Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/434930
Celebrating our 31st year of publication • Be sure to visit us online at www.worldfencenews.com JANUARY 2015 Group springs into action after learning about children's camp need for entry gate Members of the North Ameri- can Fence Contractors Association (NAFCA) have performed some in- spiring volunteer public service proj- ects, including replacing sections of worn chain link fence at Arlington National Cemetery. But the most recent – and among the most inspiring – was a good will event last October at which an auto- mated slide gate system was donated and installed at the Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, N.C. Victory Junction is an organiza- tion that helps enrich the lives of chil- dren with chronic medical conditions or life-threatening illnesses by provid- ing life-changing camp experiences that are exciting, fun and empower- ing, all in a safe and medically-sound environment, and all at no cost to the camper or their family. In the wake of the untimely death of NASCAR driver Adam Petty, Vic- tory Junction was founded in his hon- or by the Petty family in 2004 as they realized Adam's dream of creating a camp for children battling serious dis- ease or disability. Victory Junction is a member of Paul Newman's renowned SeriousFun Children's Network. When Chris Chapman, owner of Chapman Fence Co. in Jefferson, Ga., heard that Victory Junction Camp needed an automated gate for the doc- tors' facility entrance, he responded in a big way. Chapman contacted his friends and colleagues in the fence business to be a part of a collaborative effort. He reached out to Region 6 of NAFCA and nine training school stu- dents were brought in for a chance to experience a hands-on gate and gate operator installation. Instructors for the charitable proj- ect/learning experience were Bill Mc- Coy and Pat Evans of LiftMaster, Fred Ross, general manager of Southeast Access Technologies, Inc., and Chap- man himself. The students got hands-on experi- ence in gate foundation and wheel in- stallation, UL 325 and ASTM F2200 safety standards, operator mounting, free exit loop and photo- beam installa- tion, hard wir- ing, and keypad continued on page 6 Admiring the new cantilever slide gate are, left to right: Fred Ross, Southeast Access Technologies; Bill McCoy, LiftMaster; Rob Guerrero, LiftMaster; Herby Denning, Seegars Fence Co.; Randall Holman, Holman Fence; AT Fulcher, Chapman Fence Co.; Richard Petty (yes, that Richard Petty); Pat Evans, LiftMaster; Chris Chapman, Chapman Fence Co.; Herby Denning, Jr., Seegars Fence Co.; Sammy Franklin, C & C Fence; Anthony Verde, from EDI ; Rich Mattera, Sears Garage Doors; Fred Ezell, Sears Garage Doors; and Jeremy Toth, Sears Garage Doors. (Photo courtesy NAFCA) LiftMaster's CSL24V slide gate operator actuates the gate, which protects access to the Victory Junction doctors' facilities. (Photo courtesy LiftMaster) and card reader installation. The slide gate itself, valued at roughly $25,000, was custom built and donated by Chapman Fence Co. C h a p m a n designed the gate using the DuraGate Sys- tem. The bottom track cantilever system was welded to the upright post and the unit was pow- der coated blue. All of the individual parts, other than blue, were each pow- der coated separately, then assembled at Chapman Fence Co. The entire camp is painted in the colors of the new gate. "I wanted something other than a solid color for the kids," said Chapman. He noted that the aluminum pan- els of the gate were special ordered to ensure the spacing on the pickets met the ASTM F2200 standard. The powder coating was donated by Tom Harness of Sunset Powder Coating in Winder, Ga., while Mod- ern Fence Technologies of East Troy, Wis. donated the VJ gate logo, Lift- Master donated the CSL24V opera- tor and model KPR2000 single entry access control keypad and proximity reader, Fred Ross of Southeast Access Technologies, Inc. donated a SAT- GS100 Cellular Access System and Dustin Chapman donated labor and transportation. Herby Denning, Jr. of Seegars Fence Co. in Fayetteville, N.C. donated food and cooked a Low Country boil for the workers. The gate is amazing, said Victory Junction Chief Operating Offi cer Aus- tin Petty. It is not only incredibly func- tional, but it is beautiful. Its design is as unique as our camp. Mark Schumacher, Victory Junc- tion's Chief Development Offi cer, found the collaboration to be inspir- ing. It is incredible when you see one person's idea, in this case Chris Chap- man's, turn in to a project that brought together businesses and students, all to support our camp. It doesn't get any better than that. Petty said that following comple- tion of the project, Victory Junction hosted the students overnight and let them enjoy some of the camp's programs, from bowling to fi shing. Students also met NASCAR legend "The gate is amazing. It is not only incredibly functional, but it is beautiful. Its design is as unique as our camp." – Austin Petty, Victory Junction COO