NFA Staff

Operations Manager | Expo Coordinator - Allyson Cowgill

Email: [email protected] & [email protected]

Allyson joined the NFA in June 2024, taking point on the bimonthly newsletters, website design, and social media accounts. She is focused on growing the NFA's online presence, as well as modernizing our digital impact. She recently accepted the dual position of Operations Manager and Expo Coordinator, so she'll be a face you see often! While she has only been with the NFA for a few months, Allyson has been involved in the firework industry for over 10 years (by way of marriage). She is married to the NFA treasurer, Kurt, and they have one son together, Rhett. She looks forward to seeing you all at our annual conventions and is available to help with whatever you may need!

Safety Director - Howard Fry

Email: [email protected]

Committees

Financial Committee

Making Sparks Fly: Behind the Scenes of the National Fireworks Association

Have you ever wondered who keeps the lights on (and the fireworks booming) at the National Fireworks Association? Well, let me tell you about an amazing group of dedicated folks who work tirelessly behind the scenes - the Financial Committee! Think of us as the sparklers that keep the whole show glowing. We're not just number-crunchers in jeans; we're passionate pyro-enthusiasts who believe in making every event bigger and better than the last.

"Behind every spectacular fireworks display, there's a team making sure we have the resources to light up the sky."

Our committee is like a well-choreographed fireworks show itself:

We coordinate fundraising that *pop* with excitement
We light up new sponsorship opportunities
We fuel the annual Auction that brings our community together

So, grab your safety glasses and join in on the fun with this team that helps keep the National Fireworks Association burning bright, one fundraising project at a time!

For more information about the Financial Committee or to join, contact Sabrina Nickels at [email protected] or 989-280-1001.

Membership Committee

The Membership Committee is tasked with supporting the NFA Board of Directors with any tasks that benefit the overall membership. In the first year of the committee's existence we have been tasked with the following:

Guidelines that govern overall committee functions; how they perform duties, regular reports to the board on committee tasks, and new committee member appointment/election procedures.
NFA Member's Code of Conduct
Convention Planning in various stages
Member Acquisition and Retention
NFA Sponsorships
Convention On-Site preparation and Set Up

For more information about the Membership Committee or to join, contact AJ Burns at [email protected].

Government Affairs Committee

The NFA's Government Affairs Committee (GAC) was created to watch for regulatory changes, interact with the multitude of government agencies that regulate fireworks, and to keep NFA members informed of changes to the regulations than may impact NFA members. The GAC meets regularly with agencies such as the ATF, DOT / PHMSA, CPSC and other’s to advocate for the fireworks industry.

One of the current GAC tasks is to work with the ATF to define what an employee is in regards to the “employee possessor questionnaire” (EPQ) form that “employees” are required to complete when they handle ATF regulated fireworks. They revised the required form to ask “are you an employee”. If you answer “No” the ATF does not does not process the form. It is a common practice for fireworks companies to work with display operators that are subcontractors per IRS rules. ATF does not have a definition of an employee, and the form has lead to a lot of confusion. When the ATF presented at the NFA expo, they provided an answer defining employee that was later stated to be in error. If the ATF does not know who is and is not an employee, how can we as know how to properly answer the “are you an employee” question on the required form?

The GAC leadership recently met with PHMSA (see image below) to discuss the new portal system they are transitioning to. If you missed the GAC release on that subject you can find more info at https://nfa.memberclicks.net/announcements

In addition, Aaron Enzer and Jacob Dell also serve as our NFPA representatives and regularly attend required meetings, giving the NFA a much needed voice. They just attended the meeting to revise NFPA 1123 and NFPA 1124 for the next edition that is scheduled to be released next year.

If you are interested in becoming a future NFA committee member or volunteer submit your request at https://nfa.memberclicks.net/volunteer

Veterans Committee

We are trying to gather veterans to speak up for fireworks. Too many communities and agencies are attempting to "Champion" their cause by defending veterans from the noise. We need the support of any willing veterans to sign our petition to show we stand for everyone's rights to celebrate safely and how they choose.

WE NEED YOU !

Please sign our petition here: Veterans for Fireworks and join the NFA Veterans group and ask any veterans you know that support fireworks to also join the group.

For more information or to join the Veterans Committee, contact David Dumm at [email protected] or 1-803-255-0008