New NOMMA Officers

The new NOMMA Board of Directors was installed on April 25 during the last night of METALfab in Long Beach, CA. A welcome goes to our one newcomer to the Board — Ray Michael. A special thanks goes to Breck Nelson, who has rotated off the Board after seven years of outstanding service.

2009-2010 NOMMA Board of Directors

Officers
President - Bob Foust, III, Bob’s Ornamental Iron Studio, Kansas City, KS
President-Elect – Bruce Boyler, Boyler’s Ornamental Iron Inc., Bettendorf, IA
Vice-President/Treasurer – James Minter, Imagine Ironworks, Brookhaven, MS
Immediate Past President – Terry Barrett, Royal Iron Creations, West Palm Beach, FL

Directors
Fabricator Director – Frank Finelli, Finelli Architectural Ironwork, Solon, OH
Fabricator Director – Mark O’Malley, O’Malley Welding & Fabricating, Yorkville, IL
Fabricator Director – Ray Michael, R & F Metals Inc., Clinton, MD
Fabricator Director – J.R. Molina, Big D Metalworks, Dallas, TX
Fabricator Director – Will Keeler, Keeler Iron Works, Memphis, TN
Fabricator Director - Greg Terrill, Division 5 Metalworks, Kalamazoo, MI
Supplier Director – Cathee Speaks, King Architectural Metals, Dallas, TX
Supplier Director – Gina Pietrocola, D.J.A. Imports, Ltd., Bronx, NY
Supplier Director – Wayne Haas, Cleveland Steel Tool Co., Cleveland, OH

2009 Top Job Winners

A congratulations goes to the 2009 Top Job winners:

2009 Ernest Wiemann Top Job Winners

A. Gates, Driveway
1 Aladdin Door & Gate Co. A1
2 A.Y.’s Designs in Iron A4
3 Kelley Ornamental Iron LLC A14

B. Gates, Driveway - Forged
1 Wrought Iron Art Ltd. B5
2 Mission Iron Shop B2
3 Allen Iron Works & Supply Inc. B3

C. Interior Railings - Ferrous
1 Royal Iron Creations C6
2 Big Blu Hammer Mfg. C14
3 Gulf Coast Metal Works Inc. C8

D. Interior Railings - Nonferrous
1 DeAngelis Iron Work Inc. D5
2 M. Cohen & Sons Inc. D4
3 Allen Architectural Metals Inc. D7

E. Interior Railings - Forged
1 Eureka Forge E11
2 Wrought Iron Art Ltd. E8
3 Big Blu Hammer Mfg. E17

F. Exterior Railings & Fences
1 Darling's Blacksmithing F6
2 Colonial Iron Works Inc. F4
3 Fine Architectural Metalsmiths F1

G. Exterior Railings & Fences - Forged
1 Upsurge Fabrication Inc. G4
2 Metcalfe Roush Forge & Design G6
3 Klahm & Sons Inc. G2

H. Furniture & Accessory Fabrication
1 Magnum Companies Inc. H10
2 Fine Architectural Metalsmiths H9
3 Bob's Ornamental Iron Studio H8

I. Furniture & Accessory Fabrication - Forged
1 Wrought Iron Art Ltd. I7
2 Steel Welding I19
3 Virginia Architectural Metals I1

J. Gates/Doors
1 Wiemann Ironworks J2
2 Art's Work Unlimited J4
3 Copper Iron Designs Inc. J10

K. Gates/Doors - Forged
1 Royal Iron Creations K5
2 Upsurge Fabrication Inc. K11
3 Metcalfe Roush Forge & Design K10

L. Stairs Complete
1 Big D Metalworks L5
2 Daniel Metals Inc. L 4
3 StairCrafters Inc. L12

N. Unusual Ornamental Fabrication
1 Art's Work Unlimited N1
2 Wrought Iron Art Ltd. N10
3 Daniel Metals Inc. N5

O. Restoration
1 Allen Architectural Metals Inc. O3
2 Builders Ironworks Inc. O5
3 Flaherty Iron Works Inc. O6

P. Art/Sculpture
1 Artisan Metal Works Ltd. P2
2 Precision Custom Metals Inc. P4
3 Big Blu Hammer Mfg. P6

Mitch Heitler Award for Excellence
Eureka Forge E11

METALfab 2009 - Day 5

Saturday started out with a shop tour. We visited Upsurge Fabrication Inc. in Huntington Beach, CA. Our hosts were extremely gracious and gave us a first-class experience at their shop. The spotless shop featured snacks and drinks, music, a TV display, static displays, mini work station demos, and guest vendors. There were even a couple of antique motorcycles on display, which attracted a lot of interest.

