Conference and Trade Show Seminar Speakers

Joe Belcher Joe Belcher, President-Owner, JDB Code Services, Inc. is an independent code consultant with more than 25 years experience in code enforcement and development. He is a Florida Certified General Contractor and a certified Building Official. He is the former Building Official for Gainesville, FL. Belcher remains involved in the development of the Florida Building Code and is active in the development of the International Building and International Residential Codes. Special Note: Please come listen to Joe on Saturday, April 26 at the World of Hurricane Protection Trade Show and Conference.

Frank Bennardo Frank L. Bennardo, P.E., President, Engineering Express®. Frank has been an active consulting engineer in Florida for over 12 years. He has been a licensed general contractor. He has focused his talents on the development of an engineering company that utilizes state-of-the-art technology, cutting edge industry resources, and a highly skilled staff to meet the evolving needs of the industry. Engineering Express® is the realization of that vision now with 13 specialized departments and licenses in 27 states in the US.

Bob Boyer Bob Boyer is the Codes Product & Training Coordinator, as well as the Interim Assistant Deputy of Residential Plan Review for the Building Division of unincorporated Palm Beach County. He is part of the technical staff team that oversees product approvals, building code updates and training for the Division staff. His 22 years experience as a county employee included roles as a Building Inspector, Plans Examiner, and Residential Plan Review Supervisor. He is licensed by the State of Florida as a Code Administrator, Plans Examiner, and Inspector. Bob is currently serving as staff for the Building Code Advisory Board (BCAB) for Palm Beach County. He serves as the President for the Building Officials Association of Florida.

Michael Colitz, III Michael J. Colitz, III, Esq., Holland & Knight LLP. He is board certified in intellectual property and has experience in many aspects of intellectual property litigation at both the federal and state levels. He also has significant experience in patent application preparation and prosecution. Prior to becoming an attorney, Colitz worked as a registered patent agent for a Washington, DC, law firm, where he assisted in patentability, infringement and validity studies.

John Dearden John Dearden brings 18 years of fieldproven business experience—from in-home sales for William & Sonoma to national sales manager for Durasol Systems where in just seven years he took sales from $3 million to over $20 million. Most recently, at Eclipse Awning Systems the company has grown to over 180 dealers and more than $7.5 million in sales in just four years.

Debra Deardourf Debra Deardourf Faulk practices in the areas of intellectual property, contests and sweepstakes, media, technology and telecommunications with Holland & Knight LLP. Her intellectual property practice includes both litigation matters and trademark and copyright registrations, related licensing and domain name registrations and disputes. She is widely experienced in federal and state trademark and copyright searching, monitoring, application prosecution, registration, maintenance, portfolio management and rights enforcement. Further, she litigates all aspects of trademark and copyright disputes.

Jaime Gascon Jaime Gascon, P.E., Chief Building Code Compliance Office - Product Control Division. A State of Florida Professional Engineer, Gascon is chief for the Product Control Division of Miami-Dade County’s Building Code Compliance Office. He supervises the product approval functions in Miami-Dade County for issuance of product Notice of Acceptance (NOA) and oversees the Product Control Division’s Quality Assurance Unit, which conducts manufacturing plant, laboratory, and fabricating plant audits. He is a member of the Structural Technical Advisory Committee to the Florida Building Commission and has worked as a product control inspector since 1994.

Darius Grimes Darius Grimes, CRC, CSI, CDT, CWMS, Wind Mitigation Director for Skyetec Environmental Services. Grimes’ experience combines a 25+ year career in manufacturing, distribution and construction with a talent for complex design and innovative solutions. He specializes in the development of products, techniques and marketing strategies for mitigating damage from wind and water; improved technical training for contractors and consumers. He is a Florida Certified Residential Contractor, FLASH Blueprint For Safety- New Construction and Retrofit Contractor and Certified Windstorm Mitigation Surveyor.

