The trade organization pro painters have long known as the PDCA is now the PCA.

“To better represent the industry we serve and show the growth of our trade association, we made a slight change to our name, and now go by Painting Contractors Association (PCA) instead of the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America,” says John Schwent, PCA Associate Executive Director. “Along with that comes a new logo and some minor changes to our website. However, our mission to the industry remains unchanged and we’re still delivering the same great content.”

The association has always been referred to by its acronym, he says, and this new change relieves the confusion of why the acronym “PDCA” did not align with the Painting Contractors Association.

“People don’t always know what acronyms mean and words like ‘decorating’ can have a tendency to date the association,” Schwent adds. “This positions us to not only be inclusive of current members and younger generations starting painting businesses in the future, but also signifies we are inclusive of painting contractors globally – no longer just the United States.”

Embracing change

“Resistance to change is one of the biggest challenges for continuous improvement and new opportunities in an organization,” says Gina Koert, PCA Board Chair. “However, our mission as a trade association to the industry remains unchanged; the newest change to PCA seemed appropriate for many reasons. Our Board of Directors voted and the change was a great way to reintroduce ourselves and tell the industry we are evolving, forward thinking and staying relevant as an association.”

Founded in 1884, the PCA offers contractor members many opportunities to develop and grow through participation in education programs, attendance at local networking meetings, use of PCA Industry Standards and more.

This article was originally published in the Winter 2019 issue of PPC magazine. Story by Mike Starling, PPC Editor. Photography courtesy PCA. Learn more at the PCA at pcapainted.org