CFI has been very busy. There was a recent Central Coast Chapter meeting hosted by Steve Gilsdorf of Carpet Maintenance Supply in San Mateo, Calif., with a barbeque dinner to all. Steve showed some new equipment, and Barry Costa, the guest speaker, presented the newest in fast-drying equipment. New members present were Armstrong Azah and Matt Cole. Special guests in attendance were Jim Farrer of DriEaz and John Holibaugh and Frank Kinmonth of Chemspec.

In June, three chapters of CFI (Los Angeles, Orange/Inland and San Diego Chapters) took a tour of Royalty Carpet Mill, the largest carpet mill in the West. A free event for pre-registered members and non-members, the tour was hosted by Jim Hernandez, technical services manager. Attendees toured the tufting, dying and finishing buildings as well as the testing laboratory.

The Los Angeles Chapter met at KleanRite Distributors for a standing-room-only meeting to hear guest speaker Lisa Wagner, CFI past president, Oriental rug guru extraordinaire and owner of K. Blatchford's Oriental Rug Cleaning. Lisa shared her insights and experiences with her own Oriental rug cleaning business, along with common mistakes and ways cleaners can avoid them.

On Thursday, July 13, CFI is hosting it's 5th Annual Golf Tournament / Scholarship Fund Raiser, with portions of the proceeds going toward CFI Education Foundation Scholarships. This year's event will be hosted at the private California Country Club, 1509 S. Workman-Mill Road in Whittier. Check-in time for the event is 11:00 am, with the Scramble starting at 12:30 pm.

CFI Health & Safety Training, a two-day course providing necessary information for the IICRC exam, will be held July 13-14, 8am to 5pm at the Torrance Marriott in Torrance, Calif. Saturday, July 15 will see the CFI Restoration Symposium & Showcase, featuring the latest information on the new S-500 Standard, panel discussions on high-heat drying and avoiding litigation in your restoration business, as well as supplier/manufacturer hands-on demonstrations. Speakers include Jim Holland, Peter Sierck, Charlie Cressy, Steve Rush, Darrell Paulson, Dr. John Schilinger and Dr. Owen Seiver.

The San Diego Chapter continues to have monthly breakfast events the first Tuesday of each month. Visit the CFI website at www.carpet9.org for up-to-date information.