2005 Conference Speakers
(Listed by last name, alphabetically)

John Bouldin - Precast Foundation; Intro to Steel Framing
John Bouldin is a professional Virginia-certified home inspector with ProTechs Home Inspections (www.ProTechs.net) in Alexandria, VA, and has completed over 4,600 home inspections. He is Vice Chairman of the Virginia Board for Asbestos, Lead, and Home Inspectors, and is a full member of ASHI and holds the NAHI designation of CRI. He holds the International Code Council designation of Residential Building Inspector, provides technical support through ITA's help line, and is an instructor with ITA at the Manassas, VA campus. John has been a guest presenter at national home inspection conventions on technical topics, and has earned a BS and an MBA from Virginia Tech. He may be reached by phone at 1-800-694-7369, or by email at inspectorhelp@homeinspection.com.

Nigel Bonny - E&O and Risk Management
Nigel Bonny is a licensed California lawyer and a former defense attorney, having represented clients of insurance companies for several years until he became General Counsel to FREA in 2000. Prior to arriving in the US in 1987, he worked in investment banking in Europe, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and Singapore. As FREA’s General Counsel and Managing Director he is responsible for coordinating their Errors & Omissions programs which provides coverage to over 12,000 home inspectors and appraisers nationwide.

Michael Casey - Plumbing; Safety
Michael Casey, former owner of Michael Casey & Associates in San Diego and currently Vice President and General Manager at Inspection Training Associates and Managing Director of ITA's Manassas, Virginia, facility. Michael is a past president of the California Real Estate Inspection Association (1994/1995) and of the American Society of Home Inspectors (2002). He has performed over 8000 home inspections in the last eighteen years. Michael is a CREIA Certified Master Inspector (#0001) and Certified New Construction Specialist, ASHI Certified Member (#2186), and is multi-certified by the ICC and IAPMO. He is also a licensed general, plumbing and mechanical contractor in several states and a Virginia Certified home inspector. Michael has authored numerous books, including co-authoring the Code Check® series of books, and taught home, building inspection and expert witness practice throughout North America. He has his teaching certificate/approval from many states in construction and home inspection. A member of ASHI and CREIA for more than eighteen years, he has been honored many times by both organizations for outstanding long term service to the real estate inspection profession. Michael can be reached at MikeC@homeinspection.com.

Shannon Cory - Homes That Are Not What You Expect
Shannon Cory is President of Rainbow Home Inspections, Inc and has been performing residential inspections, environmental surveys and commercial inspection in the metro Atlanta areas since 1998. Most of Shannon's success has been from his innovative reporting methods, marketing techniques and continuing educational programs. Shannon holds certifications in or certificates from: Building Officials and Code Administrations International (BOCA), Exterior Design Institute (EDI) Southern Building Code Congress International (SBCCI) International Code Council (ICC), National Radon Proficiency Program (NRPP), Mold Surveying and Sampling. Shannon presently is a member of many of the local real estate associations as an affiliate, is a COR member for ASHI Georgia and President of ASHI Georgia. He is the lead instructor at two of ITA's schools both in Tennessee and Georgia, and is an instructor for most of the courses which are offered by Inspection Training Associates A Kaplan Professional Company.

Bob Davidson - New Construction Part 1 & 2
Bob Davidson’s background includes many years as a General Contractor, building housing and apartment projects. His primary antecedent as a Commercial Construction Superintendent, building many shopping centers in Southern California, brought him extensive experience in all phases of commercial work. Consistent with his dedication to the inspection industry, Bob is also an instructor for Inspection Training Associates, teaching Plumbing, Roofing, HVAC, Marketing, Commercial, Exam Prep and New Construction Inspection classes. Currently Bob is Co-Partner and Principal Inspector of DavidsonInspection.com; having provided over 4000 fee paid commercial and residential inspections in Southern California. His business also involves Course of Construction Inspections, Intrusive Investigations and Expert Witness services. He is past President of the San Diego Chapter of CREIA (California Real Estate Inspection Association) and was on the board of directors for four years serving as an officer in the local chapter organization.

