PGI Officer Elections John Steinberg Interview.

[displayfireworks1]

The Pyrotechnic Guild International will be electing new officers this year. I contacted the people currently running for election. I requested interviews to tell my subscribers if they are elected what are their plans for the future of the PGI. There are given a choice of Skype or phone interview. I think if you are planning to run an organization as large as the PGI you need to address the members and potential new members. I will offer this opportunity to anyone running for office in the PGI. The members need to hear from their elected officers.
First up tonight is John Steinberg. John requested to be interviewed by phone.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfv8W6me-H8
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More information
Pyrotechnic Guild International Website
http://pgi.org/
PGI videos
http://pyrotalk.com/pyrotechnic-guild-international-convention.php

[djsmurf]

Great idea and video Dave.

[Shooter]

Did I hear John say they have roughly 3000 members in the PGI? That seems awful low for the leading association in this industry. I plan to join them next month. My one beef with their website is their training site where there is a listing of PGI Certification classes listed. It doesn't appear to be utilized much by display companies listing their training dates. Either they don't use it or,they aren't aware of it. Newbies like me are searching for these classes and planning for time off to attend. It would be wonderful if you could go to one site and find these.

[displayfireworks1]

Everyone please feel free to post your concerns if you are or plan to be a Pyrotechnic Guild International member. I am hoping they will read it. If all goes well in the near future I will post other interviews. This is why years back I was in favor of having a paid presidential or administrator position to run the PGI. An organization of this size needs full time involvement.

[Westpapyro]

I'll join when they bring the bunny shoot back, lol. See Dave's video!

[displayfireworks1]

Here is the video. The PGI convention is in the same location this year, LaPorte Indiana. Who knows they may chose to bring the Bunny Blasto back.
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Video is from 2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VFJNT0Lj14
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http://pix.epodunk.com/locatorMaps/in/IN_59596.gif
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Join the PGI
http://pyrotalk.com/join-pgi.php
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I think I still have that Jackalope T-Shirt. LOL

[Northern Sky]

Did I hear John say they have roughly 3000 members in the PGI? That seems awful low for the leading association in this industry. I plan to join them next month. My one beef with their website is their training site where there is a listing of PGI Certification classes listed. It doesn't appear to be utilized much by display companies listing their training dates. Either they don't use it or,they aren't aware of it. Newbies like me are searching for these classes and planning for time off to attend. It would be wonderful if you could go to one site and find these.

If you contact the 1.3 vendors near you they typically do their own training. I am not sure how close to Lynch Imports you are but they do their own training. In the past it was not a "PGI" training but if you need insurance and purchase productt from there, they may offer it to you. Either way that is where I would go if I were you. David Lynch is here off and on. they were my first training years ago and they also have solid product to choose from.



I'll join when they bring the bunny shoot back, lol. See Dave's video!

I don't think "Bunny Blast" will make a return.

[davidlynch]

If you contact the 1.3 vendors near you they typically do their own training. I am not sure how close to Lynch Imports you are but they do their own training. In the past it was not a "PGI" training but if you need insurance and purchase productt from there, they may offer it to you. Either way that is where I would go if I were you. David Lynch is here off and on. they were my first training years ago and they also have solid product to choose from.

Thanks for the kind words :)

Shooter, part of the reason that there's some confusion about where/how/who/when training is available is that there's not really a standard, accepted curriculum, in large part because getting all the states on the same page is like herding cats. Both PGI and APA have established courses and offer training, and they're both really, really good. They both pull from the same source material, and are quite similar. Neither, though, is sufficient enough to be accepted by the Ohio State Fire Marshal for continuing education - because they don't include any training in the state-specific rules, regs, and procedures.

Since we're close to Cincinnati, we've got a lot of folks that need that Ohio box checked - so the course I teach covers the Ohio stuff. It's not stuff you need to know to shoot a show in Indiana, for example, but the checklist that's part of the Ohio permit application is a valuable tool - so it's good to use.

There's also some confusion about what qualifies as acceptable continuing education for PGI certification purposes, but it's not because the information's not out there. From their training website (http://www.pgi.org/training/): "Recently, there has been some confusion about what types of classes are acceptable as continuing education credits towards renewal of your Display Operator Certification. The class must reiterate or reinforce the skills and knowledge utilized by lead operators. The course must be relevant to being a display operator. Acceptable classes include: safety training provided by fireworks companies, DOT HazMat training as it specifically relates to the transportation of fireworks, classes pertaining to ATF regulation compliance as these regulations relate to conducting a display and classes based on NFPA 1123 or 1126 codes as well as the PGI DOC itself."

