Page 40 - IEC Insights Nov-Dec21_WEB

2021 IEC NATIONAL AWARDS INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

IEC NATIONAL LEGACY AWARD
GARY GOLKA

IEC of Arizona

Gary Golka was honored with the 2021 IEC National Legacy Award Gary started working with IEC in his local chapter, IEC of
at the the 2021 IEC Convention & Expo. Arizona. Gary served as Apprenticeship and Training chair, has
served as chapter president twice and is always willing to help
It's hard deciding where to begin with Gary Golka. He’s a however needed.
renaissance man who seems to have done it all. Besides being
a successful electrical contractor in Mesa, Arizona, he has Gary has given his time, money, and other resources to make IEC’s
greatly impacted IEC National as a whole. Gary has a passion for training our industry’s best. He’s made things happen by being
apprenticeship and training. And not just any training. He’s been a on the National A&T Committee then serving as chair for several
driving forces in making IEC’s training truly world class. years before moving to IEC’s National Executive Committee where
he served for five years.
One of the key selling points for electrical contractors joining
IEC is its education program. For Gary, it was imperative to bring Through his leadership, IEC has made significant changes to its
IEC’s training programs into the 21st century and offer continuing four-year program. Gary has also been key to developing our
value to our members and chapters. Besides the many courses ESTS and leadership courses, implementing changes to the AOY
and programs that Gary helped produce, his greatest legacy is completion, the CPE exam, and the creation of our online CMS
the Content Management System (CMS). He was one of the key system. It’s safe to say all have impacted most IEC contractors and
stakeholders to push IEC in this direction. An although it took some all IEC chapter.
chapters time to see the value of the CMS, all chapters simply would
not have been able to complete their 2020 school year following
the COVID pandemic without IEC’s CMS system being in place.

38 Insights Magazine | November/December 2021 | www.ieci.org