WSA Member Update 1.1.23

January 1, 2023  Dear WSA Members,  This WSA Member Update marks the beginning of WSA’s 11th year of providing assistance to sweeping contractors. For those who are Founding Members, this is your 241st Update. Remember, these are all archived on the WSA website under the ‘Director’s Blog’ category.  Although I will not be personally attending NPE this year, Michael Nawa will be my stand-in when it comes to helping any members who need assistance. He will also be our liaison for bringing info back. Michael, who is our primary mentor and a member of WSA’s Advisory Board, will have WSA’s NPE badge add-ons for our members who will be attending, as well.  He asked that I provide his cell phone to all of you in order to make sure any WSA members could reach him. That number is (717) 440-2320. Michael is also your contact in the event you have any difficulty signing up for WSA’s free NPE seminars. As a reminder, these are:  Basics of Running a Small Business: Day-to-Day Operations  Wednesday, January 25 | 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm  9 Success Factors for Exceptional Leadership During Challenging Times  Friday, January 27 | 8:00 am to 9:30 am  Grow Your Business with Intention Friday, January 27 | 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm  Thanks to those of you who contacted us about N.E.L.T.S. I am compiling the info into an article that discusses the company’s documented business practices. If you have had notable dealings with the company and have not yet contacted WSA about them, please take time to do so. You may just let me know via email. As an FYI, we now have documented information that shows the company is behind its obligations to pay some WSA members in line with their contracts.  We experienced a catastrophic failure of our main 3tb SSD computer drive so were unable to get WSA renewals out before the end of the year. It was a good reminder to have data backed up; even though we had a good cloud-based backup system in place, it is taking days to download that much info to a new drive. Plus, SSD drives are apparently in short supply in that we can’t get one that we need delivered until at least next week sometime.  As we enter 2023 I’m wishing for all our members a better overall year than the 2022 we’re now leaving. In that regard, if there are ever any questions you have about your business’ operation, power sweeping equipment suitability, sweeping methods, etc., please don’t hesitate to contact the WSA office.  As always, if you have questions or comments about this WSA Member Update, or anything else to do with the World Sweeping Association or power sweeping in general, please let me know.  Good Sweeping,  Ranger Kidwell-Ross, Executive Director World Sweeping Association