August 18-20, the Georgia AFAA will be sponsoring a training event to be held in Norcross, GA. There will be two seminars taking place at this event:

Fire Alarm Plan Review
August 18th - 8:00AM to 4:00PM

Topics include:

Intermediate Fire Alarm (NICET 1-2 Prep)
August 19th & 20th - 8:00AM to 5:00PM

Topics include:

Registering and More Information

For more information or to register for the training seminar, click HERE to view the brochure and application. You may also register online at the AFAA website

A lunch meeting has been scheduled for June 17th, 2009 to review the function of GA-AFAA and solicit additional commitments for membership. The GA-AFAA member association's responsibility is to build relationships with local AHJ's and influence licensing and certification issues. It is important to recognize that the fire alarm industry needs association support to continue to grow in a positive direction. Your participation is important to improve the fire alarm industry in Georgia.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 11:00AM and will be held at the Chequers Seafood Grill 236 in Atlanta, GA. We are looking forward to teaming up with the industry leaders for successful launch to "Raising the Bar" of Life Safety here in Georgia.

For full details, download the flyer by clicking HERE

The first official GA-AFAA Board of Directors meeting was held on May 28, 2009 in Duluth, Ga. In attendance were Joe McNerney, Keith Morris, Ron Gregory and Eric Hicks.

The Inaugural Membership gathering will be a lunch meeting to be held on June 17, 2009. The discussion topic will be the GA-AFAA Goals and Objectives for the Future. In addition, we may have an excellent guest speaker to discuss his experience in founding a successful and thriving AFAA affiliate in the Mid-Atlantic region. Location is to be announced shortly.

The next big event for GA-AFAA will be training seminars to be held August 11-13 in conjunction with the AFAA National Organization. GA-AFAA will be sponsoring two important classes, One-Day Fire Alarm Plan Review (PR) and Two-Day Intermediate Fire Alarm Seminar (INT). Tuition and location is to be announced very soon.

There was discussion regarding the state of the GA-AFAA affiliate since the initial meeting and all were in agreement that we have covered quite a bit of ground in a very short period of time. The cross discipline support from Service Companies, Manufacturer's and AHJ's has been very encouraging to date.

Changes have been made in the Board structure to accommodate schedules and to ensure a broad representation throughout Georgia. Keith Morris has been moved into the dual position of Vice President and Interim Treasurer. We will also be establishing several additional seats for Director's at Large that will come from other regions of Georgia. Further announcements regarding these positions will be available prior to our June 17, 2009 meeting.

Plans are underway to have the GA-AFAA website created with a content management style. Including a calendar, Member Directory and much more. It our intention that the GA-AFAA website will be a resource our Members and others to use as a regularly.

Finally, the GA-AFAA will have a tabletop exhibit at the upcoming Georgia Fire Safety Symposium being held at the GPSTC in Forsyth, GA. The dates are July 13 - 17, 2009 with much of the GA-AFAA Board in attendance.

Again, thank you for the support of the Georgia Automatic Fire Alarm Association. If you would like to serve on the Board of Director's, we would welcome your inquiry.

Eric J. Hicks, President
Keith Morris, Vice President and Treasurer
Ron Gregory, Secretary
Joe McNerney, Events Planning

The AFAA National Conference was held this past week in beautiful Savannah, Georgia. Our Georgia affiliate chapter was well represented by Ron Gregory, Secretary, with Atkins Alarm; Joe McNerney, Programs Manager, with Siemens; and Eric Hicks, Interim President, with BuildingReports.

The conference was one of the best attended in the history of AFAA with every chapter in the nation represented by at least one attendee. There was a broad range of topics discussed and the Exhibitors Area was very busy. Tom and Jeanne Hammerberg did an outstanding job with the entire event. Thank you!

The primary focus for the GA-AFAA team was the Chapter Round Table meeting discussing the successes and challenges from chapters around the nation. These candid discussions will have a significant impact on the guidance and success of our Georgia Chapter.

Ron Gregory and I were able to discuss the overall management of the Board and future chapter planning. One of the common threads of thought throughout the meeting was the importance of distributing the duties required to manage GA-AFAA successfully. We received a guide outlining the various positions on the Board and the duties associated this these positions.