Jay De Wolf - High Efficiency Furnaces
Jay De Wolf is the owner and inspector of De Wolf Inspection Services in the San Francisco Bay area for the past 12 years. He has performed over 3,000 inspections. He provides Commercial and Residential inspections, he also provides Construction Defect resolution. He presented a seminar at the national conference for ASHI on Business Plans and how to apply it to the home inspection industry. He graduated from California Polytechnic, San Luis Obispo, Bachelor of Science, School of Engineering, Industrial Technology. Jay worked in the High Technology, Pharmacies and Defense industries for 14 years as Facilities Engineering and Construction Manager.

Peter Drenan - House vs. Nature; Can you “Talk the Talk”?; Old Houses - Historic Blunders
Peter Drenan began his working career as a carpenter, then earned a degree in architecture and has worked as a builder, construction manager, project manager, and designer. Peter has worked for the State of Virginia in charge of their large building programs, he has owned his own construction consulting and design/build businesses and he has operated a construction management business with multi-million dollar jobsites in 12 states. Peter Drenan has been doing inspections since 1994 and has performed almost 5,000 home inspections. His company also does building consulting work, new construction inspections and specialty inspections (EIFS, chimney inspections, water issues, expert testimony, construction disputes, etc.). Peter does facility evaluations and inspections as a consultant for the US Navy, on bases throughout the country. Peter is also consultant to FEMA the Federal Emergency Management Agency, performing emergency disaster evaluations in the aftermath of natural disasters. Peter is an instructor at ITA and does presentations for other home inspection groups across the country.

Stephen Gladstone - Infrared Camera
Stephen Gladstone, owner & president of Stonehollow Fine Home Inspections in Stamford Ct, and Managing Instructor for ITA's, Connecticut, Atlanta and Tennessee facilities, is the Immediate Past President of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI). He has been an inspector for over 21 years and has been teaching with ITA for over five. As an ASHI member since 1986 Steve has been very active in the profession and has contributed many articles and media pieces in the Wall Street Journal, Readers Digest, About the Home, Ask This Old House, The New York Times and CNN Moneywatch, to name a few. He even traveled to South Africa last year at their request to help promote the Home Inspection Profession for ITA. With 17 years in the home alteration business and about as many in the pool and spa business, Steve has experienced house problems from many angles. His weekly radio show in the CT/NY listening area has covered house oriented problems for the last five years. His web site is at www.stonehollow.com and he can be reached at steveg@homeinspection.com.

Brian Hannigan - Cost of Business
Brian Hannigan is President of Hann Tech Marketing Links, InspectionNews.com, CostOfBusiness.com, HomeInspectorLocator.com, AccessMyReport.com, and also acts as a website designer and host, and domain name registration and host. Brian is a graduate of Inspection Training Associates (ITA) and former owner/inspector of Property Inspection Consultants in Orange County, California. In 1997 Brian sold his inspection business and opened a new business - Hann Tech Marketing Links. Brian's second service, InspectionNews.com has grown to be the largest independent inspection site on the Internet with over 3,550 inspector members and an average of 120 new members every month. This service has proven to be an indispensable source of information and education to inspectors all over the world. He has received several awards for his dedication to the home inspection industry, such as CREIA's prestigious "President's Award" and named "One Of The 25 Most Influential Individuals Of The First 25 Years Of CREIA". Brian has been a speaker for schools and associations such as ITA, AII, CREIA, ASHI and NAHI. His love for the home inspection industry and those in it has driven him to create and develop many products and services over the years and there is no end in site. In his spare time Brian enjoys traveling and long distance off-road motorcycle adventures as well as brainstorming the next way to help the home inspection community.

