Record 122 Tee Off at IEC’s 2023 Fall Golf Tournament By: Marie Thornton, IEC Atlanta/GA Communications and Marketing Coordinator
1st Place Team Tower Sales Corey Fritz, Stuart Sarratt, Nate O’Connor, and Kevin O’Connor
On Friday, October 27th, IEC hosted its Atlanta Fall Golf Tournament at Heritage Golf Links. This event had the highest turnout in the history of IEC Atlanta golf events with a total 122 golfers, four tournament sponsors and over 50 hole sponsors!
Participants started their morning with a full breakfast, teed off at 8:30am, and played aggressive rounds of golf. Heritage Golf Link’s 20-acre lake provided the perfect backdrop for a day of competition and networking!
After golfing, attendees had lunch and winners were awarded!
Congratulations are in order for the following;
1st Place- Corey Fritz, Stuart Sarratt, Nate O’Connor, and Kevin O’Connor with Tower Sales scoring 53.
2nd Place- Adam Akins, Kevin Baker, Mason Durocher, and Jason Faircloth with Southwire scoring 55.
3rd– Place- Michael Merryman, Chad Williams, Will Lemonds, and Michael McKeaige with Premier Electrical Staffing scoring 56.
Longest Drive winner at Legacy hole #1, Daniel Rice of GL West.
Closest to the Pin at Heritage hole #7, Chris Smith of DC Enclosures
Brooks Challenger of Hubbell got a Hole-In-One!
As with any fantastic event, sponsors are a very important part of it. Thank you to our Tournament Sponsors, Legrand, Smart Lighting Solutions, SESCO Lighting and Caldwell Electrical Contractors. IEC appreciates your support! See full list of our golf sponsors here.
1st Place Team Tower Sales Corey Fritz, Stuart Sarratt, Nate O’Connor, and Kevin O’Connor
2nd Place, Team Southwire, Adam Akins, Kevin Baker, Mason Durocher, and Jason Faircloth
3rd Place, Team Premier Electrical Staffing, Michael Merryman, Chad Williams, Will Lemonds, and Michael McKeaige
Closest to the Pin 1’10” Chris Smith, DC Enclosures
Augusta Shows Up for Annual IEC Golf Tournament By: Marie Thornton, IEC Atlanta/GA Communications and Marketing Coordinator
IEC Georgia Chapter hosted its Augusta Golf Tournament on October 6th at the Bartram Trail Golf Club in Evans, GA. We had 16 teams and a total of 66 guests in attendance for a continental breakfast, raffle prizes, lunch and Golf!
A huge thank you goes out to our Premier Sponsor Ireland Electric Corporation. You make the Augusta event spectacular! Tournament Sponsors, Graybar, CES and Mayer Electric Supply, thank you for your support! This event was made possible with the help of so many IEC members. Take a look at the full sponsor list here.
If you missed this event, then we hope to see you next year. See upcoming events here to see when you have another opportunity to network with the IEC community!
IEC Georgia Chapter celebrated the graduation of its in-person class for Savannah, Georgia on Friday, September 15, 2023.
The celebration started with Robbie Jones, VP of Coastal Electric of Georgia and GA Chapter President, introducing Rebecca Benton, Mayor of Pooler, Georgia. Ms. Benton welcomed graduates, contractors, guests and mentioned the positive impact that the trades, specifically electricians, have on the local economy. The festivities continued with a fine meal and a rousing key note from 1st District Congressman, Earl “Buddy” Carter sharing his connection to the electrical profession.
IEC celebrated six graduates from Coastal Electric of Georgia and Industrial Technical Services. One graduate who was unable to attend graced the graduation with a “Shout Out” virtually while vacationing in Hawaii.
In every graduating class you have those that receive top honors. Congratulations to the top honor recipient;
Perfect Attendance – Christopher Ray Williams of Industrial Technical Service
Academic Excellence – Christopher Ray Williams of Industrial Technical Service
Thank You to Southwire, Milwaukee, CED and City Electric Supply for their generous donation of tools and prizes that rewarded these Capable and Qualified Electricians for their outstanding achievement and completion of the IEC Electrical Apprenticeship Program, Class of 2023.
IEC recognized Mark Breningstall for his time as an instructor and also thanked Christopher Smith for being an instructor. IEC needs instructors in Savannah, Columbus, Augusta, Atlanta and across the state. Please determine how you can help the next generation become Capable and Qualified Electricians. Contact Todd.Hawkins@IECATlantaga.org to discuss all the opportunities to be involved.
The recruiting, hiring, and on-boarding process is no cheap task. Improving your retention rate will lead to reduced hiring costs, and overall productivity for your company. With the challenges of the current workforce, we are increasingly focused on how we can better recruit talent, but that is not enough to alleviate these symptoms. We must also be focused on how we can keep the talent we bring in. How do we convince a new employee to continue working for us? Below are a few examples of policies, practices, and procedures that have helped companies improve retention:
Electrical training: Apprenticeship, Skills Based Installer Program, and CEUs
Leadership classes.
Ensuring your employees are engaged with the work they are doing. Do they understand their contributions on the job site?
