| September 20, 2016
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November 6-11, 2016
Fort Worth, Texas
Improve your skills and advance your career at AFA University this fall. AFA University offers a chance to demonstrate a higher level of understanding and professionalism within the fence and access control industry. AFA University's comprehensive schools and additional certification programs allow anyone to increase their knowledge of sales, design, installation and more.
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Chapter/Regional Events
September 23-25, 2016
Gulf South Education Weekend
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
The CAGOI and CFP will be administered along with seminars and reviews for the tests. The test will be given at the Hyatt Place Baton Rouge I-10, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. CAGOI is set to be administered for Friday, Sept. 23 and the CFP for Sept. 24. If you are interested in taking either of these tests, contact Pat Calhoun at 601-932-4445 ext. 111.
September 30-October 1, 2016
Southern California Chapter Quarterly Meeting
The Ranch at Laguna Beach
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Friday morning, Sept. 30: Golf tournament at Ben Brown's Golf Course, $25 per person. Contact 619.661.7166 or email jt@ciFabrics.com.
Friday evening, Sept. 30: Cocktail reception.
Saturday morning, Oct. 1: Quarterly meeting begins with continental breakfast on the Williams Lawn.
Saturday, afternoon, Oct. 1: AFA-hosted Luncheon.
September 30-October 1, 2016
Midwest Chapter Meeting and Golf Tournament
Cherokee Hills Golf Club
Catoosa, OK
Friday, Sept. 30, 7 p.m.: Chapter dinner.
Saturday, Oct. 1, 8 a.m.: Chapter meeting
Saturday, Oct. 1, 11 a.m.: Shotgun start
September 30-October 1, 2016
CFCA Q3 Meeting
Peppermill Hotel
Reno, Nevada
Save the date.
November 15, 2016
Carolinas Chapter Meeting
Charlotte, NC
Details to come. Save the date.
December 1, 2016
Western PA/West Virginia Chapter Event
PA 1 Call-Loss Prevention
3 p.m. tour of plant. Meeting and dinner to follow
VEKA
Must make reservation for dinner no later than one week before.
March 3-4, 2017
Garden State Chapter Jackpot 2017
Harrah's Resort, Atlantic City, NJ
Friday, March 3: Educational seminars, exhibitor set-up, the Jackpot kickoff party at "The Pool"
Saturday, Marc 4: Jackpot 2017 Tradeshow in the "new" Waterfront Conference Center at Harrah's AC
Registration for exhibitors and attendees will open 4th quarter of 2016. Rooms will also be available to reserve at that time. Rooms will be available in the GSAFA Room block for Thurs., Fri, and Sat. nights. Check www.GSAFA.org for updates, our Facebook Page, search Garden State AFA or email jackpot@gsafa.org.
Chapter/regional event information subject to change without notice; please check with your local chapter to verify dates, times, locations and content.
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 Mark your calendars for Feb. 1-5, 2017 when AFA takes FENCETECH and NOMMA takes METALfab to San Antonio, Texas. You'll join leading fence industry manufacturers, distributors and contractors and get four days of education, certifications, networking and sessions about industry trends and technology.
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 Sweepstakes tickets are now on sale to win a truckload of ALTAMIT Oil Stained Doug Fir Fencing from Alta Forest Products.
Enter for your chance to win a truckload of Doug Fir ALTAMIT fencing. A $21,000 value! Proceeds benefit the AFAEF.
- Only 600 tickets will be sold
- Ticket Price: $150.00
- Ticket stubs will be mailed to the address you provide
- 10 Year Warranty - Covers against rot & decay
- Pre-finished with high-quality oil based stain
- Tannins provide natural insect & decay resistance
- 3/4" thickness for durability and stability
Choose from the following:
- 1 x 4 x 6’ (3/4" x 3-1/2" x 6’) or 1 x 6 x 6 (3/4" x 5-1/2" x 6’) Pickets
- Flat Top or Dog Eared
- Stain Color: Cedartone or Cedartone Brown
The drawing will take place on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, at FENCETECH in San Antonio. You DO NOT have to be present to win. Purchase tickets now.
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![]()  The American Fence Association's Education Foundation, in conjunction with the generous support of contributing organizations, has established a scholarship program consisting of several opportunities to assist deserving students finance their education. The program is need-based and is not limited to AFA members. Application deadline is December 1, 2016.
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Member Verification System Coming Your Way Soon
It is time to update your listing for AFA’s 2017 Membership Directory. Beginning this year, we have partnered with Naylor, LLC, to provide a Member Verification System (MVS), a portal where you can log on and update your information for the print directory. Look for an email coming soon, providing you with more information on how to update your information.
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 Due to generous donations from AFA's fence family throughout the country, the Gulf South Chapter prepared and distributed meals for Louisiana's flood victims on August 27 and September 1. More than 500 meals were provided and supplies were handed out to those in need.
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The Pacific Northwest Chapter has chosen to donate 50 percent of its proceeds from the Pacific Northwest Regional Event to the Gulf South Chapter to support the flood relief efforts for AFA members in Louisiana. A big THANKS goes out to the Pacific Northwest Chapter for its generosity.
