Sprinkler Age A Publication of the American Fire Sprinkler Association
First, I must say WOW! WOW how fast this year has passed. WOW to the amazing AFSA Board, committee members, staff, contractors, and associate members. And WOW to all of the amazing things that have been accomplished by the aforementioned group. I hope you all are enjoying the AFSA43 convention in the Mile High City—Denver, Colo. This year is one for the books, AGAIN, with over 1,400 attendees! Woohoo! A huge thank you to our Convention Chair, Don Kaufman, the committee, and AFSA’s Roger Gragg for stepping up to make this a tremendous success!
It is my honor to posthumously recognize Joe Heinrich with this year’s Henry S. Parmelee Award, AFSA’s highest honor. This award is given in recognition of an outstanding individual who has dedicated themselves to the professional advancement of the fire sprinkler industry and to the goal of fire safety through automatic sprinklers. I want to extend my congratulations to his son, Brett, and our dear friend, Kathy Heinrich. His legacy will live on.
Thank you all for supporting the first Women in the Industry panel discussion and reception, and I hope for many more. I would like to personally thank my fellow panelists, Taylor Johnson, president, Atlanta WinSupply; Lainey Liotta, senior manager, BlazeMaster; and Katie Meehan, director of marketing, VSC Fire & Security, for being a part and being women leaders in the fire sprinkler industry. Their journey would inspire any young woman to join our industry.
As I reflect on my time as Chair thus far, I realize that it has been an adventure of a lifetime. Many of the goals the Board set are being accomplished. As Chair, one goal I have is to try to attend as many AFSA chapter meetings as possible. I have visited the North Carolina and Louisiana Fire Sprinkler Chapters, and plan to attend the Virginia, Arkansas, and Schuylkill Chapter meetings before the end of the year. This gives me an opportunity to visit with members and chapter leaders to share AFSA news. Thank you for the invitation! I may not make it to all 30 chapters, but I know I will give it my all.
One of the many AFSA success stories is the development and expansion of our existing apprenticeship training program. Today, we have a state-of-the-art, hands-on training facility and training rooms to provide live classroom training that comes straight from our expert instructors. AFSA’s Virtual Instruction Program (VIP) leads the way to ensure your apprenticeship team is trained, letting you focus on “on-the-job training.” A new Level 2 class begins on Oct. 8, 2024. Classes fill up quickly, so register now and see the difference.
In closing, our convention, seminars, and special events would not be possible without the support of you, our members. THANK YOU for supporting your association and our industry. A big THANK YOU to our diamond sponsors: ASC, Core and Main, Ferguson Fire & Fabrication, Reliable, Victaulic, and Viking. They believe in our mission to educate and train the industry while promoting fire protection systems to save lives and property. We are the industry leaders in training the fire sprinkler workforce, so we get the best of the best in seminar speakers. Thank you for donating your time to advance the knowledge of our industry.
Last but certainly not least a special THANK YOU to the AFSA staff led by President Bob Caputo. They have worked tirelessly to bring you a fantastic time with world-class training, led by John Denhardt. Thank you to Roger Gragg, Josh Fisher, Leslie Clounts, Veronica Westfall, D’Arcy Montalvo, Victoria Valentine, Christina Sales, Josh McDonald, Kevin Hall, Meda Merritt, Melissa Athens, and Eric Andresen. It’s another successful convention in the books!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Serving as Chair of the Board and Region 4 Director, Linda M. Biernacki is the founder/president of Fire Tech Systems, Inc., Shreveport, Louisiana. Fire Tech Systems is an AFSA Quality Contractor, ISNetworld Certified, licensed in six states (Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas). With over 33 years of experience, Biernacki provides industry experience, knowledge, and background. She is past chair of the NICET board of governors (June 2022-June 2023), past board member and current member of the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) board of directors, past president and current board member of the Louisiana Fire Sprinkler Association (LFSA), represents AFSA on the NFPA 232 Committee for Protection of Records and is past AFSA40 Convention Committee and Membership & Chapter Development Chair. Biernacki is certified in NICET Level III Fire Protection Engineering Technology Water-Based Systems Layout and is certified by the Women’s Business Council Gulf Coast.
