Fellowship of Construction Knowledge and Entrepreneurial Development (FoCKED)

FoCKED is a networking group for local contractors and claims professionals who specialize in insurance damage response and repairs, based on the West Coast.
​

FIVE FoCKED QUESTIONS:
  1. Are you located in the Pacific Northwest (PNW)? 
  2. Are you located in Washington State? 
  3. Are you involved in property restoration, construction, and/or insurance claims services? 
  4. Would you benefit from meeting face to face with local peers who are committed to increasing their construction knowledge? 
  5. Would you like to engage local peers to help them elevate their entrepreneurial development? 


THE FoCKED COMMITTMENTS:
  • CONNECT 
  • COLLABORATE 
  • CONQUER

I commit to CONNECTING with my peers in the property restoration and insurance claims ecosystem. I will do this in a group setting, as often as I am able, by meeting in person once a month on the second Tuesday. I will also do this through one-on-one meet ups with my peers throughout the year. 

I commit to COLLABORATING with my peers in the property restoration and insurance claims ecosystem. I will do this by engaging in efforts to implement industry best practices, discussing creative solutions for common issues, and contributing to the sustainability of my craft. 

I commit to CONQUERING with my peers in the property restoration and insurance claims ecosystem. I will do this by contributing to endeavors to elevate the professional growth of myself, my team, my local market, and my industry as a whole. 

Please RSVP for our Next In-Person Meeting for Washington Restoration Contractors and Insurance Professionals

SPECIAL EVENT - OCTOBER


PLEASE RSVP through EVENTBRITE


This is a networking group for local contractors who specialize in insurance claims response and repairs, based in the great state of Washington (PNW).

TIME:
4-7pm


HOST & SPONSOR: 

Reliable Contents Services 


WHERE: 

Reliable Contents Services 
18437 Cascade Ave S
Seattle, WA 98188


TOPIC:
Happy hour hosted by Reliable Contents Services (RCS)
Annoucement of the WINNER of SOCKTember 2022


Thank you to our event SPONSORS:
Reliable Contents Services (RCS) - Reliable Contents Services handles household goods (contents) undergoing the initial steps of the restoration process.
SPECIAL EVENT in NOVEMBER
MEETING 013 (NOVEMBER)

​PLEASE RSVP through EVENTBRITE

WHEN:
Tuesday, November 2022
Time: TBD

THANK YOU to our event sponsors:
LUNCH SPONSOR:
Aramsco, Ask AIMe, ARES Restoration, and The DYOJO Podcast 

Check Facebook Events for details and be sure you are on our MAILING LIST for the calendar invite. 

WHERE:

Reliable Contents Services 
18437 Cascade Ave S
Seattle, WA 98188

WHAT:

Virtual training from Restoration Industry Association (RIA) with 6.5 credits of continuing education (CE) available. In-person viewing and discussion with members of FoCKED. 

Preliminary topics:
  • Conversations with Adjusters
  • How to Advance Your Career
  • Heat Awareness and Job Safety
  • What You Need to Know About Mold Containment
  • Containment and Isolation
  • Building Your Personal Brand
  • Intro to Emergency Response and Hazardous Materials
  • Crawl Space Remediation & Category II and III Water Damage

Calendar of Events (List):

AUGUST

August 16
FoCKED 011
Contact: Jon Isaacson or Lindsey Ward
Location: Reliable Content Services (Tukwila, WA) 
*KICK OFF Party for the 3rd Annual SOCKTember NEW Sock-Raising Competition 
Lunch: Provided by Reliable following the meeting

SEPTEMBER

September 13
FoCKED 012
Contact: Jon Isaacson 
Location: Daffodil Bowl Conference Room (Puyallup, WA) 

September 26-28 combo, September 28 MIT only 
Advanced Estimating Course 
Contact: Ben Justesen, Enlightened Restoration Solutions 
Location: Online or Just Right Cleaning & Construction (Moses Lake, WA)

OCTOBER 

Thursday, October 20
2nd Annual Insurance Professionals Happy Hour 
Announcement of the WINNER of SOCKTember 2022
Contact: Jon Isaacson, Lindsey Ward, or Sarah Roberts
Location: Reliable Content Services (Tukwila, WA)  

NOVEMBER

SPECIAL EVENT
November 2, 2022
Restoration Industry Association (RIA)
Fall Technical Conference (Virtual)
We will meet in-person to watch and discuss the presentations from RIA 
Education, Networking, CE Credits
Contact: Jon Isaacson or Lindsey Ward
Location: Reliable Content Services (Tukwila, WA)  

