Spring

2011

SEMINAR“HOW DO WE CATCH UNLICENSED CONTRACTORS & WHAT HAPPENS TO THEM”

PRESENTED BY:

JERRY A ROMITI, Investigator for the Contractors State License Board

A PUBLICATION OF THE CALIFORNIA CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN FENCE ASSOCIATION

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

Golf: 8:00 a.m. Shotgun Eagle Falls Golf Course Fantasy Springs Resort 84-245 Indio Springs Pkwy. Indio, CA Tel: (760) 238-5633

9:00 – 9:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast9:30 – 10:15 a.m. General Meeting10:15 – 10:30 a.m. Break10:30 – 12 noon SEMINAR

6:30 p.m. Cocktail Hour7:30 p.m. Banquet

FRIDAY, March 11, 2011Golf: 8:00 a.m. Shotgun Eagle Falls Golf Course Fantasy Springs Resort 84-245 Indio Springs Pkwy. Indio, CA Tel: (760) 238-5633

SATURDAY, March 12, 20119:00 – 9:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast9:30 – 10:15 a.m. General Meeting10:15 – 10:30 a.m. Break10:30 – 12 noon SEMINAR

SATURDAY EVENING, March 12, 20116:30 p.m. Cocktail Hour7:30 p.m. Banquet

JON FARRAR , PRESIDENT(818) 765-0844

JIM SYPITKOWSKI, TREASURER(714) 630-3390

LORI TERRAMAGRA, SECRETARY (619) 464-8668

JASON BIDDLE(877) 783-1060

PAT DOWLING(818) 768-5500

RICH BARKER(858) 452-5590

DON KIDDER(858) 279-8442

RICHARD LANDEROS(909) 350-4740

MIKE LINDSEY(619) 661-7166

DALE MARRIOTT(951) 788-7759

MICHAEL WENISCH(916) 635-6061

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EDITOR

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PRISCILLA LAVOIE(760) 639-2897

AFA GOLF CORNER

The American Fence Association’s golf tournament was played at Sycuan Golf Resort, El Cajon, California. The threat of rain loomed over the golf course off and on during the day but in the end the weather cooperated with us and it was again a perfect golf day. Twenty-four (24) golfers turned out for the event. The day could not have been better. Prizes were awarded in the amount of $950 and $210 was raised and donated to the Special Olympics by the sale of Mulligans. The golf raffle that has been instituted at the last several tournament also raised money for the Special Olympics. Once again we would like to say “THANK YOU” to our very generous sponsors: Ameristar Fence Products, Builders Fence, CI-Fabrics, Master Halco, Merchants Metals, Valley/RGBusiness Ins., Swan Fence, State Fund Ins. As we are all aware without our very generous sponsors we would not be able to award such great golf prizes!!!

If anyone is interested in sponsoring a hole at future AFA Golf Tournaments it is $100/hole. Please contact Priscilla @ (760) 639-2897

CONTRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS:

1st, 3rd & 5th place awarded $200/team

1st Place Team #1 – Jun Ando, Brad Robbins, Kevin Robbins, Grant Callahan

3rd Place Team #7– Robert Holstein, Stephen Cook, Rich Barker, Gary Lane

5th Place Team #5 – Tracy Jakositz, Greg Baumgartner, Richard Landeros, Jason Biddle

(4) Closest to the pin – Awarded $50/golfer – Jon Farrar, Grant Callahan, Gary Lane, Brad Robbins

(2) Longest Drives – Awarded $50/golfer JT Lawson for both holes

(1) Ladies longest drive – Awarded $50/golfer Priscilla Lavoie

Winner of the AFA Putting Contest was Brad Robbins, CONGRATULATIONS BRAD !!!

