Sprinkler Age A Publication of the American Fire Sprinkler Association
AFSA Awards Nominations Sought for Industry Leaders
The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) is accepting nominations for its top honors: the prestigious Henry S. Parmelee award, esteemed Fire Sprinkler Advocate of the Year award, and the new yet highly regarded Young Professional of the Year award. The awards will be presented during AFSA38: Convention, Exhibition & Apprentice Competition in San Diego, California, and the recipients will be featured in Sprinkler Age magazine.
Henry S. Parmelee Award AFSA’s highest honor, the Henry S. Parmelee award is given in recognition of an outstanding individual who has dedicated himself or herself to the professional advancement of the fire sprinkler industry and to the goal of fire safety through automatic sprinklers. Members of AFSA may nominate someone who has demonstrated a long-term commitment to improving the fire sprinkler industry. The award was instituted by AFSA in 1983 to give recognition to distinguished industry professionals and to memorialize Henry S. Parmelee, an outstanding pioneer in the fire sprinkler industry who is recognized as the inventor of the first commercially successful closed sprinkler. The nomination deadline is July 1, 2019.
Fire Sprinkler Advocate of the Year Award This award was created to honor individuals not directly involved in the fire sprinkler industry whose efforts have had national impact in advancing the fire protection industry and automatic fire sprinklers. Previously known as the Fire Service Person of the Year, the award was renamed in 2001 to better reflect the diversity of backgrounds, including the fire service, as well as legislative, code, and standards-setting groups, in which individuals can have a major impact on the fire sprinkler industry. Previous recipients include Home Safety Council President Meri-K Appy; Fire- and Life-Safety Educator Jan Gratton; Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition Spokesman Ron Hazelton; California State Fire Marshal Tonya Hoover; Congressman Jim Langevin; and Senator Rick Santorum. The nomination deadline for this award is April 15, 2019.
Young Professional of the Year Award Created in 2016, the Young Professional of the Year award and honors the contributions of promising fire protection specialists and serves to: reaffirm the growing importance of fire sprinkler knowledge in the world of business and construction management among the next generation of industry leaders; promote the emergence of young talented professionals in the field of fire protection, thus fostering interest for the fire sprinkler profession and a future career in this field of expertise; and inspire fire protection companies and the fire protection community to invest even more in the development and excellence of the profession. Meaghen Wills of Anchor Fire Protection in Perkiomenville, Pennsylvania; Tiffany Moore, Moore Fire Protection in Issaquah, Washington; and Kevin Mozak, Meridian Fire Protection in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, are past recipients. Nominations are due by April 15, 2019.
Nominees do not need to be a member of AFSA to be eligible. Nominations may be submitted to AFSA via fax at (214) 343-8898, emailed to AFSA President & CEO Debra McGuire, CAE at dmcguire@firesprinkler.org, or mailed
Convene on the West Coast Mark your calendars now and plan to attend AFSA38: Convention, Exhibition & Apprentice Competition, the world’s largest fire sprinkler industry event. To be held October 1-4, 2019 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, California, this convention is a one-stop shop for CEUs, the latest product innovations, and networking with others. With an average annual attendance o 1,400 industry leaders and 115-plus exhibitors, attendees will collect an abundance of knowledge, experience, and business connections.
Bookmark AFSA’s convention webpage at firesprinkler.org/convention to receive updates about this year’s event. Details on registration, accommodations, the National Apprentice Competition, and a schedule of events will be posted soon.
Henry S. Parmelee Award Past Recipients
- 1983 John M. Rhodes, Factory Mutual Research
- 1984 William J. Meyer, Central Sprinkler Corp.
- 1985 C. B. Hall, American Automatic Sprinkler Co.
- 1986 Harold L. Black, Central Fire Protection, Inc.
- 1987 Edward J. Reilly, Ed Reilly Associates
- 1988 Richard T. Groos, The Viking Corporation
- 1989 Ron Coleman, Chief, Fullerton Fire Dept., CA
- 1990 Frank J. Fee III, Reliable Automatic Sprinkler
- 1991 Dr. John M. Bryan, University of Maryland School of Fire Protection Engineering
- 1992 W. D. (Dave) Hilton, Chief, Cobb County Fire Dept., GA
- 1993 J. Frank Riseden, AFSA President 1983-1991
- 1994 Haden B. Brumbeloe, Publisher, FPC Magazine
- 1995 Edward H. Smith, H.F.P. Corp.
- 1996 Tom Waller, Viking Fire Protection of the SouthEast
- 1997 Chester W. Schirmer, Schirmer Engineering
- 1998 Tom Siegfried, Retired Chief, Altamonte Springs, FL
- 1999 Donald D. Becker, Midland Automatic Sprinkler Co.
- 2000 Robert L. McCullough, AllSouth Sprinkler Co. (awarded posthumously)
- 2001 Buck Buchanan, Central Sprinkler Corporation
- 2002 Frank M. Winiecki, General Sprinkler Corp.
- 2003 Jack Viola, H.F.P. Corp.
- 2004 Lowell Gillett, Fire Engineering Co., Inc. (retired)
- 2005 Joe Hankins, FM Global (retired)
- 2006 Art Cote, NFPA (retired)
- 2007 Thomas T. Groos, Viking Corp.
- 2008 Bill Corbin, Mutual Sprinklers, Inc.
- 2009 Lloyd Ivy, AFSA Director of Membership 1986-2009
- 2010 Martin L. “Marty” Giles, VSC Fire & Security
- 2011 Willie Templin, American Automatic Sprinkler, Inc.
- 2012 Bob Rees, Sunland Fire Protection
- 2013 Russ Leavitt, Telgian Corporation
- 2014 James Golinveaux, Tyco Fire Protection Products
- 2015 George Wagner, Worsham Sprinkler Company
- 2016 Steve Muncy, AFSA President 1992-2016
- 2017 Bob Caputo, Fire & Life Safety America
- 2018 Kraig Kirschner, AFCON
