In 1996, I had the privilege and honor to help start the Snow and Ice Management Association (SIMA).  The prior fall I had been on landscape association tour bus headed to tour a landscape company in Texas and a bunch of us were talking about snowplowing as we headed to our destination.  I recall one of the people saying they had a “big winter” because they got 35” of snow last year.  They guys were amazed when I stated that in Syracuse, NY I normally delt with over 120” of annual snowfall most years.  Little did I know that one of those “guys” was John Allin and he was thinking about starting an association for snow plow contractors.  In spring of 1996 I received a letter from John inviting me to Erie, Pennsylvania for 3 days of discussions about starting just such an association.  

Myself, John Allin, Peggy Allin (John’s wife), 6 other plow contractors, and one industry consultant all met in John’s basement for three days in June.  We worked out all kinds of details about the association.  Originally the name was going to be the “North America Snow Plowers Association” (that would have been NASPA for short).  But during our meeting we decided that a name like that was too limiting.  We needed a name that encompassed the entire snow and ice industry to include facility managers, airport and highway snow professionals, manufacturers, suppliers and more.  After much discussion we settled on the name “Snow and Ice Management Association” and SIMA was born.  Some of us in that initial meeting took on roles in the new association.  John Allin graciously offered to let the new association use office space at his company in Erie, PA at no cost.   We also decided the board of directors would have limited terms so the leadership would never get stale and all members would feel that SIMA was their own organization, not just a “good ole boys club” with the same people running the show for decades.  We needed to raise cash to start the fledgling association so we decided that we would offer a special “Charter founding” membership for a limited time.  For $1,000. a person could join the new association and would have a lifetime membership without ever having to pay any further membership dues.  I thought about the offer and decided to join on the spot.  Even though it was a risk, I had already learned so much from the other contractors in the first 2 days that I knew SIMA was going to be a huge success.  Now, looking back over the past 25 years, that $1,000. was one of the best investments I ever made.  Not because I saved thousands of dollars in membership dues (which I have), but because I have learned so much from other contractors and members of SIMA.  The networking and sharing of great ideas has had a profound positive impact on my business.  Now it is time for me to pay it forward by sharing many of those great ideas and the concepts we devised at Pro Scapes Inc. with contractors and other industry professionals.  I was fortunate to serve on the SIMA board of directors for 10 years and spend another 15 years on the Snow Business Magazine editorial advisory committee.  Every year I learned new things which helped me in my business and in the industry as a whole.  I am excited to share all this with my clients who want to grow and professionalize their snow and/or landscape operations.  

Rick Kier, CSP, CLP