In the evening, the grand finale of the week began — the annual METALfab Awards Banquet. During this time officers were installed, the Frank A. Kozik Award was presented, and the Top Job presentation took place.

Bob Foust III of Bob's Ornamental Iron Studio was installed as NOMMA's 41st president. In his speech, Bob pledged to continue improving NOMMA in all areas. "NOMMA was started decades ago by people much greater than me," he said. "I want to keep the faith given to us by the past presidents and boards."

As a child, Bob said he came to know NOMMA as a place of family vacations. In NOMMA's earlier years, it was common for fabricators to bring their families and make the NOMMA convention their vacation.

"NOMMA is and will continue to be an essential part of my business," he said, "And I want to help NOMMA become an essential part of your business as well."

Bob said that the board had embarked had held several "intense and exhausting meetings" to form NOMMA's new strategic plan. He said that the membership will soon become the recipients of this labor, and that everyone's help was needed to make the plan succeed. "In every association people get the governing they deserve," is a quote that Bob shared.

After an intermission, the Frank A. Kozik Award Volunteer Service Award was presented to Doug Bracken of Wiemann Ironworks. The award is given to members who share an outstanding spirit of volunteerism. Doug was given the award not only for his many years of service to NOMMA, but also for his willingness to always help others. A long-time board member, Doug has held several positions with NOMMA, including president and Technical Committee Chair. He has attended code hearings and is a tireless promoter and advocate for the industry.

In receiving the award, Doug said that when volunteering you "always get far more back than what you give." He added that during these challenging times, "there's never been a better reason for us to pull together as an industry."

Following the presentation of the Kozik award, Top Job Chair Mark Koenke took the stage to lead the awards presentation. Mark told the audience that this was a big year for the contest, with 69 companies submitting 184 entries. Gold, silver, and bronze awards were presented to winners in 15 categories. The grand finale of the night was the presentation of the Mitch Heitler Award for Excellence, which went to Eureka Forge. The winning entry was a hand-forged railing that featured Damascus steel leaves.

METALfab 2009 - Day 4

Friday was taken up by education and the completion of the trade show. In the afternoon, there were two big features — the Top Job Jamboree and the Video Shop Tours. During the jamboree all Top Job entries are flashed on a screen, and entrants have the opportunity to describe their work. At the video shop tours, attendees enjoy a video presentation of selected shops. The video tours have become an extremely popular event at METALfab conventions.

In the evening, everyone had the chance to wind down at the theme dinner and auction. The theme for this year was "dress as your favorite Hollywood star." If you thought you were seeing doubles, you weren't -- we had two Audrey Hepburns and two Hugh Hefner. In addition, we had a John Belushi and Brad Pitt, among others.

The theme dinner featured a great band that played everything from jazz to classic rock. The music was interspersed with the auction, which raised $11,945 for the NOMMA Education Foundation (NEF). All proceeds from the auction go toward NEF's education and research projects. A thanks to all the members and industry suppliers who donated items, particularly considering the difficult economic climate.

Members of the Upper Midwest Chapter wore
their "Field of Dreams" jerseys.

METALfab 2009 - Day 3

Thursday featured a day of education and the trade show. The morning started out with two excellent classes — scheduling and building codes. Other sessions for the day included CAD, ListServ use, driveway gates, and using technology to increase efficiency.

The Trade Show featured an extra bonus -- education sessions on the trade show floor. There was a class titled "NOMMA Online" and a program on copper repoussé.

METALfab 09 - Day 2

Cynthia Paul leads a session.

It's our second day of METALfab here in Long Beach, CA, and we are having a blast. The day started with a breakfast and our annual membership meeting. Included in the morning festivities was a keynote speech by Cynthia Paul of FMI Corp. A powerful and dynamic speaker, Cynthia talked about the things we needed to hear, and she helped reinforce the basics of winning and keeping customers. A few of her quotes from today include:

"Honesty means if the customer is not smart enough to ask, you tell them anyway."

"Customer services should always be 100%. Think of things that delight you as a customer."