DECEMBER

Tuesday, December 13 (TBD)
Bowling and White Elephant Gift Exchange 
Contact: Jon Isaacson
Location: Dafodil Bowl (Puyallup, WA) 

FoCKED 2023

JANUARY
Topic: Asbestos testing and hazards abatement 
Hosted by RSG Abatement (Tacoma, WA) 

FEBRUARY
TBD
RIA Regional Focus Group
1 day in-person education and networking
CE credits
Free - 4 speakers, Q&A, food, maybe dinner
Hosted by Reliable Contents Services (Tukwila, WA)

Followed the next three days by
RIA Specialist Training
3 day in-person education
CE credits
Paid
Hosted by RCS (Tukwila, WA)

MARCH
Hosted by FRSTeam (Puyallup, WA) 

APRIL 22-26
RIA Annual Convention
Paid + travel
Orlando, FL

MAY
Extended topics from RFG
Estimating, Project Management, and Leadership Development
2-3 day in-person education and networking
CE credits
Paid - Speakers, food, maybe dinner
Seattle area

JUNE
Hosted by American Restoration (Edmonds, WA) 

JULY 
Hosted by AdvantaClean (Tacoma, WA) 

AUGUST
Hosted by 

SEPTEMBER
4th Annual SOCKTember
Hosted by Reliable Contents Services (Tukwila, WA) 

OCTOBER
3rd Annual PNW Restorers Party 
Hosted by RCS (Tukwila, WA)

* Let me know if you are interested in helping with these events
FOCKED MEETING NOTES
lien_presentation_-_ben_cushman_-_mtg_004.pdf
File Size: 945 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
Video for interview with Ben Cushman (Olympia, WA) on the topic of Mechanics Liens for Contractors in Washington 
socktember_finale_event_flyer.pdf
File Size: 117 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
focked_meeting_001.pdf
File Size: 94 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
Video for interview with Joyce Gabriel, GM for Landall Group (Tacoma, WA) on Training Others to Use Xactimate
Video for interview (part 1) with Roger Howson (Seattle, WA) on Insurance Claims Appraisals
Video for interview (part 2) with Roger Howson (Seattle, WA) on Insurance Claims Investigations
Video for discussion with Ben Justesen (Moses Lake, WA) on the topic of Overhead and Profit for Contractors

Networking for Washington (PNW) based insurance claims professionals and contractors

Networking group for local contractors who specialize in insurance claims response and repairs, based on the West Coast.

Selective (not exclusive) Fellowship.

Gather with like minded pros who agree to contribute to this concept and do our best to keep things professionally focused - Construction Knowledge and Entrepreneurial Development.

Elevate our Construction Knowledge.

This is primarily for insurance related work (selective, but not exclusive). By joining this group you agree to give as much as you get from the group - in fact we encourage, “Give first and the get (your return on investment) will develop naturally.”

If you want to hard sell our members join another networking group. We will share in the responsibilities for hosting, developing, and sharing relevant content, and agreed costs (if necessary).

Inspire our Entrepreneurial Development.

Ideas, Processes, and Execution. Help each other grow. There is no competition and good competition is the best thing for our industry(s). Come prepared to share the lessons learned from your failures more than you brag about your successes. ​

If you can’t handle these basic outlines, please utilize the plethora of OTHER online resources available to you.

​If you want to have some fun and help each other be the best we can be, welcome aboard.

    Are you an insurance claims professional based in the PNW (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, etc)?
    Are you interested in networking with fellow professionals? 
    Are you willing to bring value and discuss issues with your peers?

Networking for Pacifc Northwest (PNW) based insurance claims professionals and contractors

Networking group for local contractors who specialize in insurance claims response and repairs, based on the West Coast.

WHEN:

  • Once a month. 2nd Tuesday of every Month, 9-10am 
  • See "Events" tab in our Facebook Group for current meeting information or see below and please RSVP

WHERE:

  • Rotating location (when possible) - currently hosting in-person meetings in the Tacoma, Washington area.
  • Recommended (not required) that the host provides coffee and light snacks.
  • Sponsors relevant to the topic will be invited to contribute.

WHAT:

  • Topic driven to provide value and keep us on track.
  • Discussion based; I.E. more sharing, less lecturing.

VISION:

Meet once a month to dive into a topic. Our host will share about their unique approach to the business and provide a tour of their facility. When relevant we will have outside speakers and/or sponsors that bring value to the topic.

Through Facebook the discussion can continue among members of the group.

