People

Members Celebrate Milestone Anniversaries As the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) celebrates its 38th anniversary in 2019, we also recognize those members who are celebrating milestone membership anniversaries. The member companies featured this issue have belonged to AFSA for 15 or more years of continuous membership. Several members are celebrating …

Contributions Support Exceptional Fire Protection Engineers Each year, the Center for Life Safety Education (CLSE) and the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) come together to award the Philip L. De Camara, Jr. Scholarship, established to honor a man who was dedicated to the fire sprinkler industry. That scholarship awards $3,500 …

Why You Should Get Involved with AFSA’s Mentor Program Mentorship is overflowing with benefits for both the mentor and mentee. Mentorship relationships are customizable and look different from person to person. The process doesn’t have to be a dry “check-the-box” style approach, but can rather look however you want it …

The Question of Travel Time EDITOR’S NOTE: Through this article, AFSA is attempting to bring this issue to contractor members’ attention and recommends members discuss this law’s implications with a local labor attorney and review company policy to ensure that they are in compliance with the law.  Recently, we have …

AFSA Program Recognizes Excellence and Responsibility The American Fire Sprinkler Association’s (AFSA) Quality Contractor (QC) program was launched to publicly recognize and honor fire sprinkler contracting firms that have documented their commitment in four key areas of corporate responsibility: safety, training, quality of life (employee benefits) and industry and community …

Meet the 26th Annual National Apprentice Competition Finalists The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) is excited to host its 26th Annual Apprentice Competition this year at AFSA38: Convention, Exhibition & Apprentice Competition in San Diego, California. This event allows apprentices representing member companies from across the country to compete in …

Servant Leader Shapes Legacy Through Industry Dedication Where leadership is concerned, being asked is much better than asking, because the best leaders are servant leaders. As with any leader—especially those leaders who base their model on listening to others—when Manning Strickland, Sr. spoke, people listened. For over three decades, the …

On behalf of the AFSA Board of Directors and staff, we thank Roland Huggins, P.E. for serving members since 1996, most recently as AFSA’s Senior Vice President, Engineering & Technical Services.  Huggins began his employment with AFSA as Director of Technical Services, later serving as the Department’s Vice President. His …

AFSA’s NextGen Initiative is pleased to announce that Hunter Brendle is the 2019 Honorable Mention winner for the Young Professional of the Year (YPY) award. Brendle is vice president of Brendle Sprinkler Company in Montgomery, Alabama, which was started by his grandfather in 1960.  “I was very surprised and taken …

Designer Dedicated to Education and Expansion of Industry  Stuart Weeks may have fallen into the fire sprinkler industry by chance, but it’s no accident that he’s excelled here. Stuart Weeks, the 39-year-old design manager at American Fire Protection Inc. in Greenville, South Carolina and president of the South Carolina Fire …