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| News & Coming Events: |
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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7
LIFCA MEETING AND FINANCIAL PLANNING SEMINAR |
Come meet the new LIFCA Executive Board at our first meeting of 2012. Share stories of SURFACES 2012, meet the board, renew old friendships and meet new friends and business contacts. Then sit down for a great seminar that can help with your business and personal finances.
LIFCA is pleased to welcome back Lance Wallach, National Society of Accountants Speaker of the Year. Our last meeting with Lance several years ago was very well received by our members and was full of information on business and personal taxes and insurance issues.
Mr. Wallach will teach you easy new ways to reduce insurance, tax, employer, employee, and other expenses. Did you know that your accountant NOW has to report confidentially on your aggressive tax positions or questionable deductions to IRS or be fined $100,000 dollars? Learn how to turn your “tax collector” accountant into your “tax protector”. Lance has spoken on this topic at over 100 national conventions, and he says the average attendee will save over $5100 next year by utilizing some easy to implement ideas. You may want to Google him as he is all over the internet. He has appeared on TV and has been heard on the radio.
THIS IS STRICTLY AN EDUCATIONAL SEMINAR! Mr. Wallach is not selling anything and does not take new clients. This talk is being done as a service to our industry so plan to take advantage of this terrific LIFCA educational event.
Long time LIFCA member Ron Katz was at the last seminar with Lance Wallach and recommends it highly. "After 39 years in retail and the past year and a half calling on retailers,” Ron told LIFCA News, “I am still surprised that many retailers pass on opportunities like this one to receive a free education and two hours of networking.” The staff and volunteers of LIFCA have worked hard to bring valuable events to you, and attendance has been growing. As Ron Katz said, “The opportunity is fleeting, so grab it now because you don't know when the chance will come again. If you become aware of even one little thing that could be amazing.”
THIS SEMINAR IS NOT FLOOR COVERING SPECIFIC SO FEEL FREE TO BRING A FRIEND!
LIFCA MEETING AND FINANCIAL PLANNING SEMINAR Wednesday, March 7, 6:30 pm
Four Points by Sheraton
333 South Service Road, Plainview, NY Refreshments will be served.
MEMBERS: NO CHARGE – NON MEMBERS $25
PLEASE RSVP TO: LIFCA@optonline.net or 631-569-5459 |
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| THE COMEBACK CONTINUES |
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Left: Randy Hoefler of IVC; Right: Tom Gray of Congoleum
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LIFCA has made a concerted effort to become more active over the past several years with a more aggressive schedule of meetings such as our two educational sessions this fall that drew nice crowds of new faces and long time members.
Thank you to everyone who attended our meeting at ProSource in Plainview on November 9. We had a great turnout and everyone enjoyed a light meal and two one hour presentations about some unique products and how to install them. Our audience of over 35 installers, retail and wholesale salespeople saw Randy Hoefler of IVC and Tom Gray of Congoleum do live demonstrations of installation tips and repair options of their products including sheet vinyl and resilient tile. We are grateful to Randy and Tom and their teams for making this event happen and to Doug Katz and everyone at ProSource for being such terrific hosts.
This was a nice follow up from our September meeting with Ed Abel called, "Creating business HarMoney" that was presented to a group of retailers and focused on business practices that can set one dealer apart from their competition. Marketing is changing and "the way we've always done it" often does not work in the 21st century. "We are very happy with these two events," LIFCA President Joe Bianculli said. "We brought concise seminars that respected people's time and drew good crowds. LIFCA is back and we are planning more events for the new year." |
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| LIFCA ELECTS 2012 EXECUTIVE BOARD AT 11/9 MEETING |
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(left to right)
Secretary/treasurer Arnold Graff of Montauk Carpet
Director Barbara Napolitano of CBC Flooring;
Director Steve Rockfeld, Inspector;
Director Larry Sagarin of Long Island carpet recycling
President Joe Bianculli of Floormasters Carpet;
Director Sal Calamia of Tuftex Carpet.
Not pictured:
Vice President Brian Kornet of Farbra-Cleen
Director Michael Orlando of Platinum Rugs
Trustee Alan Hutt of Classic Tile and Attorney-At-Large Martin Silver, esq. |
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ANNUAL MEETING AND INSTALLATION SEMINAR
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Wednesday, November 9, 6:00 pm
PROSOURCE
303 Sunnyside Blvd # 100
Plainview, NY 11803-1537
Food and beverages will be served.
We will have a short business meeting to elect officers and the board of directors for 2012. MEMBERS, PLEASE MAKE TIME TO COME SO WE CAN HAVE YOUR VOTE! We'll follow the business meeting with something many of you have been asking for - a seminar on installation related topics.
We'll cover sheet vinyl seaming and repairs with a representative from IVC, and grouted vinyl tile with a representative from Mohawk. We are grateful to Classic tile, ProSource and Mohawk for their support of this educational event. Food will be served, so come early to get a good seat to spend a couple of hours with some real experts in the industry. More information will be available in our next e-mail newsletter.
