Wayne Gey was a family man, but family to him reached far and wide. He established Wayne Automatic Fire Sprinklers in 1978 and grew the family business to over 700 team members in Florida and North Carolina. His genuine love for people and helping them achieve their dreams is what set Wayne Automatic up for greatness. He believed that if you hired people who cared, you could teach them the fire sprinkler business. One day, he’d be in a board room strategizing with other business leaders, and the next day, “hanging pipe” if needed. He lived his motto, “if you take care of the customer, everything else will take of itself.” He was so proud of his son, Clark, for following in his footsteps, leading, and growing Wayne Automatic well beyond his wildest dreams. Some of their best strategy sessions occurred in the Georgia woods in a side by side together.
He was also a trailblazer in the fire protection industry, never satisfied with the status quo. He was the Board Chairman of the National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA) from 2007-2009 and the 2009 recipient of the Golden Sprinkler Award, the industry’s highest award. He was also a founding member of Common Voices, an advocate group that shared stories of tragedy in the hopes of preventing other families from suffering the disastrous impact of fire. His mission was to save lives. Wayne was soft spoken and humble but when he spoke, boy, did everyone listen. He challenged you, and not only made you want to get better, but he also helped you do so. He had a formidable handshake and an impish smile. He had the uncanny ability to make you feel like the only person in the room and truly cared about you and your family. Wayne spent his whole life helping others and his generosity came straight from the heart. This generosity reflected who he was. His guiding principle in everything he did was creating opportunities for others. Developing people and helping them make their dreams come true gave him deep satisfaction. He was both a teacher and a lifelong learner. He was happiest on his ranch in Montverde, on a tractor or spending time with his family, friends, cows, and dogs. Aside from growing his successful company, Wayne was a member of the Central Florida Hunting Retriever Club (CFHRC), HRC and AKC dog groups, winning the Grand Hunt Championship with his dog, Cooper in 2008.
