Radon_Reporter_March2020

8 | March 2020 MEMBERSHIP Battling an Unyielding Foe Takes Teamwork Phil Rivas, AARST Membership Committee Chair Set it and forget it. Radon mitigation has never been this precise. The Rn4EC and Rn2EC have the ability to be set at almost any variable performance between 0 and 100% . This allows for maximum efficiency for your mitigation solution. Fantech is helping you have the confidence to do an amazing job and never look back so you can truly set it and forget it. 20-60% Energy Savings Scan and learn more about the Rn4EC Radon solution. fantech.net • 800.747.1762 Our scene opens, camera low on a set of train tracks near a commuter station. The crowd bustles and flows with the haste of another busy day atop their minds. A family wanders onto the tracks as you hear the train approaching. Something is wrong, the crowd seems unfazed, unaware and indifferent to the danger of a family in harm’s way. Did they not read the signs? Can they really be this uninformed about the dangers of the tracks? Another average commuter breaks their routine to politely warn and escort the family back to safety with the train safely in the distance. Is this person a hero or are they simply a good steward of their fellow humans facing a threat? Since the family wasn’t in immediate threat, the day goes on with just mild interruption. But since many more people continue to ignore the situation, the threat grows. In a world that is fraught with danger, warnings, and fear… how does the radon industry expect to rise above the din to command a larger audience, highlight the threat of radon, and shout “Look out!” to the public at large? AARST is so tiny in the face of so much that needs to be done, like securing ISO accreditation, maintaining and expanding standards, prompting federal agency action, enacting notifications/awareness policies, right- sized certification laws and RRNC. What stops mitigators and testers around the country from supporting the institution dedicated to serving the industry that they’ve chosen to join? Our recent surveys to the membership [present and past] yielded illuminating, though some unsurprising, results. One common feeling from past members who were only renewing locally to get CEs was that they didn’t understand what AARST leadership was doing for them directly. Yet benefits have been expanded and there have been frequent communications to report important accomplishments, all of which benefit members. Another perception was that AARST had become too biased towards certain members and companies. There was also a sentiment that tensions within the organization and extended family stifle progress, consume finite benevolent energies, and deter working together as an industry. To answer the questions of “WHAT stops us from growing?” it’s smart to ask the bigger question of “WHY are we here in the first place?” Scarcity Mindset vs. Abundance Thinking: Scarcity Thinking: “There will never be enough” Produces these symptoms and behaviors: Unhealthy Competition Hoard knowledge & resources Suspicion Think small & avoid risks Believe times are tough Believe the pie is shrinking Fear of change Fear of progress Fear of being “replaced” Abundance Thinking: “There will always be more” produces the following thoughts and behaviors: Welcome Competition Knowledge-sharing Trust Think Big and embrace risk Believe the best is still ahead Believe the pie is growing Welcome change Embrace Progress Generosity Why do many leaders of our industry operate with such a scarcitymindset? Can you imagine another life-saving effort operating in such a manner? Fire-fighters slinging mud at the other firehouse about where they buy their hoses or what route they take to get to the fire. No, firefighters know that when the call comes, someone needs them. We all know the estimates on unmitigated homes around the country. We all hear the figures on “dead fans” where a family has a system and is unaware it’s inoperable and the family is in danger. Now, add in the new construction by builders who are largely apathetic to planning for this threat. Still feel like radon system installs are a niche market with only so much to go around? Accepting that the radon threat is larger than any single industry body, company, or individual to overcome is a good place to start. We are tasked with being the torchbearers of truth to light the way so that family members can avoid the unnecessary pain of a loved one succumbing to radon-induced lung cancer. AARST is an organization of people with one clear goal: Saving lives through the effective mitigation of radon where we live, work, and play. Each bit of energy we waste on industry in-fighting is wasted effort by a selfish few. The very real result is that families across the country will be delayed in receiving the lifesaving information, and it will cost them dearly. Embrace the abundance and we will continue to save lives exponentially faster.