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…$_________

$ _________

. $_________

American Fence Association QUARTERLY MEETING REGISTRATION FORM

March 11 -12, 2011

Fantasy Springs Resort Hotel & Casino 84245 Indio Springs Parkway

INDIO, CALIFORNIA (800) 827-2946

COMPANY NAME:______________________________________________________ ADDRESS:______________________________________________________________ CITY:__________________________STATE:_________ZIP CODE:______________ TELEPHONE: ( )_________________ MEMBER ( ) NON MEMBER ( ) NAMES OF THOSE ATTENDING: GOLF MEETINGS/SEMINAR BANQUET _______________________________________ ( ) ( ) _______________________________________ ( ) ( ) _______________________________________ ( ) ( ) _______________________________________ ( ) ( ) _______________________________________ ( ) ( ) Please total the number of those attending each activity and remit payment. _____________Golf Tournament (Friday, 3/11/11) 8:00 a.m. shotgun $99/Person (Included: greens fees, cart, range balls, lunch)

Shot gun tournament to be played at Fantasy Springs ______________ Meeting/Seminar NO CHARGE ______________Banquet Dinner/Cocktails Saturday, 3/12/11 6:30 p.m. $55/person… TOTAL $_________

Please FAX YOUR REGISTRATION TO (760) 639-0245 and MAIL your completed registration form and check made payable to:AFA California Chapter, 1570 Boulder Creek Road, Oceanside, CA

92056 (760) 639-2897

ROOM CUT OFF DATE 2/23/11 ROOM RATES AT THE FANTASY SPRINGS HOTEL $146 CALL (800) 827-2946

Registration Fees are non-refundable as the Association must pay for various guarantees.

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CALIFORNIA CHAPTER MEETING CORONADO, CALIFORNIA

The California Chapter of the American Fence Asso-ciation held its 4th Quarterly

Meeting at the Loews Coro-nado Bay Hotel, Coronado, California, on December, 17 & 18, 2010. The Chapter Golf Tournament was played at the Sycuan Golf Resort, El Cajon, CA. We did have a great turn out for the Friday tournament, there were 24 golfers signed up, $210 was raised for the Special Olympics by the sale of Mulli-gans and an additional $450 in profit from the tournament & the raffle and this was also donated to the Special Olympics. As we all know none of this could hap-pen without the generosity of the members who attend and play in our golf tournaments, and a Very Special Thanks Goes Out to our hole Sponsors who supply the prize money for all of our tournaments. They are as follows: BUILDERS FENCE, CI-FABRICS, MASTER HALCO, MERCHANTS METALS, VALLEY IN-SURANCE, SWAN FENCE, STATE FUND INSURANCE and AMERI-STAR. We can’t thank you all enough for your generosity.

The Board of Directors Meet-ing was held for our Chapter on Friday afternoon, Decem-ber 17th. General Meeting was held Saturday morning, Decem-ber 18th. During this portion of the meeting, Chapter business, new and old was discussed. There were 11 new members approved as members into our Chapter at this meeting.

Saturday evening came along and we had a fantastic turnout for the annual Chapter Christ-mas Party. If you have never been to the Loews Coronado Bay Hotel in Coronado, it is defi-nitely worth a visit, especially at Christmas time. The entire ho-tel property was decorated in grand Christmas fashion. The lobby was breathtaking with

its beautifully decorated Christmas tree centered in the middle of a magnifi-cent grand staircase, marble floors and very well appoint-ed guest rooms. Every room had a balcony with a view of San Diego Bay. It really was like a Christmas wonderland. Everyone who attended the event certainly went home filled with Christmas spirit.

The banquet food was ex-quisitely prepared, and the selection of entrees and des-erts were to die for. There was something served for everyone from ages 2 to 82. The chef really outdid himself.

As it should be at any Christ-mas Party the guest of honor of course was “Santa Claus”.The children all milled around the Christmas Tree checking out the packages to see if there was one there with their name on it. As the children’s names were called out one by one, each child sat in front of Santa with eyes full of anticipation to see if the next name would be theirs. It was a wonderful sight to behold. When their name was called out they jumped up with ex-citement to go and sit on Santa’s lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas, and receive their gift and stocking full of goodies that Santa’s helpers were passing out. You could just see the ex-citement of Christmas in their eyes. It was a great end-ing to a fantastic weekend.