Joe McNerney, Programs Manager, has one of the most important positions on the Board. Keeping our members motivated with excellent programs and educational seminars that meet our industry's needs is critical to the success of our chapter. Joe was able to gather excellent ideas for speakers and programs based on the invaluable experience of the many chapters in attendance.

The membership of GA-AFAA continues to grow at a very good pace. We currently have 20 members including Fire Officials. One of the surprising facts to come out of the Round Table meeting is that GA-AFAA has as strong of a membership as chapters that have been chartered for many years. This is a testament that the strong Fire and Life Safety industry support among the many varied groups in Georgia.

If you have yet to complete your membership application, please do so as quickly as possible. Click HERE to download the application.

We are planning to hold board conference call the week of April 27 and a board planning session during the week of May 4, 2009. There will be a formal Board meeting scheduled at that time.

The first formal meeting to be held by GA-AFAA will be in June with the exact date and program to be announced shortly.

Thank You,
Eric Hicks
Georgia AFAA Interim President
(770)495-1993 Ext 313
ehicks@ga-afaa.org

With the annual national Automatic Fire Alarm Association meeting being held next week in Savannah, GA,, there are many tasks to complete in a short amount of time. This will be an excellent meeting and Tom Hammerberg has put together a very strong agenda with superb educational topics. Ron Gregory (Atkins Systems), GA-AFAA Secretary and I will be attending the national meeting for the chapter planning round table discussions. I am confident we will collect very valuable information for our chapter.

A resounding THANK YOU goes out to those of you who have already sent in your membership applications. The Georgia chapter currently has Corporate, Individual and Government members.

However, there are many that attended the meeting just two weeks ago and others that have expressed interest that have yet to send in the membership application and minimal associated dues. As a new chapter for AFAA, growing early membership is mission critical to the success of the organization long term.

Without the support of our Corporate and Individual Members, GA-AFAA will not have the resources to provide excellent meeting speakers, educational opportunities, legislative activities, etc.

Please, if you remain interested in supporting the Georgia Chapter of the Automatic Fire Alarm Association, forward your membership application as soon as possible via fax at 770.495.9331. Then simply mail the hardcopy and dues(if applicable) to:

Georgia Automatic Fire Alarm Association, Inc.
1325 Satellite Blvd. Suite 1607
Suwanee, Georgia 30024
Attn: Eric Hicks

The application can be found HERE

Thank you again for your support of this fledgling organization. We are off to a superb start and the board is planning some excellent meetings in the months to come.

Kindest Regards,
Eric Hicks
Georgia AFAA Interim President
(770)495-1993 Ext 313
ehicks@ga-afaa.org

On Monday March 22, 2009 the initial meeting for the Georgia Chapter of the AFAA was held in Atlanta. From all angles, the meeting was very successful with excellent attendance across the the industry spectrum. Tom Hammerberg outlined the goals and objectives for the new chapter and offered some insight into management of the chapter.

There were a total of 24 people in attendance, including representatives from BuildingReports, MITEC, Richardson Technology Systems, Siemens, Simplex Grinnell, Atkins Alarm, and Ackerman Security. In addition to service companies and manufacturers, we had representatives from the GA State Fire Marshals office, Cobb County Fire Marshals office, and the City of Cleveland GA Fire Marshals office.

The goals for the chapter will be to facilitate open dialogue within the GA Fire Alarm industry. To speak as one voice at the legislative level regarding licensing, certification and enforcement. Provide educational opportunities throughout the year for technicians, industry associates, and AHJ's. Raise funds for managing the GA Chapter and to provide scholarships for further education. In addition, there will be a strong push to ensure that we provide value and service to members across the state, not simply become a metro Atlanta association.

Tentatively, lunch meetings will be held every other month on the second Wednesday of the EVEN months. In addition the annual meeting to elect the next board will be held in October.

At this time the interim board is as follows:

Thank you to each of those who have committed time and energy to ensure a successful launch of the Georgia Chapter of the Automatic Fire Alarm Association.

The next steps will be to review the by-laws and vote, garner ten members to become an official association, and update the website.

If you would like to join the Georgia AFAA click HERE for the Membership Application

Thanks,
Eric Hicks
Georgia AFAA Interim President
(770)495-1993 Ext 313
ehicks@ga-afaa.org