Contracting Conversations: A Look Back with BSCAI
To celebrate its 60th anniversary, Building Service Contractors Association International (BSCAI) released a special episode of Contracting Conversations, recorded live at Contracting Success 2025 in Las Vegas, a conference many members of our team attend every year.
The episode featured a panel of three past BSCAI presidents, Arlo Luke (1997), Leroy Dock (2004), and Sally Shopmeyer (2011), moderated by Jason Lee, BSCAI’s 2025 President-Elect. Together, they reflected on how the building service contracting industry has evolved, the role BSCAI has played in shaping professional standards and the leadership lessons that continue to matter decades later.
From Competitors to Collaborators
One of the most compelling stories came from Arlo Luke, who described the most important strategic decision of his career at Varsity Facility Services: joining BSCAI.
Varsity began as a small house cleaning and restoration business founded by Don Aslett while he was still in college, providing jobs for fellow students to help them pay their way through school. Arlo joined during those early years, and the two became close friends and long-term business partners, a relationship that lasted more than six decades.
While helping grow the company, Arlo completed a demanding program in pharmacy and graduated in 1964. For several years, he balanced two careers, working as a pharmacist while also helping run a small but expanding janitorial business. Eventually, the growth of the company required his full attention. Arlo chose to leave pharmacy and devote himself entirely to the business.
Over the next 28 years as CEO, he led Varsity from a regional operation into a national corporation serving all 50 states, employing more than 6,000 people and subcontracting with over 2,000 smaller companies.
A Change in Perspective Through BSCAI
Arlo recalled attending his first BSCAI event after moving to Denver in 1974. At the time, he viewed everyone in the room as a competitor and assumed they were all trying to outbid and outmaneuver one another. One of those competitors was Wayne Simmonds, founder of FBG Facility Services and BSCAI President in 1984.
FBG Founder, Wayne Simmonds
Initially, Arlo described Wayne as an enemy. Over time, however, his perspective changed. He realized that the people he viewed as rivals were facing the same challenges he was, including staffing shortages, high turnover and the daily pressure of running a service business. Through education, shared experiences and honest conversations, competitors became colleagues, and colleagues became friends.
That shift in mindset led to one of the industry’s most unique partnerships.
A Partnership That Shaped an Industry
Varsity and FBG formed a partnership called Net-Work Services Company (NSC) in January 1995 to manage facility services for US West Communications. At the time, two competitors joining forces to manage a major national contract was rare in the industry.
The partnership helped FBG improve operational processes and gain experience managing large, multi-site accounts, which later opened the door to additional opportunities with companies like BellSouth and Alliant Energy.
By 2002, the partnership was responsible for 2,800 facilities across a 24-state region. What began as competition evolved into collaboration that benefited both organizations and helped set a precedent for cooperative strategies within the industry. More than 30 years later, the NSC partnership continues to thrive.
Varsity and FBG formed a partnership called Net-Work Services Company (NSC) in January 1995 to manage facility services for US West Communications.
Beyond business, Wayne and Arlo built a lasting friendship. They spent time together outside of work, hunting and fishing, and remained close colleagues for many years. Their story was a central theme throughout the podcast episode: relationships built through BSCAI can become strategic advantages as well as personal connections.
Leadership Lessons
Throughout the discussion, the panel emphasized how BSCAI has helped elevate professionalism in the building service contracting industry by creating standards, sharing best practices and providing a space for leaders to learn from one another.
For today’s contractors, the lessons remain relevant. Growth does not come only from competition. It also comes from collaboration, education and trust. Strategic partnerships can unlock opportunities that would be impossible to achieve alone. And leadership, at its core, is about recognizing that even competitors share common challenges and goals.
As BSCAI marks 60 years of service to the industry, this special episode of Contracting Conversations offers more than a history lesson. It serves as a reminder that the relationships built through professional organizations can shape careers, companies and the future of the industry itself.
FBG’s History with BSCAI
FBG has been a proud member of Building Service Contractors Association International (BSCAI) since 1966. Founder Wayne Simmonds demonstrated a deep commitment to the association through his service as BSCAI President in 1984. His leadership and dedication continued to be recognized in the years that followed when he received the James E. Purcell Leadership Award in 1987 and the Walter L. Cook Award for Distinguished Service in 1990.
Five FBG team members have also been honored with the BSCAI Building Service Employee of the Year Award: Alleon Smith (1973), Dennis Breuer (2005), Columbus Franklin (2009), Ronnie Ramos (2015) and Christine Bragg (2017). Together, these milestones highlight FBG’s long-standing commitment to leadership, service and excellence within the building service contracting industry.
You can listen to the full podcast episode here.