So, basically, once you're PGI "certified", most courses out there count to keep you "certified."

There's a reason I used those quotes, and it's not that I think it's an inappropriate word to use - it's - well, it's complicated. So, like, what does it really mean? APA has chosen, from an institutional standpoint, to not use that word. I think that's smart. When you're using that word, you're getting into a fuzzy area from a liability perspective. It's not super likely that if someone were PGI "certified" as a display operator, and they hurt or killed someone while shooting a display, that a successful suit could be brought against PGI alleging negligence in improper training - but it's possible, and who wants to spend a bunch of money on jerkass lawyers finding out? Nobody, that's who. Ultimately, both PGI and APA have the same goal - to establish something that's accepted by all states as evidence of sufficient training and experience. We're not there yet, and don't know if we ever will be. These organizations, and industry generally, are usually more qualified to determine whether someone's ready to run a show than state, federal, or local officials of any sort will ever be... but just because that makes sense doesn't mean the states are willing to just throw their hands up and (sometimes) miss out on an opportunity to create licensing schemes that generate income and create government jobs.

So, where was I going with this?

Oh. Um.

It's probably fair to say that all training courses are pretty much the same, at least in that the should be covering the same material, though some have state-specific additions... and they're all probably sufficient for whatever you'd need. As I understand it, PGI "certification" is acceptable as a substitute for some training or continuing education in some states, but your mileage WILL vary widely - and there's no sort of wallet card or what have you from anyone that's going to make you a professional display operator, or substitute for state licensure where it's required.

So, depending on what part of Kentucky you're in, there's Casabella (http://casapyro.com/) - though I'm not sure if they offer a class. Wayne's World (http://www.waynesworldfireworks.com/) is in Brazil, IN but I don't know if they offer a class either. Man, these guys are smart! I wish I could just focus on demo on demo day. Rozzi's Famous Fireworks does a shooter school (http://www.rozzifireworks.com/?converturl=Shooters_School_2016), as does Arthur Rozzi Pyrotechnics (http://www.arthurrozzipyrotechnics.com/training.html). Pretty sure Ace Pyro (http://www.acepyro.com/) and Fire Art LLC (http://www.fireartcorp.com/) have courses, but they're a bit farther away. Kellner's (http://www.kellfire.com/) I'm sure does one, A&M (http://www.ampyro.com/classinfo.html) over in Missouri does one too.

These are all good dudes, and you'd be well served taking any of their classes. And, of course, PGI is in La Porte, Indiana this year - so if you can wait until August, that's always an option too! Our class will be April 30th but as you can no doubt tell I will talk your ear off about fireworks if you give me just half a chance, so that's a problem. If you're willing to risk it sign up for Lynch Imports email newsletter at lynchimportsllc.com or just email me david@lynchimportsllc.com and we'll get you on the list once signups become available (probably within a week or so, depending on how many nights I stay up way too late messing around on the internet).

OK, enough blah blah from me for now :)

[Shooter]

Thanks Northern Sky and David for your replies. David, that was a long-winded appraisal to needling me to participate in your class.:D
Consider it job accomplished.
I was wanting classes that followed PGI guidelines. Your explanation changed my thinking on this.
I will follow through on your invitation and submit an e-mail to you soon.

[davidlynch]

Lol. To update and modify the message of my prior post, which really has nothing to do with the opening topic, I offer the following:

I've looked into the PGI certification and training process a bit more, thought about it, and talked with Dr. Steinberg. After doing so, I'll say this - the PGI certification process and the thinking behind the curriculum is *light years* past where I've been in my perspective on training/teaching. The most important thing I see is that when you take a PGI certification course in PA, or California, or KY - it's the same course, taught the same way. This has real value and is something I aspire to. While it might be entertaining to listen to me ramble about the various and sundry codes and regulations and my experiences as a display operator, it's not as valuable as a carefully constructed consistent curriculum taught properly.

So, it's not too late to change your mind, Shooter! Come next year, I say - it will be better than this year :)

[davidlynch]

Nevermind, Shooter - it looks like I'll be able to get up to speed by this year, and will be teaching the PGI Display Operator Certification Course April 30. WOO.

[Northern Sky]

Well done David.

From taking your course and a couple since, I knew it wouldn't take much for you to adapt to be a PGI cert instructor. Your material was All ready pretty close. PGI is just a bit more structured and repeatable.

[Shooter]

Nevermind, Shooter - it looks like I'll be able to get up to speed by this year, and will be teaching the PGI Display Operator Certification Course April 30. WOO.

That's good to hear David. I'm still on board.