Getting Involved

I can’t believe that I let a whole month go by without an update to this blog.

OK, so let’s get down to it, shall we?  The next thing that I did was to get involved in the Association of Outdoor Lighting Professionals.  At the time I joined this organization it was called the Low Voltage Lighting Institute of the Americas.  It is a group of lighting contractors, distributors and manufacturers who truly want to see professionalism in the outdoor lighting business. 

The first time I went to an LVLIA conference in Scottsdale, AZ. I was dead set on just taking the certification exam and getting back home.  I really didn’t care that much about what else was going on during that week.  That was until I started meeting the other lighting professionals who were there.  Everyone was so pumped about lighting and taking their projects to the next level.  I was energized by everyone there and phoned my wife to get her thoughts on my staying for the conference (even though I had not packed for it).  She once again encouraged me to do as I thought best and therefore I stayed for the whole week and didn’t regret it for a second.

I didn’t pass my certification test that year but I went back the following year and passed it then.  My son Paul jr. who has worked with me for the past 5 years passed the test this year and now we can boast that we are the only lighting company in the state of Texas to have two AOLP certified technicians on staff.

Since I joined the association I have served on committees and am currently the vice president.  I have written several articles for the association’s online trade magazine and I am now starting to form a Texas chapter of the AOLP.  I think that if someone wants to be successful in their chosen profession, they have to get involved in all aspects of the industry and try to become the leading authority in their area.

I hope I am not being too dry and I pray that I am not coming across as braggadocios.  I just want everyone to know where I am coming from and where I have been as we get further into this blog.

Until next time, and I don’t mean a month from now.