No Shortage of Acronyms in the TCI

Oftentimes I have found it annoying when people “belt out” acronyms assuming we all should know what they stand for. It was after one of those encounters that left me thinking of all the acronyms we utilize in our industry. Is it possible we “belt those out” on occasion and many do not know their meanings? If not, to see them put together chronologically could not only define them but connect them to arboriculture history.

We could start with these two: the NAA (National Arborist Association) is now TCIA (Tree Care Industry Association). Hopefully we all know that, but did you know ISTC (International Shade Tree Conference) is now ISA (International Society of Arboriculture)? Then I thought, how about DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane), though it is probably not necessary to know this one at this point. Moving ahead, there is ASCA (American Society of Consulting Arborists). From these groups come designations CTSP (Certified Treecare Safety Professional), BCMA (Board Certified Master Arborist) and RCA (Registered Consulting Arborist).

In the early ’80s, IPM (integrated pest management) was a buzz acronym, but it has been modified to PHC (plant health care) to be more representative of our industry. Along the way there have been many dealings with OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and ANSI (American National Standards Institute). Those relationships help emphasize the necessity for PPE (personal protective equipment) the TRAQ (Tree Risk Assessment Qualification) and the recently developed ASTI (Arborist Safety Training Institute).

Getting more involved industry-wise would lead to attending WMC (Winter Management Conference) where you can network and hear the latest about SRT (single rope technique, aka [also known as] SRS, single rope system) or TGRs (tree growth regulators) and attend the VFT PAC (Voice for Trees Political Action Committee) auction fundraiser.

From there could be the importance of improving your companies EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation Amortization) when considering M+A’s (Mergers + Acquisitions) or CRMs (Customer Relationship Management).

If there are ones I missed, LMK and I will TTYL.

Andrew W. Felix is president of Tree Tech, Inc., an accredited 30-year TCIA member company based in Foxboro, Massachusetts, and vice chair of TCIA’s Board of Directors.

Reprinted from the May 2017 issue of The Reporter, a TCIA members-only publication. Visit TCIA.org/membership for more information about member benefits and to join.