"Don't try to protect your company. There's nothing worse than a frustrated customer."

"Go back and win some of your lost customers."

Afterwards, Cynthia led a series of several education sessions. At the same time, other classes included "Duties of a Lead Person," "E-Myth," and "Who Moved My Cheese," which focused on dealing with and accepting change.

At 4 p.m. the METALfab trade show opened, and attendees were treated to a wide range of exhibits that include gate operator equipment, heavy machinery, ornamental components, quick-setting cement, pre-fabricated doors, and much, much more.

The following are a few snapshots from the day:

METALfab - Day 1

The action begins! Tonight marks the first day of METALfab 2009, which is being held in beautiful Long Beach, CA. When we arrived yesterday we caught the tail-end of a record-setting heat wave, but now things are cooling down.

Attendees started arriving this morning and by the time of our 6 p.m. Welcome Reception we had a large crowd. It was great seeing many regulars as well as many first-time attendees.

For the NOMMA Board of Directors, today has been a long day. NOMMA's leaders held a Board meeting this morning, and then reconvened after lunch for an afternoon strategic planning session. A lot of work was accomplished during both meetings. Our leadership and staff are really working hard to keep NOMMA moving forward, even during these challenging economic times.

Tomorrow the real fun begins with the morning breakfast, business meeting, keynote speech, education classes, and the grand opening of the trade show. Stay tuned!

2009 Nominating Slate

The Nominating Committee is charged with presenting a slate of officers and directors to the membership each year during the business meeting. On behalf of the committee, chaired by Immediate Past President Breck Nelson, we are pleased to announce the following for 2009-2010:

Current President-Elect, Bob Foust, III, Bob’s Ornamental Iron Studio, Kansas City, KS, automatically assumes the office of President, as provided in the Bylaws.

President-Elect – Bruce Boyler, Boyler’s Ornamental Iron Inc., Bettendorf, IA
Vice-President/Treasurer – James Minter, Imagine Ironworks, Brookhaven, MS
Fabricator Director – Frank Finelli, Finelli Architectural Ironwork, Solon, OH
Fabricator Director – Mark O’Malley, O’Malley Welding & Fabricating, Yorkville, IL
Fabricator Director – Ray Michael, R & F Metals Inc., Clinton, MD
Supplier Director – Wayne Haas, Cleveland Steel Tool Co., Cleveland, OH

Continuing on the board for next year:
Immediate Past President – Terry Barrett, Royal Iron Creations, West Palm Beach, FL
Fabricator Director – J.R. Molina, Big D Metalworks, Dallas, TX
Fabricator Director – Will Keeler, Keeler Iron Works, Memphis, TN
Fabricator Director - Greg Terrill, Division 5 Metalworks, Kalamazoo, MI
Supplier Director – Cathee Speaks, King Architectural Metals, Dallas, TX
Supplier Director – Gina Pietrocola, D.J.A. Imports, Ltd., Bronx, NY

Rotating off the Board this year after serving on the board for seven years:
Immediate Past President Breck Nelson, Kelley Ornamental Iron, LLC., Peroria, IL

Congratulations to the Scholarship Winners

The Wagner Companies and the NOMMA Education Foundation are proud to announce the recipients of The Wagner Companies METALfab 2009 Grant.


Steve Stanley – Stanco Inc., Salem Oregon


Faran Van Zandt – Point of View Design, Eads, TN
Wade Ranck – Eagle Machine & Welding Inc., Newark, OH
James Moseley – Heirloom Stair & Iron, Campobello, SC

Because of the generosity of The Wagner Companies these members will be able to attend METALfab 2009 and participate in a valuable learning experience.

A thanks to the Wagner Companies for making this grant possible!

Welcome to NOMMA!

This is the blog of the National Ornamental & Miscellaneous Metals Association (NOMMA). We're glad you found us!

NOMMA is dedicated to promoting ornamental and miscellaneous metalwork and providing a positive and productive business environment for our members.

We are an industry trade association made up of nearly 1,000 members around the U.S. and in 15 foreign countries. We host the industry's annual convention and trade show and publish Ornamental & Miscellaneous Metal Fabricator, a high-end, glossy magazine.

Our members produce railings, driveway gates, stair system, and hundreds of other ornamental and miscellaneous metal projects. If you can put it on paper, our members can build it.