Page 64 - enLIGHTenment Magazine - April 2017

it’s a brEEzE

Association (ALA)’s Education Commi ee for sev- salesperson knows more about ceiling fans, then
eral years, Irie resolved – with the help of industry they will know where the customers’ pain points

insiders such as fellow ALA members Fanima- are and therefore be able to sell a be er-quality
tion President Nathan Frampton and Director of fan,” Frampton states. “For the installer, it will be

Product Management-Ceiling Fans/Kichler John as speci c as listing the set of tools you need and
Moody – to tackle the problem.
where the ladder should be placed — whatever

Irie wrote an o cial le er to the ALA in Febru- will make the installation process smoother.”

ary 2016 explaining the situation and volunteering Once the coursework is nalized, Frampton
to be part of the solution. Soon a Ceiling Fan Edu- and Irie say it will be customized to qualify for

cation Task Force was formed. The rst “o cial” CEU credits through organizations such as The
meeting took place at Lightovation in June, fol- American Institute of Architects (AIA), American

lowed by further discussions at the Lighting & Fans Society of Interior Designers (ASID), and Interna-

Networking Event in Chicago in late September.
tional Association of Lighting Designers (IALD),
The education process is being developed for among others.

two separate audiences: one would provide the “I think the certi cation program will get every-
necessary education for showroom sales per- one on the same page so that the right people are

sonnel to comprehensively relay the details and specifying the right product and manufacturers

bene ts of each type of ceiling fan to customers; don’t need to have all of these ‘defectives’ that
the other track would certify electricians and aren’t defective, and I won’t get a phone call from

other trade professionals as ceiling fan installers.
people saying that they can’t sleep because their
“The coursework would be targeting two dif- ceiling fan doesn’t work,” Irie states.

ferent skillsets,” Nathan Frampton explains. The Task Force’s goal is to have the textbooks
Nathan Frampton,
Fanimation President
“The bo om line on the retail level is that if the
and program ready by 2019. 

“For the

installer, it

will be as

speci c as

listing the set

of tools you

need and

where the

ladder should

be placed

— whatever

will make the

installation

process

smoother.”

62 enLIGHTenment Magazine | april 2017
www.enlightenmentmag.com