SOCIAL MEDIA POSTING AGREEMENT:

We want to encourage everyone to follow a precedent that all posts follow THE JEOPARDY RULES, as such all posts should be presented in the form of a question. We want to encourage DISCUSSION relevant to the day-to-day Construction Knowledge and Entrepreneurial Development of insurance claims repairs; respectful disagreement is encouraged.

Resources for West Coast Restoration Contractors

In various formats we have heard contractors discussing the idea of self regulating. The terminology may change, where a positive expression might be something like, "We need to raise the bar in property restoration." Or negative phrases such as, "It's disgraceful what we see now-days, something needs to change," are spread throughout industry social media pages. So, what does it look like for members of the property restoration industry to hold each other accountable to established standards of care? READ MORE in our Blog
Video for interview (part 2) with Roger Howson (Seattle, WA) on Insurance Claims Investigations
Video for interview with Joyce Gabriel, GM for Landall Group (Tacoma, WA) on Training Others to Use Xactimate
Video for discussion with Ben Justesen (Moses Lake, WA) on the topic of Overhead and Profit for Contractors
Video for interview (part 1) with Roger Howson (Seattle, WA) on Insurance Claims Appraisals
Video for interview with Ben Cushman (Olymipa, WA) on the topic of Mechanics Liens for Contractors in Washington 

Washington State Meetings and Topics for Restoration Contractors & Insurance Professionals

Meetings are the 2nd Tuesday of each Month.
  • Physical meetings are usually held in Puyallup, Washington.
  • Remote meetings will be hosted through Zoom.
  • Join our Facebook or LinkedIn pages to stay up to date and check for the Eventbrite invite to confirm location:

Watch the video below to get some immediate tips on the use of mechanics liens to help you secure payment for work completed as a contractor in Washington state. ​​ 

Prior education and networking events for property restoration contractors on the West Coast

FoCKED 012 (September 2022) What data do you collect and how does it help you make better decisions in your business? Email Jon for a copy of the slideshow. 
FoCKED 010 Meeting Recap with announcements, resources, and discussion highlights.
Thank you to Luke Draeger and Aramsco for hosting and providing lunch!
JUNE 2020 (009) First meeting with our NEW TIME 10-1130am (due to member feedback). TOPIC: Bad Faith in Insurance Claims with Roger Howson (Claims Simple). HOST: Tom Lyman from Considerate Construction and Design (CCD). LUNCH SPONSOR: CCD
May 2002 (008) Tukwila, WA - Hosted by Rich Rye of 1800-Water Damage of Seattle, discussion on building vendor relationships ​
April 2022 (007) Tacoma, WA - Hosted by David Kean of DLS/Arken, contractors discussion of collection issues and creative solutions, emphasis on insurance claims projects.  Ed Cross, The Restoration Lawyer, donated a FREE copy of The Book on Restoration Collections. ​

March 2022 (006) - Puyallup, WA - Guest speaker Ben Justesen (Moses Lake, WA) on the topic of customizing and defending Xactimate estimates for insurance claims.  Thank you to our hosts, the Puyallup-Sumner Chamber of Commerce. 

February 2022 (005) Puyallup, WA - Restorers Discussion 

January 2022 (004) - Puyallup, WA - Presentation by Ben Cushman (Deschutes Law Group) addressing Mechanics Liens for Contractors in Washington. Thank you to our hosts, the Puyallup-Sumner Chamber of Commerce.
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December 2021 - NO MEETING - We encourage you to attend the Business Roundtable hosted by The Puyallup Sumner Chamber of Commerce. Moderated by Stephen Harrington (Cross Insurance) and Jon Isaacson (ARES Restoration)

November 2021 - NO MEETING - We encourage you to attend the Business Roundtable hosted by The Puyallup Sumner Chamber of Commerce. Moderated by Stephen Harrington (Cross Insurance) and Jon Isaacson (ARES Restoration)

October 2021 - SOCIAL EVENT - We celebrated the finale of the 2nd Annual SOCKTember 2021 with our 1st Annual Restoration & Insurance Professionals Costume Dance Party hosted by Reliable Contents Services (Tukwila, WA) 

September 2021 (003) - Puyallup, WA - Contractors discussion of issues and creative solutions going into 2022.  

August 2021 (002) - Puyallup, WA - Contractors discussion regarding creative solutions for hiring employees in light of recent challenges in the workforce.  

July 2021 (001) - Puyallup, WA - Contractors discussion regarding the recent updates to the IICRC S500 Water damage mitigation and restoration standards 

Annual Community Event - SOCKTember

Join us September 2022 for the Third Annual - The DYOJO SOCKTember NEW Sock Raising Competition. We have a LOT of fun and do a LOT of good as we compete with each other to raise NEW socks for local charities.