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Volunteer Spotlight
Our editor caught up with Ken Fritz, President of the American
Flooring Alliance (AFA) to gain insight into his experience
as a volunteer leader of a newly formed association. His candid responses
may have a familiar ring to other volunteer leaders who have found themselves
in similar situations.
What follows is the interview that starts with the inception of the Alliance through today and shows how the partnership with Fernley & Fernley, Inc. has made a positive impact on his presidency and the association as a whole.
The American Flooring Alliance is a national network of independent flooring contractors who provide flooring products and installation to the Apartment or Multi-family Housing Industry. Their mission is to create value for the multi-housing customer.
Q. You played a vital role in the formation of the association; tell us where the idea for the AFA came from.
A. When my wife Barb and I first entered the carpeting business by purchasing our company, Carpet Specialists , we knew very little about the industry. In order to learn all we could about servicing the multi-family or apartment customer, as well as how to deal effectively with carpet vendors, subcontractors, and the like, we sought out others in the same business. Of course we didn’t necessarily want to speak with our competitors, so we contacted companies outside of our immediate territory. Through this exercise, we met with a number of carpet companies throughout the United States, learned a great deal, and began to build relationships and friendships with owners that possessed similar values to ours.
A small group of us decided that it would be worthwhile to keep in touch, mainly to discuss how to improve our individual businesses, but also to evaluate if there were any other synergies or advantages to us banning together as a unified group representing a specific segment of the industry. There were five original member companies in what was called “The Summit Group.” Four of the original five are included in the total of twelve current members of what is now the “American Flooring Alliance or AFA.”
Q. In the early days of the AFA, you and your wife managed the association. When did you decide there was a need to outsource?
A. As the organization began to grow and we held formal meetings more often, we used our office staff to assist with meeting planning and other administrative tasks. As we recruited more members, the job required more of a time commitment and the bookkeeping became more complex. If we were serious about maintaining the organization for the long-haul, we had to get serious about managing it properly./p>
Q. How did you find out about Fernley & Fernley, Inc.?
A. Once the Board voted to seek out professional management for the association, a few of the members did a little research and made recommendations. Fernley & Fernley was recommended by a member who had been involved with another association many years prior that was managed by Fernley & Fernley. He remembered the firm’s name and had positive comments about their professionalism under the tutelage of Bob Fernley, the current CEO’s father.
Q. Now that the AFA has been with Fernley & Fernley for three years, what value do they bring to the table to allow you to focus on your duties as association president?
A. As President, the two most critical areas of concern were to ensure the AFA had the appropriate legal and financial oversight. When we came to Fernley & Fernley, they reviewed our legal status and recommended we re-incorporate to more accurately reflect the mission of the association. They also reviewed our financials and worked on our behalf with the IRS to file past tax forms and minimize potential penalties. They reinforced the importance of abiding by anti-trust policies during Board meetings which is now accurately reflected in meeting minutes, which protects all of our members. Our Treasurer and I receive monthly financial reports, membership dues invoices are distributed and collected, and association sponsors are invoiced in a timely manner. Should a legal question arise during a Board meeting, our Account Executive is there to provide guidance or if necessary, an attorney who specializes in non-profit organizations is consulted.
Q. What do you hope to accomplish during your term as President?
A. I’m in an unusual situation considering I’ve technically been the AFA President since its inception. My most recent term is scheduled to conclude at the end of 2008. Between now and then, my goals are to increase membership and to identify ways to bring more value to the members during Board meetings.
The most essential member benefit is networking or sharing of information during the three annual Board meetings. Now that we have close to twenty people around the table, it is a little more challenging to maintain focus and order. I feel it is my personal responsibility to continually improve the value of the meeting by including new topics of discussion or by inviting presenters with mass appeal.
Q. How do you anticipate Fernley & Fernley will assist you in achieving your goals for the AFA?
A. Our members realize that due to the stringent membership eligibility requirements for the AFA, finding new members is really up to us. Once we locate prospects and pre-qualify them, it is the responsibility of our Association Headquarters’ Team to provide prospects with information about the organization and extend meeting invitations.
Fernley & Fernley has made suggestions for agenda items that are designed to invoke interactive discussion such as asking members to answer the question, ‘what keeps you up at night,’ or encouraging each member to share their most successful marketing idea with the group. I will rely on Fernley & Fernley to continue to offer suggestions of this kind or other types of ideas for programs that may be applicable to the AFA.
Q. In your opinion, what are the advantages of partnering with Fernley & Fernley, Inc.?
A. A crucial role of the management staff is to remind the volunteers of what has to be done and when. Having Fernley & Fernley staff do this has taken a great deal of stress off of me. As President, I can now focus on the big picture knowing that all the little details are taken care of. Our Headquarters’ Team knows our preferred meeting format, the types of social events we enjoy, and how to get the job done. I can now enjoy the meetings, spend time networking during the tradeshow, and meet with customers when I travel. Working with a professional management company does have a cost associated with it. AFA members all agree that it is a worthwhile use of association funds and that the return on investment is invaluable.
Ken and Barb Fritz are owner/operators of Carpet Specialists, offering flooring solutions for the multi-family housing industry in the St Louis Area since the early 1970's. Carpet Specialists is the largest apartment carpet service center in St. Louis. Their experienced installers work with carpets, vinyls, tiles, ceramics and woods or laminates, offering comprehensive coverage for apartments, offices, schools, condominiums, retirement homes and single family homes.