Tag Archives: Leadership

… About Apprenticeship In 2008, the Department of Labor, Employment, & Training Administration (ETA) revised the Labor Standards for the Registration of Apprenticeship Programs. Revisions to these standards are uncommon, but this time the ETA got it mostly right. The revisions were intended to promote quality control of training programs, …

Spotlight: Susan Schierwagen, Vice President for Coupling & Fire Suppression Systems at Victaulic Friday, June 23, 2017 is International Women in Engineering Day, a day that according to the Women’s Engineering Society “focuses attention on the amazing careers in engineering and technical roles for girls, and allows us to celebrate …

Twenty-six years ago I was given the opportunity to run a division for my company. I was 31 years old and had six months of field experience, six years of design experience, and four years of estimating and project management. As is often the case, I was given the opportunity …

Flying back from a chapter meeting last week, I began thinking about how the customer service woes that the airline industry has faced recently have become a teachable moment for businesses in general. As the manager of chapter relations for a hungry and growing national trade association, the concept of …

NAWIC President-Elect Shares Vision Catherine Schoenenberger, president of Stay Safe Traffic Products Inc., Westford, Massachusetts, and national president-elect of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) grew up in a construction family. “My parents had a commercial landscaping business and Dad sold heavy equipment,” she recalls. “However, the girls …

Thank You for Your Support! As the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) celebrates its 36th anniversary, we recognize those members who are also celebrating milestone membership anniversaries. These member companies have belonged to AFSA for 15 or more years of continuous membership. “Congratulations to our members celebrating anniversaries in March …

Getting Products to Market Research and development (R&D) in the fire sprinkler world is a fascinating, frustrating, regulated, fun, rewarding, and slow process. In the fire sprinkler industry we often confuse R&D with good, old-fashioned product engineering. I have had the pleasure to be involved with the R&D process for …

Up-and-Coming Leaders Spill Their Secrets to Success In the fire sprinkler industry, the experience and wisdom gained from years of service is highly respected. At the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA), we regularly look to our Board of Directors, and to our founding members and lifetime members, for their vast …

Services. Providing or supplying activities utilized by members or the public as a process of supportive assistance. The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) offers many helpful services to contractor members, manufacturers and suppliers, as well as the general public. One AFSA service in particular, that directly impacts all members and …

Spotlighting the NextGen Initiative Now in only its third year, the American Fire Sprinkler Association’s NextGen Initiative (NGI) is forging ahead with a membership of diverse professional and personal backgrounds looking to grow their professional network and their career. NGI provides high-quality networking events to career-minded individuals aged 40 and …