Contractors and homeowners were bustling through the Glass City Center in downtown Toledo Saturday to check out the Professional Remodelers Organization Home & Garden Show, which runs through Sunday.
For contractors, this is an opportunity to show potential customers the work they specialize in, and also to network with suppliers and other businesses.
“It gives us a chance to invite the customer out to something and say, ‘Hey, come look at it, come feel it, come touch it,’” said Mike Richardson, 61, of Swanton, Ohio, the owner of Deep Water Designs LLC., who was showing off a complete design set up in the convention center.
“We didn't bring a small display. We actually built a full-size pergola,” said Mr. Richardson who was standing on a large deck his company had constructed inside the venue space.
For homeowners, it provides a menu of possible projects.
“We got some ideas,” said Mary Hill, 67, a homeowner in the Township of Brownstown, Michigan, who came to the show to peruse different wares after recently moving into a new home.
Interested customers Earl and Barbara Rudolf, respectively 75 and 76, from Monclova, were able to quiz Mr. Richardson’s employees on specific concerns, one being how hot the construction materials would get in the summer.
“This is where trusted contractors are going to be,” said, Josh Luck, 32, Luck Landscaping owner, who pointed out the advantage of customers being able to choose from PRO members at the expo.
“That's really the challenge in the marketplace is finding somebody that you trust, finding somebody that you're comfortable with, and then starting to figure out what your project looks like,” said Mr. Luck.
Contractors who are members of PRO must have been in business for at least two years, have a B+ or better rating with the Better Business Bureau and have a referral to PRO. From there the executive board at PRO reviews the company and votes on whether to give them a PRO certification after researching and talking with the company.
PRO certification carries weight with it.
“We want to give them something that they can trust, someone they can trust,” said Clare Greenfield, the Executive Director of PRO.
Previously called the Toledo Home Remodelers Association, PRO has been in operation as a non-profit since 1967 with the ultimate goal of promoting ethics and community between contractors, customers, and workers.
“These are the best people that I've ever met in my life,” said Ms. Greenfield, when talking about the members of PRO.
Ms. Greenfield was the main organizer for the PRO Home & Garden Show, which is PRO’s biggest event of the year, bringing in enough money to support the non-profit’s annual budget.
After a two-year hiatus due to coronavirus, Ms. Greenfield said she was happy to be back, and the slump over the past two years caused real cutbacks to the volunteer-run organization.
“We cut back all the way to bare nubbins,” said Ms. Greenfield, who stressed that the organization struggled to survive without the home & garden show for the last two years.
Within the community, PRO works with local organizations raising money, and feeding families.
Last year, in conjunction with Vision Ministries, PRO fed 179 families and provided them with presents for the holiday season.
Expected attendance to the show for this year is somewhere between 5,000 and 6,000 people. Discounts are available for seniors and there is no charge for veterans.
The show continues Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Glass City Center, formerly called the SeaGate Centre.
First Published February 26, 2022, 10:10 p.m.