Don Leggett Don Leggett, Vice President of Risk Management, Insurance Office of America, Chief Executive Officer A&H Electrical Services. Don Leggett has been a leader in the business world for 26 years. His award winning businesses include insurance agencies, electrical contracting, and an international manufacturing and distributing painting tool distributor ranked in the Fortune Magazine top 2000 . Don appears on Fox TV as an expert in business, insurance and disaster planning.

Adrian Lemon Adrian Lemon, Sales Executive, Elero USA. Lemon has been a sales executive with Elero USA since 1995 and has been primarily responsible for the development of sales and training applications to the rolling shutter industry. Elero USA is a subsidiary of Elero gmbh, a high-quality manufacture of motors and controls for many industrial applications. Previous to Elero USA, Lemon held positions in sales and sales management in the window treatments related industry selling to OEMs, fabricators and retailers.

John Lewis, Jr. John W. Lewis, Jr., Technical Director, American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA), the leading trade association dedicated to the promotion of quality window, door, curtain wall, storefront, and skylight products. Founded in 1936, the organization has been developing product performance standards for 70 years and has been certifying products for over 40 years. The association also engages in product testing, market research, and continuing education programs for industry professionals. Lewis joined AAMA’s professional staff in July of 2006 and is currently the AAMA representative to NFRC, ASHRAE and various other technical organizations.

Phil McMahan Phil McMahan, Regional Manager of Florida’s International Code Council office and managed the Southeastern Regional Office of Southern Building Code Congress International before the merger to ICC. He has 25+ years of construction and code administration experience and 18 years in the inspection and enforcement arena. He holds multiple Inspector and Plans Examiner certifications from ICC and the State of Florida. He also holds Chief Code Analyst certifications in Building, Mechanical and Plumbing as well as Chief Code Analyst certifications from Southeast/Southwestern Fire Chiefs Association. Phil has a residential contractor’s license and is a graduate of the Dave Buster School of Construction. He was the Building Official for two of the fastest growing cities in the country according to Dodge, Inc. He chaired the SBCCI Wind Committee, Building Code Design Committee, and the Computer Services Committee for a number of years. He served on the Board of Directors for the Building Officials Association of Florida and was the Building Official of the Year. His vast experience and knowledge of the construction industry serves him well in his current position as the regional manager of the Florida Field Office for the International Code Council.

David Olmstead David Olmstead, Public Affairs and Code Compliance Specialist, PGT, is a former member of the Southern Building Code Congress International (SBCCI), Building Officials Congress of America (BOCA) and a current member of the International Code Council (ICC), Construction Specifications Institute and Building Officials Association of Florida (BOAF) also serving on its Code Interpretation Committee. He also serves on the board of directors of the Fenestration Manufacturers Association.

George Pfaller George Pfaller , Alutech United, Inc., Before entering the shutter industry he worked for Weems & Plath Navigational Systems in procurement, research and development and traveled throughout Europe and the Far East for product development. He started Alutech United, Inc. in 1993 with Hans Schanz, Schanz GMBH, and Paco Orti, Alulux Espana. He also assisted in the purchase of East Coast Security Shutters in 1994. He was promoted to General Manager in 1998.

William York Wiliam H. York is a Florida State Certified Building Contractor—CBC 056072; State Certified Residential Construction Mitigation Inspector; State Certified Hurricane Evacuation Shelter Inspector; Certified Wind Damage Mitigation Inspector and Trainer. His company, W. H. York Consulting, Inc., consults on wind mitigation techniques and inspections with insurance companies, FLASH, IBHS, large developers and the University of Florida. He also teaches classes for FLASH and IBHS on Code Plus programs and Florida and South Carolina Safe Home programs and is an instructor for both inspectors and contractors in both states. He has taught Florida Building Code classes throughout the United States for contractors, building officials, engineers and architects and helped develop and teaches the Advanced Wind Loading Course. Special Note: Please come listen to Bill on Saturday, April 26 at the World of Hurricane Protection Trade Show and Conference.