In Brief

Franchises," a list created by an independent organization that evaluates

more than 2,300 franchise systems without the influence of paid advertising.

This is the second consecutive year Mr. Rooter has made the list. The criteria

for choosing the top franchises consist of historical performance, brand identification,

market dynamics, franchisee satisfaction, the level of franchise training

and ongoing support, financial stability and other key factors.

digest," making it simpler for members to manage large volumes of discussion

list e-mail. When members select digest mode, they receive a single e-mail

containing all the previous day's contractor roundtable postings. Postings

are sorted by subject, and a hypertext index appears at the top. Contractors

click on the subjects of interest, while ignoring the rest.

Katrina Relief Fund. As a result of members' donations, NFSA will make a lump-sum

donation of $20,000 to the American Red Cross.

presented $25,000 to Jim Driscoll, chairman of the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling

Contractors Educational Foundation, at the company's luncheon held Sept.

8 during the 2005 PHCC Convention.

a community partnership with the Phoenix Coyotes, which will allow 200 young

people to attend a game. The partnership is part of the Coyotes' "Tickets

for Kids" program, designed to help fulfill a child's dream of going to a

National Hockey League game.

issue of CONTRACTOR was a paid advertisement and should have been labeled

clearly as such. We regret any confusion that this might have caused.