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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.

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History & Accomplishments

1978

Started Wayne Automatic Fire Sprinklers, Inc.

1979

Ocoee Property was Purchased

1980

Ocoee Office Opened

1982

First Salesman- February (’82)

1987

First Plastic Job- “Lotus Landing”

1988

WAFS hits first “Million” and Jacksonville Office opened

1993

Fort Myers Office Opened

1996

Concord, North Carolina Office Opened

1997

Pompano Beach Branch- Open House January, 10th, 1997

2002

Clark was appointed President of WAFS and the Tampa Branch opened without a physical office, just a PO Box

2003

First Waynestock

2007

Wayne Gey Awarded 2007 Annual Service Entrepreneur of the Year

2008

Member of the Central Florida Hunting Retriever Club (CFHRC), HRC, and AKC dog groups, winning the Grand Hunt Championship with his dog, Cooper

2009

Wayne was presented with the Golden Sprinkler Award

2009

Board of Chairman of the National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA) from 2007-2009

2017

Lynne Albanese article for Minutes Matter was published and Wayne gets his Minutes Matter tattoo

2019

Wayne Gey was inducted into the NFSA Hall of Fame

2021

Wayne Gey was named the FPC person of the year

2022

Clark Gey was named CEO and Justin Gey was named President

2022

Raleigh Office Opened

2023

Wayne may have passed on August 30th, 2023, but his impactful legacy is the memory he leaves behind and will forever be unforgettable.

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There are 86,400 seconds in a day. Let’s spend them wisely.

Wayne, Family, and Friends

“You know what to do, so do it”

– Wayne Gey