Storm & Security

8 STORM & SECURITY PROTECTION / PEOPLE IN THE KNOW 2015 Meet the IHPA Board of Directors Members of the 2015/2016 IHPA board of directors have been elected and have taken their seats for the association's November meeting in Fort Myers, FL. Take this opportunity to get to know a little something about the board members. THOMAS JOHNSTON has been in the hurricane protection industry for more than 30 years. He has been actively involved in and with manufacturing, sales, distribution, design, testing and codes. He currently is an active member of the ASTM E06-51 committee for Impact Protective Devices and holds a seat on the International Code Council (ICC) Industry Advisory Committee, representing the hurricane protection industry. Johnston's career in the hurricane protection field began in the mid-1980s with a local hurricane shutter contracting company. In 1995, Town & Country Industries approached and hired him to head up a growing Hurricane Protection Division and he currently is the Director of Research and Development. Johnston directly designs and tests all of Town & Country's hurricane protection products and oversees the engineering through the approval process. In early 2000 Johnston and a small group of hurricane protection professionals formed the International Hurricane Protection Association (IHPA) where he is now Past President. During the past 15 years, Johnston has served the IHPA as an officer and member of its board of directors. The most recent achievement from Johnston and the IHPA is the successful completion of a 10-year battle against misleading products (products that require product approval, but are offered without it). This is a critically important achievement for all in the hurricane protection industry. Outside of his work in hurricane protection, Johnston enjoys hunting, fishing and golf …. "In that order!" he states. JEFFREY SCHWARTZ is serving his first term as an IHPA board member. He is president of JS Construction 2 LLC, a State Certified Licensed Building Contractor with five divisions. One specialized division is hurricane protection systems, others are: general construction, remodeling and repair, home automation systems, and garage doors (mostly impact-rated doors). JS Construction always strives to build much higher than the building code mandates and offers Old World quality workmanship with modern-day materials and equipment on all projects both residential and commercial. The company's offices and workshop are in South Miami and serve the greater Miami- Dade and Broward County areas for all its work. "I enjoy sailing and competitively racing our 12-meter Beneteau Oceanis Sailboat on Biscayne Bay," Schwartz says. Other activities include snow skiing, competitive shooting sports and satisfying clients' needs at work each and every day. TIM ROBINSON has been on the IHPA board for six years and has served as a director, secretary and vice president. He is managing partner of Global Protection Products, LLC (GPP), which manufactures hurricane shutter products in a facility in Davie, FL. GPP installs approximately 700 to 750 homes per month in the Florida market. Other than the Davie facility, GPP has three distribution centers in Florida at Fort Myers, Sarasota and Vero Beach. Robinson has worked in the hurricane shutter business since 1986 and has been a partner in GPP since 2010. In 2003, he obtained a State of Florida Residential Contractors License. He oversees the day-to-day operations at GPP, which includes purchasing, manufacturing and installations. Robinson describes himself as a "huge sports fan," especially NASCAR, football and hockey. JIM HEISE has more than 30 years of experience in the architectural and construction industries and has become recognized as an authority in the window and glass industry. He is public affairs and code specialist for PGT Industries and has served as a manager and trainer at PGT University, a field specialist to aid in both product and installation issues, and most recently as a code specialist. In addition to the nearly eight years Heise has served on the IHPA board, he is a member of and actively participates in multiple industry organizations including the American Architects and Manufacturing Association (AAMA); International Code Council (ICC); National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC); Building Officials Association of Florida (BOAF); and Fenestration Manufacturers Association (FMA). As a member of BOAF, he attends meetings as a representative of PGT as well as the fenestration industry, and assists in the task of interpreting the Florida Building Codes. Heise regularly gives educational seminars and classes related to code education, product knowledge, installation and service of all the products PGT manufactures. Many of these classes are certified for continuing education credits and are regularly attended by architects, engineers, contractors, building inspectors, and installers. As a hobby, Heise builds custom chopper-style motorcycles. IHPA Intell

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