NEWSFLASH!

Current and Past IICRC-Related News Stories(see below for archived news stories)

Larry Cooper President of Textile ConsultantsLeaving the IICRC after 27 Years of Service

VANCOUVER, Wash. (June 16, 2011) - The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification(IICRC) announced today that Larry Cooper, president of Textile Consultants, will leave the IICRC after27 years of service and contracting at the end of 2011.

Cooper served as vice president of IICUC, the former name of the IICRC, in 1984 and president from1985 to 1988. He served on the IICRC Board of Directors for 19 years and provided leadership during themajor growth and development years of the organization. When Cooper took over as president there were300 Certified Technicians and today there are more than 54,000. Cooper, serving as the first chairman ofthe Instructors and Schools Committee, helped write the first IICRC carpet inspector course and test; healso worked to develop curriculum and the platform for the format of the IICRC today. Cooper’s wife,Tryna, also served on the IICUC/IICRC board for 10 years as secretary from 1984 to 1994. Cooperrecruited many of the association shareholder organizations to the IICRC and has worked closely withthem over the years. He has represented the IICUC and IICRC worldwide giving more than 500presentations representing the organization and the cleaning and restoration industry.

Cooper served as chairman of the IICRC Standards Committee from 1990 until he was hired as aconsultant for the organization in 2003 to oversee the writing of standards for the IICRC. He wasresponsible for implementing the accreditation of the IICRC with the American National Standards Institute(ANSI). Since 1990, Cooper has been directly in charge of the development, committee organization andapproval process for the IICRC S100 Carpet Cleaning Standard and Reference Guide, the IICRC S300Upholstery Cleaning Standard and Reference Guide, the IICRC S500 Water Damage RestorationStandard and Reference Guide, and the IICRC S520 Mold Remediation Standard and Reference Guide.Currently, the standards committee is working to complete an IICRC S600 Carpet Installation Standardand Reference Guide and the IICRC S800 Carpet Inspector Standard and Reference Guide. Cooper willcontinue to work through 2012 to complete the IICRC S600 Standard under an agreement with the IICRC.

“I have had an amazing opportunity to serve with some great people building an industry. I worked withnine presidents of IICRC including: Eric Rottmeister, Mike West, Bob Wittkamp, Mike Lynch, DanBernazzani, Dane Gregory, Lee Zimmerman, Ruth Travis, and Paul Pearce. I was also able to work withtwo great executive administrators, Kenway Mead and Tom Hill and their staffs,” said Larry Cooper.“Working with all of these great industry leaders and two amazing standard chairmen, Barry Costa andJim Holland, has been an amazing journey that contributed to my lifetime goal of growing and uplifting thecleaning and restoration Industry.”

Larry Cooper currently owns/partners in Textile Consultants, Meetings and Events, LLC (manages theConnections Conventions and Trade Shows), Restoration Journeys and Journeys for Conscious Living.Recently, Cooper started the Professional Cleaning and Restoration Network to provide operational, salestraining and technical support in the commercial floor covering maintenance industry and the waterdamage restoration industry. He will spend his future time and efforts continuing to work in his currentbusinesses and working to improve and uplift the world, one person at a time. Cooper stated that “thegreatest honor in my life has been getting the opportunity to work with my family and friends every dayand seeing them grow to become leaders and huge contributors in their own personal endeavors.”

New Mold Licensing Requirements in FloridaIICRC AMRT Certified Technicians need to register by March 1, 2011

VANCOUVER, Wash. (January 7, 2011) - The state of Florida has begun to implement new licensingrequirements for those who conduct mold remediation services in the state. All professionals that wish toconduct this type of service in Florida will need to be licensed by the Florida Department of Business andProfessional Regulation (DBPR) moving forward.

Current IICRC registrants with AMRT certification that do work in Florida are eligible to be grandfatheredin with no additional certification needed if they submit an application for a license to the DBPR by March1, 2011 and meet the additional requirements. The requirements for being grandfathered can be found byvisiting the DBPR website. An application for a license can be downloaded here.

The IICRC also recommends that registrants with an AMRT certification that may not live in Florida butmay do work there currently or in the future apply for a license by March 1, 2011. Information for non-residents can be found here.

Presently, the IICRC is working with the DBPR to become an approved provider of certification exams,but is not currently approved under “Initial Licensing” in the new regulations; therefore, registrants will notbe eligible to perform mold remediation services in Florida with only an AMRT certification if not licensedbeginning March 1, 2011.

“We are working diligently to pursue approval from the DBPR to provide mold remediation certification thatmeets the state’s requirements and hope to come to a resolution as soon as possible,” said DanBernazzani, IICRC government affairs liaison. “We applaud the state of Florida for implementinglegislation that protects consumers from unscrupulous professionals that seek to take advantage ofproperty owners, particularly in a state that regularly deals with mold issues. We know that we’ll be ableto come to a conclusion that recognizes the IICRC, an internationally respected provider of moldremediation certification, as an approved provider in Florida.”

To meet the requirements set forth by the DBPR, IICRC is continuing to work towards its goal of securingaccreditation as a certification body from the American National Standards Institute, the leadingauthoritative body of U.S. standards and conformity assessment systems. IICRC is currently an ANSIaccredited standard setting body.

“We firmly believe that seeking ANSI accreditation for our certifications is in the best interest of ourregistrants and consumers,” said IICRC Chairman Paul Pearce. “Securing ANSI accreditation will not onlymeet the requirements of the Florida DBPR, but add an additional layer of rigor to the IICRC’s currentrespected and credible certifications.”

IICRC “Education Task Force” FormingSeeking Interested Registrant for Committee Membership