Douglas Hansen - Aluminum Wiring; Safety Glazing
Douglas Hansen is the managing instructor of ITA's California schools. He was one of the founders of the home inspection business in California, having started his business in 1980, and he is now a full time author and educator. He has lectured nationally on a wide variety of building and real estate topics, and is always a popular conference speaker. He is a licensed contractor and is code certified as a building, plumbing, mechanical, and electrical inspector. He is the author of Electrical Inspection of Existing Dwellings, and the co-author of the popular Code Check series of field inspection guides, including Code Check, Code Check Electrical, Code Check Building, Code Check HVAC, and Code Check Plumbing. He maintains membership and participation with NFPA, IAEI, ICC, CREIA, ASHI, & IAPMO. He has served on several committees and the Board of Directors of ASHI and CREIA, and is the recipient of numerous service awards. For several years he was the contributing editor of CREIA's magazine and a member of the faculty of the College of San Mateo Building Inspection Technology program.

Michael Hart - New Technologies in Construction; Allergens Inspection
Michael Hart retired from the City of San Diego after a 26 year career as a Combination Building Inspector and Code Enforcement Official. He is a licensed Building Contractor and is Certified as a Structural Building Inspector by the International Conference Of Building Officials. He is a Superior Court certified expert witness regarding construction defects and has inspected thousands of residential and commercial properties. Michael teaches for ITA/Kaplan Professional Schools. He is a Certified Inspector Member, Education Chair and Instructor for the San Diego Chapter of the California Real Estate Inspection Association and an Education Committee Member and Instructor for the San Diego Association Of Realtors®. Michael owns and operates The Michael J. Hart Company and Real Property Inspection Service providing professional residential and commercial inspections, consulting and Realtor training.

Bill Hogue - Report Writing 101 & 201
Bill Hogue has been a licensed General Building Contractor in the state of California since 1981. He is the previous owner of Signature Inspection Services and performed in excess of 10,000 inspections including SFR's, commercial and industrial buildings. Bill was one of the original contributing authors for ITA's Matrix reporting system. He is a past President of the Orange County chapter of CREIA and has been a contributing author to the CREIA Inspector and the ASHI Reporter. Bill has been a speaker at CREIA conferences and ITA's Inspection Expo. He is an instructor at Inspection Training Associates.

Ted Johnson - Report Writing 101 & 201
Ted Johnson is the owner of AmeriSpec-Salt Lake Inspection Service in Salt Lake City, UT. His company has been in business for 15 years and has five full time inspectors with over 20,000 inspections performed. Ted has performed over 6,000 inspections and over 200 intrusive stucco inspections. Ted is an instructor for ITA, is EDI (Exterior Design Institute) certified in EIFS and hardcoat stucco systems (#UT-05) , ASHI certified (#203645) , a member of the ASHI Ethics Committee, and President of the ASHI Chapter of Utah for the last four years. Ted is also a licensed instructor for the State of Utah Division of Real Estate and has given more than 100 seminars and classes on the problems of stucco and mold in homes. Ted is also a licensed inspector for the State of Nevada. Ted was a Senior Consultant for the United States Committee to Assist Russian Reform, where he facilitated the joining of US builders and manufacturers with their Russian counterparts. Ted Johnson has worked in conjunction with Ram Builders (one of the nations leaders in stucco repair) to provided education and information to stucco contractors, the real estate community and to the general public.

Andy Kasznay - On-site Water Supply - Delivery to Treatments
Andy Kasznay is the owner of Kasznay's Fine Home Inspections of Harwinton, CT and has been an ASHI member and inspecting homes since 1992. Andy, prior to entering the home inspection business, operated a family business in electrical, plumbing, and heating contracting. During this period Andy maintained affiliation with the Air Force Reserve and retired as a Colonel following thirty-one years of participation. Andy joined the ITA staff in 2003 and teaches all modules of the ITA home inspection curriculum. Andy can be reached at andy@kasznay.com.

