May President's Message

Dear IAF Members and industry friends,

Time moves quickly and this year is no exception. We are already 1/3 of the way through the year so I thought I would take a moment to update you on the tremendous amount of work we have done already this year. January was a huge month for us as we officially rebranded to the Integration Association of Florida (IAF) and held an incredibly successful Annual Convention with 400 attendees (nearly double the attendance from 2023) and a sold-out tradeshow floor!

Our membership continues to grow at an aggressive pace! Through Q1 our Membership Dues are up 35% over 2023 and we have now crossed the 430 total member mark! We have really turned the association around and grown membership by over 60% in about 18 months. Associations face an uphill battle in today’s environment; however, IAF has tremendous momentum and an amazing leadership team that is driving results each week!

In addition, we have been focused on bringing new training courses to our members and the industry at large. I’m pleased to share that we have recently launched two new courses: Fire 101 as well as our BASA/FASA 6 Hour Renewal Online Course in Spanish!

Fire 101 is designed as an introduction to fire alarm systems from installation to monitoring. The purpose of this course it to provide basic knowledge of fire alarm components, how they work/function, and are regulated so new technicians can enter the field with an understanding of the system they are helping to install. We have intentionally made this course extremely reasonable starting at only $49 for IAF members so that you are able to get all of your new fire alarm technician hires through the course as part of your onboarding program! Please be sure to get them signed up right away!

You asked and we are thrilled to deliver our newly updated BASA/FASA 6 Hour Renewal Online Courses in Spanish as we recognize that many people learn best in their first language. We have a diverse industry that we serve with many people that prefer to take courses in Spanish and as such IAF’s Alarm Academy is already working on delivering additional courses in Spanish as well! Stay tuned for more!

Finally, I will close out with an update on the workforce development initiatives we have been investing in this year. Last month, you saw the commercial we are launching for the industry to attract more people to consider our industry as a viable career choice, and this month we are nearing completion of our new workforce development website that we will be driving lots of qualified traffic to. This site will educate those considering career options and help them get into the programs at the schools we partner with throughout the state as well as get them connected directly with IAF members!

If you are a current member of IAF, Thank You! If you are not a member yet, please click here to join so you can cash in on all the value we bring to members!

With gratitude,

Marvin Smith
IAF President