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NARIGC Calendar of Events

2010


Tuesday, Oct. 12
MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Universal Design
Holiday Inn, Elk Grove Village

Tuesday, Nov. 9
MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Go For the Gold!
Holiday Inn, Elk Grove Village
Business of the Month:
Remodeling by J.R.

A Tale of J.R. Graves

J.R. Graves, d.b.a. Remodeling by J.R., has been in business since 1962.  The business has five full-time employees and hires additional sub-contractors when needed, and hires NARI members whenever possible.  Most of the time Remodeling by J.R. serves Chicago, the North Shore area, and the Chicago Northern Suburbs.

The majority of their work is performed by their own full-time employees who have all been with the company for more than 18 years.  They work well together and are extremely knowledgeable in their respective trades.

45% of the work done by Remodeling by J.R. Graves is residential, and they specialize in older homes and the issues unique to this type of home.  The older homes are much different to rehab than newer or brand new construction residences.  He has also rehabbed more than 400 condos and multi-level buildings.  35% of their work is commercial, for which they receive the first ever NARI Green Commercial Remodeling Award.  The balance of what they do is fire and water damage.  They work with a number of insurance agencies and fire adjusters who call them regularly.

The ideal client is someone who has been referred, and needs their expertise.  They are good communicators and know what they want to accomplish with their project.  The ideal client also listens to their expertise and will compromise to what they know will be best for them to reach their goal.

Every job has a challenge.  Right now they have three current projects that require they find discontinued tile to match what they already have.  They meet these challenges and continue to do a good job in making their clients happy.

On a personal note, J.R. is married to Char Graves and together they have 5 grown children and 11 grandchildren.  That clearly keeps them very busy during their "free" moments.  When not with the kids and grandkids, J.R. pursues race car driving, karate, scuba diving, private piloting, and loves to travel.  He has been to all 50 states and many foreign countries.

Professionally, J.R. is a past NARI President and has been on the Executive Board since 1990.  He is a CR and certified in water and smoke damage, and most recently has become lead certified.  He continues to attend education classes and seminars and has done so for the past 20 years.

He has received NARI awards for residential, commercial and green remodeling.  He is proud to be a member of NARI as people are aware of NARI and what it stands for.  He joined NARI initially for more education and a reliable source of contractors to pull from when he was doing multi-unit buildings.  The best way he recommends to utilize what NARI has to offer is to attend meetings regularly and get to know all the fine people and services of being a NARI member has to offer.  When there is an overflow of work, it is good to be able to use, and be confident of, his fellow NARI members to get these projects completed.
THE NARI
CODE OF ETHICS
 
Each member of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry is pledged to observe high standards of honesty, integrity and responsibility in the conduct of business by:
 
Promoting in good faith only those products and services which are known to be functionally and economically sound, and which are known to be consistent with objective standards of health and safety;
 
Making all advertising and sales promotion factually accurate, avoiding those practices which tend to mislead or deceive the customer.
 
Writing all contracts and warranties such that they comply with federal, state, and local laws.
 
Promptly acknowledging and taking appropriate action on all customer complaints.
 
Refraining from any act intended to restrain trade or suppress competition.
 
Attaining and retaining insurance as required by federal, state, and local authorities.
 
Attaining and retaining licensing and/or registration as required by federal, state, and local authorities.