Caroline Knox - Marketing Consistency
Caroline Knox has over seven years experience in promotions and marketing that span a diverse number of industries. In April 2004, Caroline joined the Marketing Department at Inspection Training Associates. In her capacity as Marketing Coordinator, she works directly with home inspectors to develop professional company images and marketing campaigns. Caroline partners with inspectors to bring them success in their marketing endeavors. She brings well rounded marketing experience into real world applications for inspectors who have a shoe string budget. In addition to promoting ITA's marketing products and services, Caroline's past experiences includes web design, online marketing, producing and coordinating celebrity charity events. Australian born and raised, Caroline has also lived in Indonesia and Brazil. She currently resides in California with her husband Manuel Serrano, a Gunnery Sergeant in the United States Marine Corp.

Don Norman - Marketing You Business - Opportunities & Diversification; Title Roofs
Don Norman is the owner of HouseMaster Home Inspection Service in St. Louis, Missouri and has inspected nearly 9000 homes over the last 19 years. He has written state approved continuing education training classes for Realtor training classes and has written and taught classes nationally for the National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers (NAIFA). He served in several capacities within the St. Louis Association of Realtors over the years and received the first ever Affiliate of the Year award in 2000. He assisted in the creation of the National Home Inspection Exam (NHIE), a psychometrically valid, legally defensible, high stake examination testing the knowledge of home inspector applicants and was a charter Board member for the Examination Board of Professional Home Inspectors (EBPHI). He also co-authored ASHI's Home Inspection Training Curriculum. Don is the 2005 President of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) and is Managing Instructor for the ITA training facilities in Chicago, Illinois and Tampa, Florida. He can be reached at don@homeinspection.com.

Ed Novik - Mold Part 1 - 3
Ed Novik is an active home inspector, environmental consultant, technical instructor, real estate investor and property manager. He has performed over 5000 home inspections and environmental tests in the past 10 years, and has over 25 years prior experience in residential construction and system design engineering. He has taught various home inspection, environmental, and real estate courses at ITA locations throughout the Unites States. He holds a B.S. from Colorado State University and an M.S. from Arizona State University. Ed is a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), National Environmental Health Association (NEHA), Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA), and the International Code Council (ICC).

Dennis Parra Sr. - Low Slope Roofing
Dennis Parra Sr. gained experience for the inspection industry before retiring from SDG&E where he was manager of the Energy Conservation Department, and RME for building projects. He also retired from the US Air Force Civil Engineers where he inspected properties from Germany to Korea. Dennis holds current licenses as a General Contractor, Roofing and Insulation. He is a Master CREIA Inspector and has received the three top honors from CREIA, where he is also a Fellow; and is a long time active member of ASHI. Dennis established the family consulting/inspection business in 1876 and serves San Diego County in residential, commercial and industrial inspections. He is also a specifier and an expert witness.

Dennis Parra Jr. - Low Slope Roofing
Dennis Parra Jr. is a third generation building and roofing contractor and brings twenty-nine years experience to the inspection industry. Starting under the guidance and tutelage of his grandfather in 1976, he completed the journeyman level of construction and advanced to general superintendent, planning and directing large crews on commercial and industrial projects. In 1982 Dennis opened a satellite company in northern California where he specialized in commercial and government projects, and construction of homes. He also expanded the northern California office focus into inspection and consulting to parallel with the San Diego office. Today his total emphasis is inspections and consulting, completing over 10,000 inspections and holds the Master CREIA Inspector designation. Over the twenty-nine years in the construction industry, Dennis has attended technical and CEU classes to further his education, and to keep abreast with industry standards and comply with CREIA, ASHI, and RCI educational mandates. Dennis is a presenter of waterproofing and roofing seminars at CREIA and ASHI.

Trudy Smith - Radon Part 1 - 4
Trudy Smith has been in the radon business since 1988. She has performed thousands of radon screenings in residences, commercial buildings and schools; written quality assurance/quality control documents; and worked with radon mitigators. She has taught courses and given presentations to a wide variety of audiences on radon and marketed successful radon businesses. In addition to radon, Ms. Smith performed inspections for lead, asbestos, water, indoor air quality and hazardous materials operations. As Senior Training Specialist with Spruce Environmental Technologies, Trudy travels the country training radon measurement professionals.