Our 1st Quarterly Meeting will be held at the Fantasy Springs Resort Hotel and Ca-sino, Indio, CA on March 11-12, 2011. Make your reserva-tions at the hotel early; all the information needed is in this newsletter and on the Web at: californiachapterafa.com

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MARY DOWLINGPLACING HER BID

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FENCETECH 2011

FenceTech took place at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada, Febru-

ary 8-10, 2011. The conven-tion week opened on Tues-day morning February 8th, 2011 with the combined AFA Annual Meeting & Chapter Breakfast. During the AFA An-nual Meeting many topics of business were covered how-ever, the most exciting part of this meeting was the annual awards that are presented to the Chapters for their ex-ceptional work throughout the year. The awards began with CLFMI Design Project of the year which was won by North American Fence & Sup-ply, Oakland, CA. Second award given was CLFMI Proj-ect of the year won by Area West Fence, Lakeside, CA. Third award presented was Chapter Project of the Year won by Carter Fence, No Hol-lywood, CA. And Chapter of

the Year which was won by California Chapter Ameri-can Fence Association. This was a very proud and exciting moment for our Chapter and there were many chapter members at the breakfast that were in-vited to come up on stage with Jon Farrar, Chap-ter President and Priscilla Lavoie, Director to receive this very prestigious award. It was truly and grand mo-ment. This grand event was followed by Henry Winkler as guest speaker.

On Wednesday, February 9th, another event took place, “Good Morning AFA”. The guest speaker for this event was Lt. Col. Oliver L. North. There are no words that can express our thanks and gratitude for both these profes-sional men. There mes-

sages were quite differ-ent but I am sure hit home in many respects in the hearts of all who attended.

Throughout the day Edu-cational Seminars & work-shops were held as well as the CFP (Certified Fence Professionals) Exam was administered. These seminars & workshops were very well attended.

The California Chapter Members donated their time at these events to handle security as well as any needs that arose to make all of the education-al seminars run smoothly.

The show floor opened ev-eryday at 11:15 for show ex-hibits. The show was a very well attended event and we are looking forward to be-ing in Miami, Florida in 2012.

California Chapter AFA-Chapter of the YearJohn Farrar, AFA President, Susan Coulson

Chapter Project of the Year Award

Priscilla Lavoie, Santo Pernicano

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Henry Winkler - Guest Speaker

Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North - Guest Speaker

Santo Pernicano, Brad HowardCLFMI Project of the Year Award

Ed Lavoie, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North

Jon Farrar, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North

Mike Wenisch, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North

Steve Bennett, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North

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Alfredo ArreguinA-1 ORNAMENTAL IRONWORKS INC.

4637 E White AveFresno, CA 93702

(559) 251-1447• (559) 251-4169 FAX

Terri McWhirterADVANTAGE GATE PRODUCTS

PO Box 5040Redwood City, CA 94063

(888) 491-4283

Michelle DaltonAMT METAL FABRICATORS

211 Parr BlvdRichmond, CA 94801

(510) 236-1414 • (510) 236-1417 FAX

Paul EnnorAUSSIE INDUSTRIAL

8532 Washington AveMidway City, CA 92655

(714) 914-5099 • (714) 894-3161 FAX

Robert GilesCHAMPION FENCE CONTRACTORS

2106 Glassell StOrange, CA 92865

(714) 921-6404

Michel EssioCLASSIC METAL DESIGN INC.

14547 Arminta St #HVan Nuys, CA 91402

(818) 988-9723 • (818) 988-5331 FAX

Yossi AfriatEAGLE ACCESS CONTROL SYSTEMS, INC.

13745 Saticoy StVan Nuys, CA 91402

(818) 779-0920

Todd NeuensFENCESCAPES INC.

173 S E StreetSan Bernardino, CA 92410

(800) 290-2910

Nisha MahlerLIFETIME LUMBER

2131 Palomar Airport RdCarlsbad, CA 92011

(760) 603-9100

John LopezPACIFIC PROPERTIES SERVICE

6460 Marindustry DrSan Diego, CA 92121

(858) 549-7611

Raul SanchezWEST COAST METALCRAFTS

3980 Cherry AveLong Beach, CA 90807

(562) 424-1564 • (562) 426-9523 FAX

Welcome New Members

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Passing of Bob O’Donnell

It’s with great sadness that I announce the passing of O’Donnell on Wednesday

February 9th. He will be deeply missed by the many lives he has touched over his life time. Bob was a pillar to Master Halco and the fence industry.

