Editorial Comment

On Tuesday, June 29, R&R had the honor of announcing the winner of the 2021 Women in Restoration Award. It was presented at the Restoration Industry Association’s 75^th Annual International Restoration Convention and Industry Expo in Kissimmee, Florida, during and evening that celebrated many of the industry’s best and brightest.

Since the award was created in 2016, it has been presented at several different events – Contractor Connection, the Violand Executive Summit, virtually in 2020 over Zoom, and now at the RIA show.

This award was created to recognize women blazing a trail for their peers in the restoration industry. It was not created to separate men and women – but rather to encourage more women to enter the trades and show the amazing career paths possible in restoration.

Over the last six years, thanks to a number of factors–certainly not just this award, I truly have seen a community of women form, and also seen more women step into bigger roles within the industry as a whole.

Since 2016, we have received more than 240 nominations for the award – and see many brand new names every single year. To qualify, women must have been in the industry for at least 10 years. We have received nominations for people in every single role – from technician to business development to estimator to president, and everything in between.

The judges look for qualities such as industry and community influence, job growth and the overall path of their career in restoration so far, industry involvement and certifications, and more.

Thank you to Violand Management Associates for their continued support for this award, and for supporting men and women in leadership across the restoration and cleaning industries.

Thank you also to our panel of judges this year – Kristy Sifford of Wylander Solutions, Katie Harris of Spot On Solutions, and Shelli Bagwell of DKI. It takes a great deal of time and effort to read and score dozens of nominations every year – so thank you for investing your time in this!

Please enjoy this year’s special section celebrating Women in Restoration, and be on the lookout for nominations to reopen next spring.