WSA Member Update • January 1st 2022

Note to Viewers: This is a replication of the WSA Member Update that was sent out on January 1, 2022. The links have been made available for you to view, as well, whereas they would normally be visible only to those who are logged into the WSA Member Account. An informational Update is sent to WSA Members on the 1st and 15th of each month.

Dear WSA Members, 

Welcome to the promise of a new – and hopefully better and Covid-free – year. In my location here in the Pacific NW, 2021 is going out with a bang. We currently have over a foot of snow on the ground and have had nights in the teens or single digits for over a week. It took four days for the first plow to get to my country road and we’ve had over a dozen power outages in that time. Fortunately, I was raised by a mother who weathered the Great Depression and she convinced me to always have plenty of food in the freezer. 

First off, everyone reading this should have received their membership renewal invoice. If you didn’t, please check your spam folder for email coming from worldsweepingpros.org. If you still don’t find it, please let me know. Thanks to the over a dozen members who have already renewed! As a reminder, though, our renewal notebooks are the victim of supply chain issues and we won’t receive them until at least January 10th. 

For this Update we’re helping you to start the year out right by making sure you realize how important your website and social media presence are when it comes time to buy or renew insurance coverage. Especially if you’re shopping your coverage with new insurers – which should happen every year if you have a crackerjack agent – you need to make sure all of your ‘forward facing’ information reflects the work you actually do. 

For example, if you do ground floor powerwashing, but have a photo on your website of someone powerwashing in a bucket truck, then no amount of argument from you will keep your prospective insurer from rating you for powerwashing on second stories and above, not just ground floor. I strongly encourage everyone to see the many tips Phil Duncan, principal at WSA’s endorsed insurance carrier, Maximus, provides about this topic in the @45-minute Zoomcast I conducted with him recently. 

Click on the following direct URL to access the information: https://youtu.be/InMzVlTOoFE 

(Note: We are allowing those looking into WSA Membership to view the link above, which would normally be password protected.)

In recent weeks I’ve heard a couple of harrowing tales from folks who have had their identity stolen, with seriously bad results occurring to each of them. So, I thought the first of the year a good time to post information from an expert source on best practices for preventing identity theft. Here’s the scope of the issue, taken from the site linked below: 

“Identity theft is when someone takes enough of your personal information to pose as you in a financial, medical, or other transaction. Identity theft is rampant in the United States, where about 17 million people are victimized each year, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, for a total of over $900 million in losses.” Click here to see the information on how to minimize identity theft. Note that the InfoTracer company would love for you to also spend $19.95/month for its services. That part is totally up to you and not necessary to view the info. 

Wishing a happy, healthy and altogether prosperous 2022 for all of us, as well as for the power sweeping industry in general. In the coming months, I’d like to bring you the information you’d like to see – whatever you think might be helpful for WSA to provide. If you have ideas in that regard be sure to contact me to let me know your topics of interest. 

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