January President's Message
Welcome to 2026! With all the holiday celebrations behind us, it's time to kick things into gear. I wanted to say that the first few months of this year are full of IAF activities.
For starters, we have our convention in mid-February. I am very excited as this will be the biggest and best convention ever! This convention provides the best Education and Industry Networking in the South. I love walking around and just constantly running into the many friends and colleagues we have collected along the years of service to our beloved Industry. Our expanded show floor is SOLD OUT for the 4th year in a row, and we have packed more trainings and discussion forums than ever into our schedule.We will also host the 2nd Memorial Golf Event dedicated to Pierre Bellemare, which raises funds for our Youth Scholarship Program & SIAC! Unlike last year’s golf tournament, we are hosting the event at the local Topgolf. The Topgolf venue allows for the less “serious” golfers to also participate and have fun. Note to the serious golfers, the 2027 event will be at a real Golf Course, so please calm down. On Tuesday, February 17th we will hold our General Assembly Meeting and Election! Tuesday night we will have the opportunity to get dressed up and celebrate our IAF Honors Award recipients. This is special for me, as I really enjoy the entire nomination process, where we can truly see how many amazing people make up our industry.
Shortly after our Convention, Spring will also mark our 2nd Annual AlarmPAC Clay Shoot fundraiser. I really have to say that last year’s event was a blast! Get it? Seriously, it was a lot of fun, and we raised more money that day than we had raised for the AlarmPAC in years. On the fun side, our esteemed association’s mission is to better our industry, but one of the side benefits is all the friendship and comradery that naturally develops. This event definitely highlighted this effect. I would also encourage folks not familiar with clay shooting to participate, it is not as intimidating as it sounds, and once you get the hang of it, it is sincerely a lot of fun.
On the not so positive side, we are all hands-on deck monitoring the developments of the 2026 Legislative Session. The Deregulation Bill (HB 607), is at the top of our list. As of this writing, the bill passed the Industries & Professions as well as the State Administration Budget Subcommittees and is moving to the House Commerce Committee next. Our lobbyist Eric Prutsman, and Legislative Committee Chair Grady Medcalf will represent IAF as soon as the Bill is up in front of the Commerce Committee. Rest assured, we will be heard!
In closing, as my second to last Handshake, I wanted to emphasize the old adage, “Time flies when you’re having fun.” I’m mindful that the end of my presidency is just around the corner. I’m approaching the finish line with gratitude and excitement, and I look forward to handing the reins to our current VP and President-Elect, Farshid Pourgolafshan, who I know will be a fantastic President. Until then, I will savor every remaining day.
Raising the Bar - One Achievement at a Time,
Diego R. del Pino
IAF President