Mitch Sudy - Pool/Spa Part 1 & 2; Report Writing 101 & 201
Mitch Sudy is the Vice President of Operations for ITA and a Master CREIA Inspector. Mitch is a member of the CREIA Board of Directors for 2004 - 2005 and over the years has served on many CREIA committees including the Residential and Commercial Standards of Practice. He also currently serves as the chairman of the CREIA exam committee. Mitch was recognized as the CREIA Inspector of the Year in 2001. He was President of San Diego CREIA Chapter for two years, and served as a Regional Director in 2002-03. He holds membership in CREIA, ICBO, IAEI and ASHI. Mitch is the former owner of Allquest Home Inspections, a San Diego based inspection firm.

Randy Surette - Creating a Multi Inspector Firm
Randy Surette is currently the president of Cornerstone Inspection Services, Inc. and has been a member of ASHI since 1988. He has also served on several committees for the Indiana chapter of ASHI as well as was one of the founders of that chapter. He was one of two COR reps for Indiana ASHI for three years and was the chairman of ASHI Nationals Bylaws Committee in 1994. Randy has personally performed over 9000 inspections and his company is currently performing 3500 inspections a year. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University in Construction Management as well as an Associate in Applied Science degree also from Purdue University in Architectural Technology. Randy holds licenses for Radon Testing & Wood Destroying Insect Inspector. He has been a certified Microbial Investigator for four years and has also been a certified EIFS inspector for six years through the Exterior Design Institute. He has been an expert witness in many court trials and is an arbitrator for Construction Arbitration Services. He can be reached at rsurette@csinspection.com for any further questions or comments.

Peter Taheny - Manufactured Home
Peter Taheny has over thirty year experience in the construction industry. For the last thirteen years he has worked almost exclusively with manufactured housing dealing with the rehabilitation of older units through the setup of new homes. Since 2000 he has been involved with litigation support dealing with manufactured housing issues. Peter has instructed at the ITA , he's member of CREIA and is ICC certified.

Kris P. Thompson - Smoking Gun or Case Killer: Legal Impacts of Digital Photography
Kris P. Thompson is a founding partner in the firm of Thompson & Alessio in San Diego, California. He received the prestigious “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbell (the only nationwide attorney rating service), which is their highest rating for professional competence and ethics. He has tried cases to jury verdict across Southern California and in Federal Court. He is experienced in a wide array of real estate matters, including litigation and business consultation with home and commercial property inspectors, defense of real estate agents, mold cases, and construction litigation. He serves as the general counsel for the California Real Estate Inspection Association (CREIA) as well as a number of high profile commercial and home inspection companies. He served on active duty with the U.S. Army along the Iron Curtain in the elite 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (Blackhorse) and in DESERT STORM, and recently retired from the National Guard at the rank of full colonel. He received a law degree from the University of Kansas, a masters degree in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College, and a degree in Accounting from Kansas State University.

Richard Whitsitt - Framing 101; Before the Pour - Foundation Inspections
Richard Whitsitt is the Managing Instructor for ITA in Texas. Richard was the founder of HomeSpectors Inc. and has been a FHA Rehab 203k Consultant since 1995 #D913, FHA final Inspector since 1995 #2844, Professional Real Estate Inspector since 1996 TREC #4162, Certified Applicator Structural Pest Control Board Texas since 1997 SPCB #39339T and ICC Certified Residential Building Inspector #5230855-B1. Before starting his inspection career Richard owned and operated a home building and remodeling company in Dallas Texas. He also spent several years in the commercial construction industries working on high profile project like the 1902 Interurban Railway Station renovation in downtown Plano. It's now a museum. His love for construction and the inspection industry led him to become the Building Standards Commission Chairman for the City of Plano Texas in 1997/2000, The President of Texas Association of Real Estate Inspectors North Texas Chapter 1999/2002, and The State Membership Director Place 4 for the Texas Association of Real Estate Inspectors 2002/2004. He has been nicknamed “The Coach” because he believes in the brotherhood of Inspectors sharing their knowledge for the good of all.

