National Demolition Association Roster Grows

An active market and good strategy have helped the National Demolition Association remain financially sound and cultivate a larger membership base.

According to officers of the association, there were some 1,020 members of the National Demolition Association before its Annual Convention took place April 1-4 at The MGM Mirage in Las Vegas.

Near the conclusion of the event, at the group’s annual business meeting, officers of the group reported that the successful Las Vegas gathering served to recruit even more new members.

That growth pattern was typical of 2006, according to outgoing association president Dave Loewendick of S.G. Loewendick & Sons, Grove City, Ohio, who indicated that some 100 new members had been added to the National Demolition Association roster in the business year just concluded.

The 2007 Convention also served to demonstrate the healthy state of the National Demolition Association and the industry it represents. According to Loewendick, this year’s event drew some 1,800 people, including a “record number of first-time convention attendees” and a record number of exhibitors.

The association’s balance sheet also paints a robust picture, with the organization having some $800,000 of cash on hand as part of its $1.7 million in assets (versus just $1 million in liabilities).

Beyond the numbers, outgoing president Loewendick also praised the group’s positive relationships with the OSHA, the EPA, the Department of Homeland Security (in first-responder situations) and with Purdue University for a jointly developed demolition industry curriculum.

Such programs, spearheaded by the efforts of volunteers and National Demolition Association Executive Michael Taylor and his staff, have provided clearly visible benefits to the association’s members, Loewendick indicated.

Even with all the good news, incoming association president Drew Lammers of King Wrecking Co. Inc., Cincinnati, indicated that now is not the time to become complacent.

Lammers will be helping to conduct a strategic planning retreat this September in Boston to “see where this organization is going to go in the next five years.” At that event and throughout the year, Lammers urged the participation of additional people willing to join committees. “We would like your help,” he said to attendees of the business meeting.

The Boston retreat will take place in coordination with one of three 2007 quarterly meetings announced by Lammers: a June meeting in Denver, the September one in Boston, and a December meeting in Key West.