Bill Fast, retired founder of Willmar Windows and C.P. Loewen award winner, was thanked by Fenestration Manitoba at its Holiday Networking Event on Dec. 11 for his generous donation of 50 backpacks towards the association's drive to help the homeless through Siloam Mission. The donation was valued at $2,000 and led all donors. In all, FenMan collected 347 backpacks, each packed with items such as soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, towels and other essentials to make life a little easier for Winnipeg's homeless.

Dec. 3, 2018 - Mrs. Jennifer Small, President of Fenestration Canada, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Stéphane Labelle as Executive Director.

In recent months, we have been involved in many activities, including energy regulations, building codes, tariffs, WinDoor planning, membership recruitment and installation certification.

The first eight months of the year have blown up as the GreenON program has blown up.

Sept. 11, 2018 - The American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) and the Insulating Glass Manufacturers Alliance (IGMA) have jointly released a series of web pages providing a general overview of the standards, specifications and test methods used in the window, door and skylight industry related to glass and glazing systems. A Consumer's Guide to Understanding Glass Standards Used in Windows, Doors and Skylights is now available as a complimentary resource on AAMA's and IGMA's websites for the industry to share with consumers.

It all kind of came together with a little bit of luck and lots of elbow grease including the usual amazing organizing work by the FenMan Executive Director, Nancy Zubriski.  Blue skies throughout, perfect temperature, little or no wind, well manicured greed St Boniface golf course, larger turnout than 2017, a dinner with excellent food, great support by the supply industry AND a recognition of Aurele Robin as Builder of the Fenestration Manitoba organization!  What more could you ask for?  FenMan president Gary Blad provided the MC leadership including the presentation to Aurele. 

Fenestration Manitoba will recognize the contributions of Aurele Robin of Dominion Windows and Doors at its golf event Sept. 5 in Winnipeg.

Fenestration Manitoba has continued to grow and evolve over the course of the past six years from its creation as a formal organization representing the regional window and door manufacturing industry. At the executive meeting this week, a new president was appointed: Gary Blad of Loewen Windows. Gary has extensive experience in and knowledge of the industry and brings many skills to this important role for Manitoba.

I am honoured and excited to be Fenestration Canada’s President in this important and dynamic time for our association. We have a clear mission to support our members across Canada by providing education, networking, and technical resources.

SAWDAC/Window Wise has trained 2,700 installers since December 2017.

The latest Fenestration Manitoba event was particularly rewarding for a number of reasons. First, Nancy Zubriski, executive director, pulled together a wonderful mix of very well-qualified speakers that allowed the topic to be particularly well addressed from multiple angles including real life. Secondly, a room full of high-level window and door manufacturing personnel took a half of a day to participate and then responded with some very gratifying comments.  Chris Howell, director of operations at Alliance Door Products, said, “Thanks again for all of your efforts in pushing our industry forward. John (Howell) and I both really enjoyed the seminar. Great presentations and informative content. We will be sharing our information today with our director of HR in Lynden to bring some awareness to the upcoming changes.” 

Fenestration Canada held its Spring Conference June 4 through 6 at the Hotel Arts in Calgary. The event drew around 130 window and door manufacturers and installers, and their suppliers, to educational seminars, association meetings, and social networking opportunities.

Mar. 9, 2018 -  Dean Lewis of the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) passed away March 7 after battling cancer. He spent 45 years in the fenestration industry and was 69 years old.

One could feel the vibe and excitement in the air at WinDoor 2017. From a Fenestration Canada perspective, we can honestly say that it was a resounding success. The atmosphere on the show floor was positive and exhibitors on the whole were happy with the traffic. Many thanks to the WinDoor Committee for working diligently with Zzeem to deliver an event that surpassed our expectations!

The best place to start this newsletter would be the new Green Ontario rebate program.