Samuel A. Wood, P.E. - Crawl Space & Floor Structure
Samuel A. Wood, P.E. is a Registered Professional Civil Engineer who owns and operates Advantage Home & Environment Inspections, Inc., established in 1995. He has been an ASHI Member since 1996 with over 5500 home inspections completed in the Hills, Coal Fields, and Mountains around Charleston, West Virginia. He is also the first and past President of the West Virginia Association of Home Inspectors. Retired in 1992 as a Lt. Colonel with the US Army Corps of Engineers from 20 years of Active Duty, Sam is a Licensed & Registered Professional Engineer in the States of West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia. Sam has an Undergraduate Degree from Penn State University in Mathematics and a Masters of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Stanford University. While on Active Duty as the Facilities Engineer for Aberdeen Proving Ground and the Senior Director of Engineering and Housing for the Third Infantry Division in Bavaria Germany, he was responsible for the design & construction of new housing and the maintenance of existing older housing totaling over 13,000 housing units. Sam's inspection focus has migrated towards Structural failure & foundation movement with an emphasis on the most cost effective structural repairs required to bring the home back into structural stability.

Joe Zaabadick - Heating Part 1 & 2
Joe Zaabadick has more than 40 years of experience in the Gas Industry, the first 35 years with the Southern California Gas Company. His skills include time spent as a Field Service Technician, Dispatcher, Quality Inspector, Dispatch Office Supervisor, Residential Training Instructor, Appliance Clinic Training Specialist, Master Training Instructor and most recently as a private Training Consultant. In his capacity as a Trainer, Joe has trained approximately three thousand Gas Company employees. As an Appliance Clinic Training Specialist, Joe conducted over fifteen hundred training seminars attended by more than thirty thousand people from the public sector. Those in attendance included plumbing and heating contractors, building officials, health department inspectors, fire department and police officials, home inspectors, school children and others interested in training or information in the safe utilization of natural gas. Joe has more than twenty-two years of experience as a professional trainer. As a Certified Professional Trainer, he has had the privilege of being asked to certify other Instructors. On one of his annual performance appraisals Joe was described by the Manager of his department as the benchmark by which other Instructors were measured. He has numerous awards and commendations attesting to his performance. Upon accepting an early retirement, Joe has established himself as a Consultant. He conducts seminars related to natural gas utilization, safety and customer service skills. Joe has written training outlines and built training props used in seminars and courses he has developed. He has been called on to do presentations and seminars for organizations throughout the country including many cities in the West, such as Phoenix AZ, Albuquerque NM, Palm Springs CA, San Francisco CA, Oceanside, CA, Los Angeles CA, Sacramento CA, Fresno CA, San Diego CA, Reno & Las Vegas NV, Portland OR and as far East as Missouri, New Jersey, and Florida. (Companies and organizations such as: Williams Comfort Products, PHCC-Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors, Southern California Air Conditioner Distr., CREIA-California Real Estate Inspection Assoc., OREIA-Oregon Real Estate Inspection Assoc., ASHI-American Society of Home Inspectors, WIN-World Inspection Network to name a few.) Joe has been asked back again and again to give his demonstrations, which is a clear indication to the value placed on his presentations.

Paul Zak - Your Phone - Maximize Revenue, Customer Service & Image
Paul Zak is president and CEO of America's Call Center, the industry leader in providing scheduling and office services exclusively to home inspectors. Mr. Zak is a former engineering and marketing executive with several Fortune 500 companies, with many years experience in sales, marketing, and customer service. He has helped many home inspection companies grow by providing phone answering solutions, improving sales, customer service, and professional image of the inspector. Mr. Zak has also consulted with home inspection companies to help improve their service offerings, pricing, marketing, and competitive research. Mr. Zak is an affiliate member of the American Society of Home Inspectors and the Great Plains Chapter of the American Society of Home Inspectors.

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