04/04/2005
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NFIB member Tom Inman (right) recently flew Virginia Attorney General candidate Steve Baril to an event. Inman, who supports candidates he believes have "moral strength and character," is active at many levels with NFIB. |
NFIB member Tom Inman is an activist on the ground and in the air.
The president and CEO of Virginia Home Medical is a big believer that his efforts at the grassroots level are making a difference. Inman doesn't stop there, however. When he's not running his small business, the licensed pilot transports political candidates across the Commonwealth. He's flown contenders from both parties, including Governor Mark Warner and Virginia Attorney General candidate Steve Baril.
"I enjoy being part of the process – whether it's utilizing the NFIB Member Ballot to express my views or using an airplane to help candidates reach their destinations," said Inman, who has been an NFIB member since 1984. "Whatever I can do to further the advancement of candidates with moral strength and character, I will."
Inman said he joined NFIB when his business, a home respiratory and medical equipment provider in the Tidewater area, "was battling some fierce unfair competition from my local non-profit hospital." Along with his trade association, the American Association for Homecare, NFIB has helped Inman in his quest to be heard. Inman has helped draft and lobby legislation dealing with the issue of unfair competition. In the mid 1980s, he worked through NFIB to deliver testimony to Congress on unfair nonprofit competition with small business.
"From representation in the General Assembly on small-business state issues to working with Congress on a national level, the NFIB reaps benefits for its members," he said.
Inman stays active by participating on NFIB/Virginia's Leadership Council and SAFE Trust, NFIB/Virginia's political action committee. He's also a member of AAH and his state trade association, the Virginia Association of Durable Medical Equipment Companies, which he co-founded in the late 1970s.
Inman said his key issues include "the rising cost of providing health-care coverage to my employees, repeal of the federal estate taxes, both state and federal, [and] maintaining the employment-at-will doctrine in Virginia." Inman said Virginia is performing poorly "in two major areas – education and transportation."
"Low teacher salaries are still an issue and lack of parental guidance is endemic in schools on a national basis," said Inman, noting student results indicate a lack of progress in the classrooms. "We must find some way to gather all the stakeholders together and work to educate our children.
"As far as transportation is concerned, just take a drive on almost any of the Commonwealth's interstates. ... The citizens of Virginia are paying for the continued 'turf' battles over transportation funds in the General Assembly."
Inman also said he is concerned about "wild budgetary swings" and "the political folly going on in Richmond."
"It appears politics are being played at a much higher level in Virginia than in any recent history of the General Assembly," he said.
NFIB/Virginia State Director Gordon Dixon said Inman not only gets involved but also stays involved.
"Our best members know that achieving success in the public-policy arena requires an ongoing effort," Dixon said. "Tom Inman believes that wholeheartedly, as is evidenced by his activism at many levels over a long period of time."
