letter from the editor

New Era for IHPA

Frank Storms has the perfect name for someone in the hurricane protection industry. He’d be the first to admit it, too; although he claims there is no connection between the two. Storms got into the industry, basically, the same way as everyone else: in response to the incredible need for repair, reconstruction and wind-storm mitigation following the devastation in southern Florida from Hurricane Andrew.

But Storms did more than just move his company into Dade County and incorporate hurricane protection into his business. He got involved. First it was with the Aluminum Association of Florida (AAF)—at the time, “the only trade association that was addressing any of the concerns for the hurricane protection industry at all,” he recalls. His tenure with AAF eventually led to his election as AAF president on the state level, and when he decided not to run for re-election he was asked to get involved in a whole new way: the creation of the International Hurricane Protection Association (IHPA), the only trade association solely dedicated to the interests of the hurricane protection industry as well as public welfare and safety.

It has been five years since then, and Storms has served as president of this new association during these important first years. Almost right from the start it began fulfilling its goal of being the voice of the industry (its eyes and ears, too) when the state of Florida started unifying its building code. Admittedly, Storms hasn’t done it alone. He gratefully acknowledges and commends the many men and women professionals who have helped build the IHPA to be as strong as it (and the industry) has ever been.

Now it’s time for Storms to move on. More appropriately, it’s time for the IHPA to draw new ideas from new blood, as Storms puts it himself (see page 12). That has been his intention all along. As immediate past president Storms will remain very active in the association, but now its new president, Bill Feeley, Eastern Metal Supply, will be at the helm.

There are plenty of challenges ahead for the IHPA, still a young trade association. Product approval, building permitting and installer training rank among the most important. There’s the additional challenges presented by industry members from the Texas Gulf Coast to Long Island, NY and out into the Caribbean. “It’s going to be never-ending,” Storms says. “The industry is going to need the IHPA forever.”

Perhaps the most immediate challenge for the IHPA, however, will be getting us through the 2005 storm season!
Howard and Kerri