The North American Fence Contractor Association (NAFCA) held its annual Fence Training School in Sebring, FL for the tenth time February 5th through the 8th. Students from four different states attended this year. Prior to the school kick-off, NAFCA held its spring board meeting to plan and map out the path for 2023 and the association’s future.
Members present were Ray Statz, Harriet Statz (Qual Line Fence), Dustin Weimann (DW Fence), Mart Prost (Prost Inc), Clint Iams, Bill Iams, Judy Iams, (Log Cabin Fence), Chris Ward-Horner (Hampden Fence), Deb Roche, Don Roche (D Roche Fencing), Shelby Kelland (LiftMaster), Shawn King (Mr Fence Tools), Glenn Butterfield (CertainTeed), Sammy Franklin (Retired), Al Martins, Luis Ruivo (Fence Armor).
The school started on Sunday evening with the reception and welcome at the Inn on the Lakes. It is adjacent to the Sebring Municipal Golf Course where all of the classes take place. FTS Chairman Mart Prost’s wife, Sandra, provided welcome bags for the instructors and various snacks for everyone during the reception. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday the students and instructors worked at the golf course at the various stations. The warm weather usually is a welcomed change of pace for our northern students traveling to Florida for a few days of sunshine.
One of the benefits of the NAFCA fence training school is all projects are real-world applications of the various fence projects. The students, alongside seasoned veteran installers, install fences that will actually be put to use. There are no half measures or temporary fences; all are permanent installs. This provides the best possible learning experience for our students.
Projects completed:
Aluminum: 150′ of 4′ Ornamental to be installed utilizing the no-dig method.
Wood: 50′ of 8′ high wood fence to be repaired due to hurricane damage.
100′ of 2 rail western cedar installed with steel post.
40′ of 6′ high dog ear solid fence with 5′ gate.
Vinyl: Repair 100′ of 6′ high vinyl fence damaged by the hurricane.
Install 30′ of a new fence.
Chainlink: 70′ of 6′ high chain link fence with access gate.
Gate Operators: Service 4 gate operators with various service requirements.
Install gate operator system.
Welding: Shop class building for chainlink and frame for wood gate
Farm: Construct several sections of high tensile fence with a hydraulic pounder.
In addition to the above hands-on experiences and in-the-field training, there are various safety discussions held at mealtime and in the evenings. On Monday night four of our instructors lead a round table discussion/Q&A session. While these were optional classes, all students attended the evening session.
The school concluded on Wednesday with the graduation ceremony. A few city officials join our school for the graduation dinner and were very grateful for the service we provide the community of Sebring. Additionally, Modern Fence Technologies donated a set of their Bear Claw chainlink tools which were raffled off to one lucky student.
This is the ninth year NAFCA has held its fence training school in Sebring at the municipal golf course. Each year there have been approximately $25,000 worth of material donated and installed by the classes. This results in approximately $250,000 worth of material donated to the City of Sebring over the ten years. NAFCA runs the school at cost in order to keep the registration fee as low as possible. The instructors all volunteer their time and services for the betterment of the fence industry. It is worth noting the instructors have a collective cumulative experience in the fence industry of 450 plus years and 220 plus years teaching experience.
We would like to thank the following companies and individuals for their donations of time and material that make the school possible. Emerald supporters are those businesses who continually go above and beyond in their support of FTS:
Emerald Supporters:
Barrette Outdoor Living
CertainTeed/Bufftech
C&C Fence
LiftMaster
Log Cabin Fence
Mr Fence Tools
Prost, Inc
Qual Line Fence
Supporters and Instructors:
American Timber
Fence Armor
John Wall, Inc
Modern Fence Technologies
Ozark Wire Works
Royal Adhesives & Sealants
Rhino Technologies
Vogel Tool & Die
Shawn King of Mr Fence Tools
Sammy Franklin (retired)
Bill and Judy Iams of Log Cabin Fence
Clint Iams of Log Cabin Fence
Glenn Butterfield of Bufftech/CertainTeed
Ray and Harriet Statz of Qual Line Fence
Dustin Weimann of DW Fences
Shelby Kelland of LiftMaster
Don and Debbie Roche of D Roche Fence
Finally, a big thank you goes out to Mart Prost, our FTS Director. His tireless work results in a world-class Fence Training School.
Many more pictures and videos of this year’s school can be found on the NAFCA Facebook page. While we do not have the exact date yet, we will be back in Sebring in 2024 for our eleventh school. Be sure to sign up early as the school tends to be at max capacity. Please take a look at our website or Facebook page for more information.