Please note that images and videos used in this article were captured prior to the U.S. outbreak of COVID-19. 

Bill Fowler, Southwire senior training instructor and IEC business partner, was recently voted on as a trustee to the Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC) Foundation. Fowler’s participation in this foundation is an example of Southwire’s commitment to give back to the communities in which we live and work and provide educational opportunities to individuals who need it most. 

“The IEC Foundation gives back to students in the program that are struggling to pay for their education or get the right tools to have a successful career,” said Fowler. “By serving on this board, I am able to make a direct impact on their lives and help them be successful. As I proceed further along in my career and get closer to retirement, I want to give meaning to my life’s work. By giving back to these students and helping them with their future, I can truly say I achieved that.”

The foundation is a branch of the IEC, a nonprofit trade association federation with 52 educational campuses and affiliate local chapters across the country. The IEC represents about 3,500 member businesses that employ over 80,000 electrical and systems workers throughout the United States and educates over 12,000 electricians and systems professionals each year through world-class training programs. 

Southwire has been involved with the IEC National Association since 2012 and, because of their extensive involvement working with students on training opportunities, the company is a platinum member in the IEC National Association. Since Fowler joined Southwire in 2012, he has participated in the IEC training opportunities with chapters across the country to help educate students on innovations Southwire offers to the industry. During the pandemic, Southwire stepped in to offer many virtual opportunities, including forum discussions for members, participation in member round table discussions dealing with factors caused by pandemic and online trainings for students and members. According to Fowler, “Southwire had to find a way to help members of IEC and also shift our training resources to benefit the chapters for students. As our founder Mr. Richards Sr. would say, let’s get on with the job, and we did.”

In addition to this involvement required for his job, Fowler chooses to serve locally in Georgia as a Board member on The Georgia Industry Foundation for Training (GIFT) program, the IEC Georgia chapters’ 501c3 nonprofit organization. On a national level, he also serves on the IEC’s Safety and Partner committees along with managing their relationship with Southwire. Because of his continued work and personal involvement with the IEC, he was recently voted on as a trustee for IEC Foundation, the organization’s national foundation that provides grant funding and state-of-the-art equipment to IEC training centers across the country.

According to Spenser Villwock, the IEC’s CEO, by adding Fowler as a trustee, their Foundation is the beneficiary of a tremendous asset to help lead and guide their nonprofit mission forward. Fowler was unanimously elected to the foundation and will serve a mission to advance grants, scholarships and programs that contribute to the growth of the electrical and systems contracting industry and allows all students equal access to education, apprenticeship and training.

“Bill is exceptionally talented and holds such an infectious passion for helping make the difference that our organization seeks to serve and, in his short time as a trustee, Bill has benefitted us immediately,” said Villwock. “He has jumped in immediately with both feet and has begun to help lead the group to advance our work closer to the vision we share – creating a brighter future for all. We are grateful to Bill for his commitment to our mission and we are honored to have him as a trustee for the IEC Foundation.”

Pictured Above: Spenser Villwock (left) and Bill Fowler (right).

To see what a typical day-in-the-life looked life for Fowler working with the IEC prior to the pandemic, check out the video below!
 

To learn more about Southwire’s commitment to giving back, visit www.southwire.com/sustainability.