Benefits: Insurance, 401k, PTO, sick days, etc.
Financial aid resources for employees.
Practices and policies that produce and maintain a clear vision for career progression.
Exit interviews (identify any core issues employees are having).
Be explicit about any Hidden Rules on the jobsite with new employees.
Family Day
Emphasized awareness of work-life balance and how it affects your employees.
Improving retention is no easy task. Buy in must be generated at every level, starting with your leadership. With these policies, practices, and procedures in mind, I leave you with a few questions:
What can you and your leaders do to ensure that your employees are eager to come into work?
Do your employees feel recognized for their contributions to the company?
What specific practices are you and your leaders doing to improve your retention rate?
Each business will have their own way of improving retention, feel free to let me know what methods work out for you. If you would like to learn or discuss more about recruitment and retention, join your IEC recruiters and contractor members at our monthly Workforce Zoom meetings, the last Friday of each month.
2023 Columbus Golf Tournament IEC Georgia Chapter hosted its Columbus Golf Tournament on June 16th at the Maple Ridge Golf Club in Columbus. There were 92 golfers and 10 tournament sponsors ready to golf rain or shine.
Congratulations to the tournament winners;
1st place Team Brumfield Electrical scoring 55 Dwayne Morris, Shannon Lott, Ricky Wilson, Randy McDonald
2nd Place Team Fuller Fire & Safety scoring 55 Cain Fuller, Matt Waller, Dan Kirkland, Phillip Psalmond
3rd Place Team Interstate Electrical scoring 56 Tracy Hurst, Justin Gordon, Brandon Summers, Taylor Simpson
The day was perfect, especially with the Sponsors adding in their extra touch throughout the event. Thank you to Tournament Sponsors Metropower, SM Ellis Company, Smith Gray Electric, Interstate Electrical, NetPlanner Systems, MarshMcLennan Agency, Mayer Electric Supply, Jordan Electric Company and Lowe Electric Supply. Net Planner was onsite with brats, dogs and beverages at their hole. BenSource and SM Ellis both provided drinks and snacks, Lowe Supply offered biscuits, subs, drinks, t-shirts and hats, Legrand and Federated provided goodie bags and IEC finished it off with raffle prizes and fireball shots!
IEC Atlanta/GA chapters celebrated its 2023 Electrical Apprenticeship and Professional Electricians Program graduates on Saturday, June 24th with inspiring words from the keynote speaker, Commissioner of Labor, Mr. Bruce Thompson at The Crowne Plaza Atlanta NE in Norcross. Graduated a total of 145 apprentices, 95 were onsite to accept their certificates and were honored in person by IEC at this pivotal milestone in their careers.
After the classroom instruction, on-the-job training and labs, each graduate has earned the title of being a capable and qualified IEC Electrician. The morning was theirs, with nearly 500 in attendance, which included our graduates, contractors, partner members, family, friends and IEC staff members. IEC was proud to celebrate each and every graduate.
The morning began with a welcome from IEC Atlanta Board President, Darren Lodge of Excel Electrical Technologies, live music from keyboard/vocalist Gwen Hughes, and a moving acapella Star-Spangled Banner by Program Quality Coordinator, John Dickerson. Top apprentices received awards and recognition for going above and beyond, and each apprentice had their moment as they crossed the graduating stage.
Congratulations to the following IEC Atlanta/GA Apprenticeship graduates;
Perfect Attendance 4 Year Apprenticeship Award Recipients
Keisteria Battle- Lin R. Rogers Electrical Contractors
Special congratulations to IEC Instructor, Jason Schmittou of North Cobb Electrical, on receiving the Mike Gunter Achievement Award.
Our 2023 IEC Atlanta Apprentice of the Year is Kevin J. Sosa of Wiring Solutions. Kevin will be representing our chapter at the IEC National Spark Convention in Dallas, Texas in October, to compete in the National Apprentice of the Year Competition.
Congratulations to the graduating Class of 2023. To those wondering if this is a possibility for you, Apprenticeship is open until July 13th for July classes start date.
IEC Georgia Chapter held its Seventh Annual Savannah Golf Tournament on May 19th at The Club at Savannah Harbor Westin golf course. The course, which has been called an 18-hole masterpiece, was the perfect backdrop for IEC’s networking and golf experience. 85 golfers entailing IEC members, partners and guests were in for a beautiful, and competitive day.
With a tee off of 9am, by the end of the tournament, four winning teams prevailed. Congratulations to the teams and golfers that came out on top!
1st Place- Team South Way Crane, with Shan Crosby, Trey King, David Koneman and Lyn Leebern scoring a 59.
2nd Place- Tied by team Eaton with Steven Huppe, Capers Martin, Trey Storm and Aaron Von Lehmden and team 5 with Charlie Burkett, Steven Crout, Tom Kobe and Tommy Rushing. Both teams scored 60.
3rd Place- Team ACE with Kevin Cowart, Greg Ferrar, Dale Flyth and Cole Young scoring 62.
Closest to the Pin- Congratulations to Greg Farrer of Ace Electric.
Longest Drive- Congratulations to Trey Storm of Eaton.
Great work by all the golfers!
