Tennessee Organization of Locksmiths
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Message from the President
Tennessee Organization of Locksmiths
| Home | Meetings | Officers | Members | Links | About us | Contact us | News |
Message from the President
May 4, 2008
Howdy to All,
Here is the information on our meeting with the Department of Commerce and Insurance:
Meeting with Dept. of Commerce and Insurance/ Locksmiths
Date: May 31st (Saturday)
Time: 8am – 12pm (come and go as you need)
Location: Radisson Hotel Opryland
Agenda: The Dept. Of Commerce and Insurance has graciously agreed to meet with any locksmith who needs an application packet and to answer any questions you may have regarding the upcoming licensing law. This is your opportunity to become well informed.
Radisson Hotel at Opryland
2401 Music Valley Drive, Nashville Tennessee 37214, USA
Reservations: (888) 201-1718
Telephone: (615) 889-0800 Fax: (615) 889-6328
You can download all of the forms you need at the Commerce and Insurance web site. Go to
http://tennessee.gov/commerce/boards/llp/index.html
and click on the forms you need. You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer.
Our Summer meeting will be in Jackson. Troy Mitchell is putting together classes on residential locks. Some new designs are available.
Our Fall meeting will be in East Tennessee. Rick is working with C.D.Lipscomb to set up the class. Any class with C.D. is well worth your time.
At the Annual Meeting Maria Moore was elected Treasurer, Jenny Tyler was reelected Secretary and Jime Wiedman was reelected Middle Region Vice President.
Members had the opportunity to express their thoughts about the direction of TOOL. Part of the discussion centered on our need to keep providing worthwhile classes. The new rules for instructors and classes to be approved for continuing education means that we need to do more long range planning. The web site is being updated to help with communication, but it will take time. Visit it from time to time. Ben Turner is our web master and you can send suggestions to him.
We also need to be vigilant to protect our interests in the General Assembly. Tommy Burnett has been our lobbyist and has been very instrumental in getting our licensing bill passed. There will need to be more efforts in the future as our industry changes. Therefore we need to continue to build up our Legislative Fund to pay for these future efforts. At the Annual Meeting, the membership voted to increase our Legislative Fund contribution to $50.00 per year per member. This increase will take effect with your next dues statement for 2009. It has also been suggested that those who can make additional contributions in the amount of one service call charge per month. We have been fortunate that Mr. Burnett has not charged us his usual fees. Many groups pay their lobbyists $10,000 per year and more.
The membership also suggested to the Board and the Board agreed to raise our regular dues to $50.00 per year. This will also take place in 2009. The increase will allow us to continue to provide classes that will be useful to the membership.
The question of what classes should we provide is a difficult one. Those of us who have been in the profession a long time may not need the same classes that the newer locksmiths need. Make your requests known to the Board and your Regional Vice Presidents in particular (their contact information is on the web site.) As a result of a suggestion made at the Annual Meeting, we are working to set up a Beginner's Class for the next Annual Meeting. Your Board needs more input like that.
I am optimistic about TOOL moving forward to provide education and leadership to the locksmiths of Tennessee.
Till the key turns,
Raiford Ball
President
Tennessee Organization of Locksmiths
© 2006 by T.O.O.L.