Kathy Schaefer, COO of Glawe Awnings and Tents, Fairborn, Ohio. Photography by Betsy Hansen.
What’s so helpful about IFAI are the contacts and networking. I’ll go to the tent shows or awning shows and ask other business owners if they’re experiencing the same challenges and/or trends that we are at Glawe. For instance, we’ve had some issues lately with finding the right thread for an awning project. I talked to other IFAI members to find out what thread they were using. I talked to one member who had just spent six months checking thread and was kind enough to share the results. That saved me a lot of research.
I also have about 10 IFAI member companies I subcontract tents from when I need access to extra inventory. And I’ve contacted IFAI Tent Rental Division managing director Jan Schieffer to connect me with member companies when I needed help resolving a permitting issue. You call Jan and you can pretty much get connected with a member anywhere in the country to help you out, and that’s invaluable.