PLEASE RSVP TO: LIFCA@optonline.net or 631-569-5459 |
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LIFCA 9/15/11 meeting in the News
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| DUES FOR 2012 ARE NOW PAYABLE |
| As an affiliate of the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA) we receive “support funds” from WFCA that pay over 50% of our costs to maintain an office and a website, put out a printed and on line newsletter, and have professional speakers for your benefit. WFCA support funds are based on LIFCA/WFCA MEMBERS (Dealers, Flooring Contractors, Cleaners, inspectors and Installers) and we are trying to get our membership numbers back up to a high level so we can receive the maximum level of support from WFCA.
What do you get out of your LIFCA/WFCA membership?
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Educational benefits for you or anyone in your company that needs advancement in one thing or another related to our business. WFCA will pay up to $500 in a “Trade Scholarship” to cover your cost for training. From a Quickbooks class for your bookkeeper to installer training and most subjects in between, you can and should take advantage of these monies. Our affiliation with the WFCA gives you back more than double your cost of membership in these scholarships! |
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WFCA and LIFCA both have consumer websites that thousands of potential customers visit. If you are not a member you are not listed. Our website LIFloor.com has links for “ Find a Floor Store,” Find a Cleaner,” and “Find an Inspector.” |
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Countless other benefits are part of both organizations. |
What about Affiliate members? Although WFCA benefits are not available to Wholesale and Distributor reps and management, your LIFCA Affiliate dues support our efforts and give you full voting member status in our organization.
What has LIFCA done lately?
LIFCA has worked very hard to provide educational and networking opportunities for our members:
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All day sales & marketing training with nationally renowned author and speaker Jim Ackerman. |
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Two all day training classes to help our members comply with the EPA Lead Renovator Certification requirement. |
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Seminar on contractor and salesperson license requirements in Nassau, Suffolk and NY City in response to one of our members being fined for non compliance. We also placed links to the three consumer licensing agencies on our website LIFCA.com to help our members register. |
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Seminar on Taxes and Insurance strategies for small businesses and individuals with nationally known author and speaker Lance Wallach. |
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Joint meeting with New York Rug Cleaners Institute and seminar on Ceramic Tile Maintenance |
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Meeting and seminar on carpet spot cleaning and how to handle panic calls from your customers (coming November 4) |
The LIFCA is looking for the best of the best in our industry. We can help you learn about new products, installation and maintenance methods and more! Even more urgently, there are legal things affecting you like consumer license requirements and rules for working in homes with Lead paint. We are keeping our ears open and getting the information out there just for YOU, but if you don’t take advantage of it you will put us in the position of trying not to say “we told you so” if you get caught not knowing what you should know.
Please join us on November 3 - it would be great to see you again! And, please renew your membership! The LIFCA is coming back strong, and you need to be a part of it!
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NEW EPA RULING AFFECTS FLOOR COVERING TRADE
Renovation contractors must be certified in lead-safe work practices Floor covering dealers, installers, cleaners, inspectors included in new law |
Someone said a while back that lead will be the new asbestos someday. Well, someday is here! Effective April 22, The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued new rules regarding lead paint. Anyone receiving compensation for renovating, repairing and painting work in residences built before 1978 that disturbs painted surfaces is subject to the new Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP). Any area larger than six square feet is covered under the rule and moldings, walls and painted floors are examples of the types of materials a floor covering installer, cleaner or inspector might come across on a job that contains lead.
EVERYONE in our industry who works in residential, schools or any buildings where there are children must be trained and past a certification test.
FROM THE EPA WEBSITE:
As a contractor, you play an important role in helping to prevent lead exposure. Ordinary renovation and maintenance activities can create dust that contains lead. By following the lead-safe work practices, you can prevent lead hazards. Understand that after April 22, 2010, federal law requires you to be certified and to use lead-safe work practices. To become certified, renovation contractors must submit an application and fee payment to EPA. Contractors who perform renovation, repairs, and painting jobs in pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities must, before beginning work, provide owners, tenants, and child-care facilities with a copy of EPA's lead hazard information pamphlet. Contractors must document compliance with this requirement. |
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| LIFCA helps revive local Italian Festival |
| Floor Covering News, November 2009 |
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| Long Island Floor Covering Association Launches Consumer Website |
| Patchogue, NY December 17, 2009 |
In the confusing world of purchasing floor covering products, its hard to know where to get information about products and even harder to find reputable dealers to purchase products and installation from. The Long Island Floor Covering Association launched a website this week, www.LIFloor.com to do just that. The site will educate consumers about floor covering products and help them find LIFCA members. LIFCA is an affiliate of the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA) so there will be links to educational articles from the WFCA site and as the LIFCA site grows, LIFCA members will add articles to the site.
LIFCA was incorporated in 1958 with the mission of strengthening and improving the business practices, standards, professionalism and ethics of the region’s floor covering businesses. Their members include Commercial and Residential Dealers, Cleaners, Inspectors, Wholesalers and Manufacturers. They are headquartered in Patchogue, Long Island. |
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| We Need Your Photos |
We are expanding our photo gallery and need your photos of LIFCA events from the past.
Please e-mail them to lifca@optonline.net |
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| Link Your Website To Ours |
| Any members who have a website, please put a link to LIFloor.com! And please e-mail us your web address so we can do the same for you! |
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