IEC is honored to work closely with those who are invested to make IEC and IEC events a success. A huge thank you goes to the Presenting Sponsor, Coastal Electric of Georgia and thanks to Tournament Sponsor Ardd & Winter. Additional sponsorships include the following;
Drink Tickets Sponsor- Ace Electric/ CED/Legrand
Longest Drive- Coastal Electric of GA
Closest to the Pin- Energy Systems Southeast
Driving Range- CED/Legrand
Hole Sponsors- Ardd & Winter, BenSource, Capital Electric, Coastal Electric of GA, Eaton, SESCO Lighting, Southway Crane & Rigging, Yancey Brothers
Thank you for creating the environment to network and connect on and off the golf course! Partnering with our sponsors create successful events and these events keep members engaged.
Thanks to everyone participating and we hope to see you in Columbus on June 16th for the next Georgia golf tournament. See pictures of winners and golfers here!
1st Place Team South Way Crane
2nd Place Team Eaton
Team 1 Awards accepted by Dale Flythe
Longest Drive Winner- Trey Storm
Closest to the Pin Winner-Greg Farrer (accepted by Dale Flythe
Indoor, Outdoor Power Displayed at IEC Atlanta’s 2023 Power Show
– IEC held its annual Power Show at the Jim R. Miller Park and Convention Center on April 18th. This year offered over 25,000 square feet of indoor vendors, outside display trucks, Barbecue, Apprentice of the Year competition, raffle prizes and everything electrical.
As anticipated, there were over 800 attendees and over 60 vendors on display with the latest tools, techniques and services in the industry. A live auction was onsite with some pretty awesome items. In fact the 2nd chance bidding is open now until April 28th at 5 pm. Be sure to take a look and see if there is something in the auction just for you. Click to bid here. If you are interested in learning about what the electrical field has to offer, or if you are in business owner in operation mode in need of resources to help grow your business, the 2023 Power Show had it all.
Once again, we had a special experience for our contractor members, our VIP Experience gets early upfront time with vendors, lunch served before general attendees arrive, exclusive seating and an IEC Swag bag filled with special gifts. If you are an IEC contractor that hasn’t had the VIP experience, you really want to RSVP to that invite for April 16, 2024 at Jim R. Miller Park!
IEC’s Apprentice of the Year competitors always take center stage to demonstrate what IEC instructors have taught them for the last 4 years. It is always exciting to watch this competition as their skills determine who will represent the Atlanta chapter during the national competition in Dallas. The winner will be announced during the 2023 graduation on June 24th at the Crowne Plaza Atlanta NE.
Thank you to the vendors and sponsors for coming out, setting up and educating the attendees. Special thanks to our beverage/ bar sponsors Sesco Lighting, Milwaukee, B&S Electric Supply; bag sponsors Graybar and Elliott Electric Supply and Lanyards sponsored by WESCO. To the grill masters who created the barbecue masterpiece, much thanks to Chad Brooks, Mike Sasser, Mike Disharoon and Justin Mercer! Superb job on the grill. We hope to see everyone next year at the April 16, 2024 Power Show! See pictures from this event here.
The IEC/ABC annual Fishing Tournament was held on Saturday, March 25th at the Lawrence Shoals Recreation Area at Lake Oconee. Guests competed for prizes and trophies. With 29 teams, the day was gorgeous and the food was delicious. It was the perfect opportunity for networking. Winners took home trophies placing 1st through 4th place and cash prizes.
Congratulations to the following winners:
1st place, team #16, Donald Williams & Robert Williams of Rexel, with a score of 15.13
2nd Place team #6, Sean Duyvejonck and Jesse Hyde of TH Mize, with a score of 14.71
3rd Place team #4, Jarred Baker and Chase Hancock with a score of 14.46
4th place team #44, Alicia Clem and Andrew Dean scoring 13.34
Big Fish winner Carl Cothran with a 6.02 catch!
Fishing tournaments bring our members together, and our sponsors help make this happen. Thank you to our Platinum sponsors Coastal Electric of Georgia and Titan Electric of Georgia. Gold sponsors Atlantic Workforce, Equipment Share and Lade Electric Supply and so many more stepped up and supported this event. Click here for complete list of sponsors. See pictures from this event below.
By:Marie Thornton, Membership and Marketing Coordinator, IEC Atlanta, GA Chapters
On March 7th, IEC Atlanta Chapter held its monthly luncheon at Maggianos, Perimeter. In honor of Women In Construction (WIC) Week, there was a live panel discussion. Thank you to Christina Fraley, CEO of Media Genius, Mahsa Poorak, COO of Southern Electric Co. and Lisa Willis, Director of Business Operations at WWPS. They were excellent examples of Women thriving in the construction industry and a treasure of advice and experience to those in attendance looking to make more space for women in their organization.
There were over 100 guests in attendance from companies throughout Georgia. A packed house engaged with questions pertaining to their very own environment. The panelist were gracious and detailed with each scenario introduced. Details entailing recruitment, integration, development and retention were addressed.
With the workforce challenges that many contractors are facing, contractors can benefit from what women in the workplace bring. Professional, dependable and smart, women in construction should not be underestimated.
