INDUSTRY ACHIEVEMENT AWARD PRESENTED TO HP’S CALDWELL
The IHPA presented its second Industry Achievement Award to Kerri Caldwell, publisher of Hurricane Protection magazine. The award was presented at the association’s May 10 meeting held during the 5th World of Hurricane Protection Trade Show & Conference at the Tampa Convention Center, Tampa, FL.

In presenting the award, IHPA President Bill Feeley expressed his appreciation and the thanks of the association for Caldwell’s efforts in furthering the IHPA’s mission of hurricane preparation and mitigation.
Caldwell has been associate publisher and publisher of Hurricane Protection since the magazine’s inception in 2002 and has worked closely with the IHPA over the last five years.

FIFTH ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT A SUCCESS
The Fifth Annual IHPA Golf Tournament took place Wednesday, May 9, 2007, at Westchase Golf Club in Tampa, FL. Ninety-plus golfers played in the scramble format event to benefit the IHPA.

First place honors went to the Rolsafe International team consisting of Rick Collins, Mark Matarazzo, Bob Borel and Jeff Dudly.

Men’s closest to the pin was Mike Steele, Eastern Metal Supply, and longest drive went to Dave Zajac Jr., WeatherGuard Building Products.

Ladies’ longest drive and closest to the pin was won by Pam Bohen, Home Safety Solutions.
The IHPA would like to thank all the players who participated and the sponsors:

• All Points Screw, Bolt & Specialty Co.
• Allutech United, Inc.
• ASSA
• Eastern Metal Supply, Inc.
• Eddy Storm Protection
• Engineering Express
• Hurricane Protection magazine
• Insurance Office of America
• ITW Buildex
• Metal Tech, Inc.
• NBI Corp.
• Rolsafe International LLC
• Signature Storm Protection
• SIMU USA
• Somfy Systems, Inc.
• Town & Country Industries
• Transparent Protection Systems, Inc.
• WeatherGuard Building Products

A special thanks to Kerri Caldwell, Bob Van Bomel, Legny Santana-Rodriguez and Amy Yelverton for their support and hard work in making this event a success.

NEW BOARD, OFFICERS HOLD FIRST GENERAL MEETING
The IHPA held a General Meeting in Tampa, FL, May 10 in conjunction with the 5th Annual World of Hurricane Protection Trade Show & Conference. The well-attended event, held at the Tampa Convention Center was the first for its newly elected officers and board members (see HP, Show Issue 2007, page 12).

The meeting welcomed many visitors and new members who were attending the WoHP trade show. A report on membership and member benefits was presented by committee chairman Don Leggett. Association code consultant Joe Belcher also updated the IHPA on the current status of Florida building codes and proposed recommendations.

Following the meeting, a networking reception was held sponsored by Elco, Hurricane Protection, QMI Hurricane Shutters, Simu and Somfy Sytems.

The next general meeting is scheduled for early August in the Fort Myers, FL, area. To learn more about the IHPA, please visit www.inthpa.com.

MY SAFE FLORIDA HOME NEEDS HELP—CONTRACTORS
The My Safe Florida Home program was created by the 2006 state legislature to help Floridians identify how they can strengthen their homes against hurricanes and to reduce hurricane damage exposure in our state (see HP, Directory & Buyer’s Guide 2007, page 6). We achieve this goal by providing free wind inspections and matching grants up to $5,000 to help homeowners make specific improvements, including shuttering windows and doors and putting in hurricane-rated garage doors.

To date, we have awarded more than 6,000 grants to homeowners in 17 coastal counties. We will be awarding thousands more in the months to come. However, many homeowners are still in need of contractors to do mitigation improvements to their homes. The No. 1 improvement option homeowners are seeking to make is opening protections: windows, doors and garage doors.

That’s why we are reaching out to you to help better protect families and properties from hurricanes. Here’s what you need to do to sign up:

1. Logon to www.mysafefloridahome.com
2. Click on “For Contractors”
3. Select “sign up to participate”
4. Complete the online application
5. You must agree to Participation Agreement before your application can be processed
6. Once we verify you are licensed, have workers comp and have taken the appropriate training, your name and company will be posted to the My Safe Florida Home Web site as an approved contractor
7. We list approved contractors by county and by type of improvement
If you have any questions or would like more information, contact our Contractor Unit at (800) 363-5852.
We look forward to working with you!

Submitted by Tami Torres, special programs administrator representing CFO Alex Sink, My Safe Florida Home Program, Room 524, Larson Building, Tallahassee, FL 32399; (850) 413-2846; fax: (850) 922-6310; www.mysafefloridahome.com.

IHPA EXHIBITS AT SEBC’S HURRICANE ALLEY
The IHPA and Hurricane Protection magazine will exhibit at the next Southeast Building Conference (SEBC) slated for July 12 to 14, 2007, at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, FL. The exhibit will be part of the show’s Hurricane Alley, which featured more than 60 exhibiting companies last year.

The exhibit hours are as follows:
Thursday, July 12: Noon – 6 p.m.
Friday, July 13: 10 a. m. – 6 p. m.
Saturday, July 14: 9 a. m. – 2 p. m.

For more information regarding the SEBC show visit www.sebcshow.com.

NEW BOARD MEMBERS INTRODUCED
The IHPA welcomed three new board members at its May 10 meeting. They are: Adrian Lemon, Steve Miller and David Olmsted.

Lemon has been a sales executive with Elero USA since 1995 and has been primarily responsible for the development of sales and training applications to the rolling shutter industry. Elero USA is a subsidiary of Elero gmbh, a high-quality manufacture of motors and controls for many industrial applications. Previous to Elero USA, Lemon held positions in sales and sales management in the window treatments related industry selling to OEMs, fabricators and retailers.

Olmsted is public affairs and code compliance specialist for PGT and a former member of the Southern Building Code Congress International (SBCCI). He currently is a member of the International Code Council (ICC), Construction Specifications Institute and Building Officials Association of Florida (BOAF). He serves on the BOAF Code Interpretation Committee and on the board of directors of the Fenestration Manufacturers Association.