Shortly after World War Two Bob and his brother Don be-gan working for Anchor Fence Co. (a national manufacturer or Chain link fencing based in Maryland ). During the next 10 years they began to see that the few companies in this mar-ket (Cyclone fence - US Steel, Anchor, CF & I Steel, etc.) were dominating the market and were supplying the small con-tractors as well as competing with them. They felt that there might be a place to support the small contractor by making ma-terial available as a wholesaler.

In 1961 Don with financial back-ing from friends bought a small fittings manufacture in El Monte California named Master Fence Fittings. During the next 5 years the company expanded by adding additional products to complete the line of material needed to supply a complete chain link fence system. They first added imported pipe from Japan (at this point becoming the largest importer of Pipe and Tubing to supply the fencing contractor on the West Coast. Additionally they added wire supplied by Davis Wire Corp.

As the business grew Bob and Don saw the opportunity to ex-pand the business by offering to be the supplier to the large retailers of the time (Sears and Montgomery Wards). As they

became successful in supply-ing the large retailers and the small contractors they once again saw the opportunity to grow by opening branch operations in support of their sales to the chains as well as the contractors. In 1965 they opened the first branch op-eration on the West Coast in Hayward California . This was the beginning of the growth of the company into a multiple branch organization through-out the Western United States .

Bob instilled a company cul-ture based on his Mid-Western background of family, hones-ty, loyalty, and a focus on the Customer First. At the same time Bob and Don made a calculat-ed decision to hire young and inexperienced people to staff the company. This was done primarily to save money against the higher cost of bringing in older more established fenc-ing people. As a result of this decision they realized that they would need to have patience in allowing the younger people to make mistakes. Bob always said that "if you made a mis-take based on doing what was right for the customer and you learned from it, it wasn't a mis-take at all but a learning experi-ence". This kept many younger people employed that would have been normally fired in a larger more intolerant company.

The success of this strategy was shown by the energy and en-thusiasm of the younger em-ployees in growing the sales of the company. The result of the company’s strategy was a 45 year increase in sales from less than one million in sales in the mid 60's to 600 million in sales in the mid 2000's.The company

grew from one branch to over 60 branch's and 7 manufac-turing plants across the nation.

Bob was instrumental in the creation of the IFIA now known as the AFA when he partnered with Abe Willis in the early 60's to establish the organization.

In addition , Bob was the lead-er in creating the highly ac-claimed line of Pressed Steel fittings that replaced the Cast Iron Fittings of the 50's and 60's.He was responsible for design-ing the Bulldog Hinge , the 180 degree Industrial hinge, and many other fittings in use today as the standard of the industry.

Bob was also a leader in sup-porting the CLFMI as well as Master's participation in ASTM and standards development in the fence industry. It is no co-incidence that Master-Halco, AFA and CLFMI all share a 50 year history in 2010 and 2011.

In summary, Bob was a leader of the fencing industry in many of the products, associations, and branch growth ideas so commonly in use today.

It is inadequate to overesti-mate Bob O’Donnell’s contri-bution to the fencing indus-try; he literally helped create the industry we see today. His blend of common sense, strong values, and vision helped a fledgling industry grow from a few companies participating in the industry to the hundreds we see today.

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COURTESY OF THE STATE COMPENSATION INSURANCE FUND

UPCOMING EVENTSAFA 3rd QUARTERLY MEETING 2011

September 16 & 17, 2011Hyatt Regency Hotel

Huntington Beach, CA

AFA 4th QUARTERLY MEETING 2011December 2 & 3, 2011

Hilton Universal CityLos Angeles, CA

AFA 1st QUARTERLY MEETING 2011March 11 & 12, 2011

Fantasy Springs Resort CasinoIndio, CA

AFA 2nd QUARTERLY MEETING 2011June 3 & 4, 2011DoubleTree Golf Resort

San Diego, CA

californiachapterafa.com