The Southeastern Fastener Association met for the first time in April, 1975, at a Holiday Inn in Atlanta, Georgia. Since that first meeting, the Association has held one or two general membership meetings each year at various locations throughout the southeastern United States with educational programs, golf and tennis, and socials being on the agenda. Popular annual events at these meetings are the “Distributor/Supplier Conferences” and “Table Top Trade Show”. In addition, the SEFA has awarded over 125 scholarships since 1989.
Through the first decade, meetings were held throughout the Southeast region and membership continued to grow.
1985 – The 10th Anniversary Celebration took place in Orlando, FL.
1988 – The Fastener Association changed it’s name and became The Southeastern Fastener Association.
1989 – The first scholarships were awarded and we had 28 applications. Also in 1989 – Rene Fernandez’s car was stolen at the show in Atlanta, GA.
1990 – Ed Ambrose joined the board of Directors and would go on to serve for 20 years.
1991 – Em Webb became the first Woman President of the Association and a Joint Meeting was held in Point Clear, AL.
1994 – Mickey Matheny kept everyone abreast of the status of Public Law 101-592.
1995 – Our 20th Anniversary Celebration took place at the Sawgrass resort in Florida.
1997 – A Joint Meeting was held in New Orleans, LA with The Southwestern Fastener Association and The National Fastener Distributors Association.
2000 – The 25th Anniversary Celebration took place in Myrtle Beach.
2001 – A Joint Meeting was held in Biloxi, Miss with The Southwestern Fastener Association.
2001 – The SEFA website was launched, mainly due to the help of Hal Jones of Peco Fasteners
2001 – Tony Adams joined the Board of Directors and in 2002 became the Chairman of the Scholarship committee and has chaired the committee until 2010.
2002 – Kathy Adams took over as Executive Director after 12 years of assisting Rebecca Williams, the original Executive Director.
Also in 2002 – The Board of Directors decided to eliminate having 2 meetings a year and went to 1 spring meeting a year instead. For years, there was a spring meeting at a resort style venue and a fall meeting at a “city-type” venue designed to be more convenient to get to as well as more “business” oriented. The fall meetings were discontinued. 2003 – Rebecca Williams was honored for 26 years of service.
After serving from 2001 to 2003 – Brian Crouch became the first President to have served 2 terms before becoming Chairman.
In 2003, The SEFA Sponsored business sessions and had a strong presence at the National Industrial Show East which was held in Orlando that year.
2005 – Our 30th Anniversary Celebration took place in Charleston, SC.
2007 – SEFA sponsors a golf tournament at the National Industrial Fastener Show East held in Atlanta, GA.
2008 – Daniel Stephens became the second President to have served 2 terms before becoming Chairman. Not to be outdone by Brian, Daniel returned to active duty in 2009 and became Treasurer, as a non-board position, hopefully for a very long time.
2010 – SEFA launches new website with new members-only areas and begins offering new distributor members with a Supplier Book of Value.
2011 – Nancy Rich becomes SEFA Executive Director.
2015 – SEFA Celebrates 40th Anniversary.
2020 – SEFA turns 45 during the year of the pandemic