It was only during the last few years that I became aware of what Ed Cooper was all about. It was common to hear how involved Ed was with family, business associates and employees. People that knew Ed had no shortage of good things to say and didn’t hesitate to use the word love when describing how they felt about him. His character had a life of it’s own and rumors of goodness about this man were always in abundance.

When Ed was named as the Journal selection as "Person of the year" I became increasingly aware of the positive impact Ed had on the lives of so many that I felt as if I had missed out by not attempting to get to know him better. It is only during the past three years that I made phone calls to Ed and of course this was during the time when he had become increasingly sick.

When I say that I didn’t really know Ed it is true but I definitely knew of him. I knew of him because of the things he did, because love was more to Ed than something to say-it was an action statement.

Just days before Ed passed away he was named this year’s selection for the "MZ Andy Gump Award." I was challenged by the idea of doing a story about Ed in conjunction with the award but felt that setting aside the story would have been wrong. I want to encourage all to read the article in the December issue and discover just a little about what made this man so great.

Fred Cutler was one of those people that once you met you would never forget. He was among the first people I had met when becoming engaged in the portable sanitation industry. A true pioneer I recall the authority in his voice as he explained principals of business. I remember his willingness to share that wisdom with anyone that wanted it. I was one that appreciated all that he had to offer. During the seventies there were only a handful of people that had viable portable sanitation businesses. There were many involved in the business but few that had true commitment and focus on portable sanitation. A trip up to Reno, Nevada to visit with Fred Cutler Sr. and tour his operation was kind of what anyone serious about getting active in the industry would do. I bet that there was rarely a week that went by that Fred didn’t have guests. For Fred all guests were important and he treated everyone as if they were the only one that mattered, dropping everything he had going on in his busy life to help someone else with their life.

Fred was an authority, not just in business but in life in general, a man that was admired by many and a man that had the respect of the industry. I had the pleasure of visiting with him spending hours exchanging ideas and visions for the future. As much as he knew, Fred seemed always positioned to learn. I recall over the years that with every visit he had always bought at least one of every new product introduced to the industry. Most of these never impacted the industry. It was as if he knew that with every new idea there was something that could be gained by taking a closer look. Fred was a mentor to me as he was to many others. He will be missed.

I am disappointed in Lennar Homes the largest home builder in the United States in their recent decision to conduct reverse online auctions to secure best prices for portable restroom service. I do not blame them for looking for the best deals out there.

If you weren’t invited to the war you may count yourself lucky. What Lennar execs thought to do was to invite all their current providers along with prospective providers to an online auction. A top price was set for all of the regions. During an established period of time those invited got the opportunity to give Lennar their best bid for the honor of having their account.

As time evolved operators watched as the numbers revealed across their computer screens dropped. No names just numbers. Remember this is for all the marbles although no guarantee is made to the operator that your winning best bid makes you the provider. It gets worse. The bid had to be good for three years.

Sorry to put out bad news but the bids in each of the established regions bottomed out at prices such as $29.99 for once a week service! Some were $39.99. Prices like that make you wonder about the three years deal. Can someone actually rent portable restrooms out for that price? Oh and by the way no pick up and delivery no nothing except sales tax.

I cannot think of a better way to get a handle on building a portable toilet rental company than to attend and get involved with the Portable Sanitation Association International PSAI Trade Show and Convention. It is scheduled to be held in Tacoma the end of October.

Sounds promotional but it is not. It's not my show. Hey things are tight out there. No one is building so who needs to rent portables. What do you do with hundreds of these 4 foot square boxes ? Get enough in and you'll have to lease land to store equipment that's not making any money. This show is an opportunity to swith from being a victim to taking control of the situation and move in the right direction. I haven't seen things this tight since 1991 and it was no fun when in June of that year the phone just stopped ringing. Our businesses is who we are. I am the Sanitation Journal-it's my life and it is no different for everyone else working through the slow-down. I will do whatever it takes to keep moving forward.

   The show is like taking a mega vitamin supercharging me into the entreprenuer I am. It is the same for all my friends in the portable sanitation business. I'll go to the show and discover how to use the kind of weapon that makes things happen "KNOWLEDGE". Go to the show get supercharged and take control. Here is their web site if you are interested. PSAI

One thing that I have never been able to get a hold of is the exacts on how to pay a sales person in the portable restroom business. I am confident that there are many out there curious to know if they are under paying or perhaps over paying sales people to go out and secure rentals for the company.

I would like to know about how compensation packages are being set up: such as the exacts for salary and/or commission.

In addition it would be valuable to know about territories and if there are differences between inside sales and in the field sales.