also to all who come in contact with Alban, whether Realtors, lead-paint clients, homebuyers, tenants or the general public. No company has been better served than the manner in which Sandy has served and represented us.

The same can be said for Terry Toms, who is in charge of all aspects of financial management at Alban. Whether bookkeeping, financial analysis or making sound business decisions, Terry has been counted on for twenty-five years; an astounding record of quality service by a truly quality person.

Likewise for Marty Blackwood and Rodney Shull, who marked their fifth year of service to clients of Alban Home Inspection Service, Inc. Both are currently in leadership positions at Alban, with Marty our chief home inspector and Rodney as director of client relations. The future of Alban will be in their hands in the years to come and we are honored by their record of achievement.

David Henry has been head maintenance man at Alban Place rental townhomes for the past five years. He is a skilled mechanic in almost every area of construction and he is equally adept at dealing the people, in his quiet and proficient manner. David has graduated from home inspection school and his future, once we no longer manage Alban Place, will be as our primary home inspector in the Frederick and Hagerstown areas, since he lives in Martinsburg West Virginia.


The evening came to a climax with Bill Carey speaking about the importance not only of day-to-day work but also of participation in the cultural life of the community. He commended Alban for being a corporate sponsor of the Strathmore Music Center and understanding the importance of small business support of the arts. Bill represents the best of Strathmore and Strathmore Music Center represents the finest cultural opportunities available for our community.

His participation made the evening even more special. The irony of the relationship between Alban and Strathmore is that Bill’s wife Kathleen taught all of Quintin and Marie Satterfield’s children over the years. The warm and personal relationship between Kathleen and the Satterfields was obvious throughout the evening.

For the first time in the thirty year history of our company, we invited the families of the award recipients. I felt it important that the children bask in their parents’ achievements and understand that there is more than the drudgery of getting up every morning and driving off to places unseen by the kids to do they know not what.

The atmosphere was electric in Timpano’s private party room. It was not just the drink and delicious food. It was the recognition of the achievement of the parents and the smiles of the children, some youngsters, some teenagers and some young adults, watching their parents being recognized for outstanding performance and for outstanding character. The evening was exciting and very gratifying for me. A company is only as competent as the people involved. The evening was reassuring, demonstrating vividly that our people are first class.

We may never again have an experience like this particular anniversary affair . But the recognition of the fine quality of the people involved with Alban will be remembered.


Green Light Bulbs

A recent letter to the editor of the Frederick News Post was eye opening. Take care with handling those “green” fluorescent light bulbs. Mr. Frank Damanti wrote about disposing of broken energy saving light bulbs.

“What you failed to mention were the potential hazards of their use. The following is taken directly from the brochure that accompanied the bulbs:

How should I clean up a broken fluorescent bulb?

(1) Open a window and leave the room for at least 15 minutes.

(2) Remove all materials you can without using a vacuum cleaner. Wear disposable rubber gloves, do not use bare hands, carefully scoop up the fragments and powder with stiff paper or cardboard, wipe areas clean with a damp paper towel or disposable wet wipe, use sticky tape to pick up small pieces.

(3) Place all cleanup materials in a plastic bag and seal it. If your state permits you to put used or broken CFL’s in the garbage, seal the CFL in two plastic bags and put into the outside trash. Wash your hands after disposing of the bag.”

The manufacturer of the bulbs goes on to recommend treating the vacuum cleaner bag as hazardous waste. Apparently, these bulbs contain enough mercury to be classified as hazardous if the mercury is released into the environment when broken. Being forewarned is important. Doesn’t this seem like the law of unintended consequences?


Alban is proud to offer FREE Continuing Education Courses in Real Estate Offices!
Call Tina to schedule one of our educational seminars, for additional information, or to schedule our services at 800-822-7200 or 301-662-6565.

Integrity in Home Inspecting, Confidence in Home Owning The ASHI Experience