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 On May 25, 2016, several members of the NY/LI Fence Association attended the Gerald J. Ryan Outreach Center Appreciation Dinner and Golf Outing at the Timber Point Country Club in Great River, NY. Noelle Campbell, Executive Director, presented an award acknowledging the 10 years that Chapter members have supported the Outreach. During this time, members have supplied and installed a fence at their facility, made clothing donations, collected canned goods at Thanksgiving, and held toy drives. Each December the NY/LI Fence Association gives a monetary contribution to the Outreach Center to help with buying turkeys and filling holidays baskets for the needy.
Four members of the Chapter - Sal Militello (Wayside Fence Company), Andy Astarita (Lumberman’s) Adam Glatz (UVX Extruders), and Chris Lyder (Stephen’s Pipe and Steel) - played in the golf outing. Next year the Outreach is planning another dinner and outing due to its success. The proceeds from this event helped to stock their pantry and will allow the children to attend a second week of summer camp.
Pictured is Noelle Campbell presenting the award to Sal Militello (L) and Ken Piil (R).
The Gerald J. Ryan Outreach Center transforms the lives of families, individuals and children who are struggling to break the cycle of poverty. They do this by providing food, clothing, education and employment opportunities, hope and compassion for those in crisis.
To learn more about the NY/LI Fence Association, please contact Chapter Director Janice Piil at 516-594-1550.
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Reserve Your Ad Space in the Inaugural Edition of AFA's Membership Directory and Resource Guide
Be a part of the largest professional association representing the entire fence industry! Ad placements are now available for the 2016 AFA Membership Directory and Resource Guide. This publication will include information on all AFA members, plus additional industry info. Target top decision makers in the fence industry today. For more information contact Paul Walley at (417) 326-2091 or access the media kit.
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Sales Are Now Open for the November/December Issue! Bonus Distribution at FENCETECH and METALfab 2017
This issue’s theme is "Doing Business in 2017" and will also include bonus distribution at FENCETECH 2017 in San Antonio. Participating is your perfect opportunity to gain exposure to manufacturers, contractors and distributors in the fence, deck and railing industries, but space is limited! For more information, download our media guide or contact Paul Walley at pwalley@naylor.com or 417-326-2091.
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Effective sales technique is built on a strong foundation of product knowledge and a deep understanding of the trends that potential buyers look to for inspiration. Helping fence salespeople improve their knowledge and skills in these key areas – and ultimately succeed in the highly competitive building products market – is the goal of an industry-first training initiative from CertainTeed. The Bufftech® SalesMaster™ program is designed to provide fence dealer professionals with knowledge about the material formulations and manufacturing techniques that set Bufftech vinyl fence systems apart, a firm grasp of the forces shaping the consumer fence market and the ability to sharpen their professional sales skills.
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 Rio Grande Fence Co. of Nashville crew members competed in the Company’s inaugural Fence Skills Championship on Saturday, Aug. 13 at their facility. The competition determined individual winners and overall gold, silver, and bronze medalists in eight critical commercial fencing skills.
"In the spirit of this summer’s Olympics, we were inspired to create an annual skills competition at Rio Grande Fence Co. of Nashville to showcase our crew members’ professional fencing skills," said Derek M. Smith, vice president of operations. "After seeing the enthusiasm and competitive camaraderie among our crew members throughout the event, we hope one day to galvanize interest and support for a National Fence Skills Championship at FENCETECH."
The eight commercial fencing skills judged were Post Hole Digging, Concrete Mixing, Weaving Chain Link Wire, Chain Link Fabric Installation, Graduating Chain Link Wire, Gate Fabrication, Nailing Wood Pickets, and Ameristar Montage Panel Installation. Crew members were judged based on the quality of the work and the least amount of time required to complete each skill. Individual rankings for the eight skills were then compiled to determine Rio Grande’s overall bronze, silver, and gold medal performers.
"Everything we do seemingly ties back into our slogan, The Commercial Fence Professionals™," Smith said. "The core events demonstrate to our staff the professionalism and abilities of their coworkers, motivating them to continually improve their own fence skills.
The initial eight categories set quality and production time benchmarks we can strive to achieve and exceed in the future."
The event was also recorded by professional videographers, giving Rio Grande Fence Co. an in-house set of training videos that will be used by the Company and crew leaders for training.
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Show Us Your Work
If you have pictures or videos demonstrating what you and your crews do every day on the job, please email them to AFA. They will be posted to the association's Facebook page and rolled out via Twitter. Share with others the great work you do every day!
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Fencepost Wants to Hear from You
Are you an AFA member with a great success story to share? Is there an article topic you'd like to see covered in an upcoming issue? Do you have a story you'd like to submit for possible publication? Please email Jeanie Clapp, editor-in-chief, or call (352) 333-3453.
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With the changes in the overtime rules that have been instituted by the U.S. Department of Labor effective Dec. 1, 2016 companies are scrambling to make changes to employees currently classified as exempt that will be changed to nonexempt. One of the ways that many companies are handling this is to change everyone to hourly, non-exempt. They think this is the easiest way to handle the change and many lawyers may agree with you. However, it is not necessary to change these employees to hourly positions and cause other problems. You can have salaried nonexempt employees.
SOURCE: HR OBSERVATIONS BLOG
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According to an article in the New York Times upwards of 200,000 Americans were expected to visit Rio for the Olympic Games. In addition to seeing great sporting events and watching the U.S. team win 121 medals (American women won enough medals to have finished third as a country) the visitors were also exposed to mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus. Since most of the American visitors are also American employees this poses a problem for American businesses.
SOURCE: OMEGA HR SOLUTIONS
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