Notable Talent

Spray Foam Magazine – Winter 2020 – There are some incredibly talented sprayers in the industry, and Spray Foam Magazine would like to acknowledge these three for their aptitude, determination, and pure love of the industry. They will surely continue to inspire us with their enthusiasm and pure talent while donning some great swag given to them by Spray Foam Insurance, Akurate Dynamics, and Spray Foam Systems.

Jeremiah Stringer — Rite Way Insulation Services (Lufkin, TX)

How long have you been in the spray foam industry? I have been in the industry since 2014. I started helping my family when I was 13 years old. I would help do everything from clean-up to shaving walls and prep work. I started installing foam when I was 15 years old.

What was your last and biggest achievement at work? Wow! That’s hard to say. I guess my last and biggest achievement was spraying six inches of open-cell on a 6,000-square-foot roof deck of an existing house in 12 hours. That was a long day, but it felt really good to complete a job of that size in one day.

What has been your greatest challenge this year (2020)? Learning to troubleshoot issues on the jobsite with the equipment and the job itself. I’m trying to learn the “ins and outs” of all of the equipment so I can handle all issues on site as they may arise.

What gets you up in the morning? The drive to be better today than I was yesterday. I want my craft not only to be executed properly, but I also want to be one of the best in the industry, and with all of the amazing sprayers out there, I strive to meet and exceed that bar.

What is your favorite aspect of your job? I just absolutely love spraying foam and being in a different place and meeting new people every day.    

Jennifer Edwards – Glenn Insulation (Charleston, MO)

How long have you been in the spray foam industry? In 2013 I learned of the spray foam industry and in 2014 I was able to see a job being installed. That is when I fell in love with the entire process. I started working with Glenn Insulation, owned by Scott Glenn out of Charleston, Missouri in 2016. I am grateful to Scott for giving me a chance to represent his company as a woman sprayer.

What was your last and biggest achievement at work? I believe my biggest achievement at work has been accepting that not all jobs are going to look the way I want them to. That as long as I have installed a properly mixed on ratio consistent install, that the looks may not always be perfect. I am working on reaching my highest yield production. In more cases than not, trying to get that perfectly skilled spray can cost you yield. Fast is slow and slow is fast, resulting in a quality install that is a beautiful spray reaching your maximum yield for the job. That is what I push for as an individual sprayer.

What has been your greatest challenge this year (2020)? My greatest challenge this year has been continuously guiding myself to stay calm when things aren’t going my way, to achieve this I try to take every job one step at a time from start to finish, with the help of my partner Willy, he pushes me and motivates me to stay calm and do my best.

What gets you up in the morning? I would have to say that would be knowing that I inspire so many people in the industry, women and men. I feel that if I ever show a slack in my ability to get up and push through the day even on the most difficult jobs in the public eye as a sprayer that the respect I have earned in this industry wouldn’t be as valuable to me as it is now. I take great honor in the respect that I have earned within the SFWW family and work hard to maintain that respect. The amount of messages and calls I receive for help in trouble shooting equipment, reading foam etc. is in my opinion one of the highest honors a sprayer can acquire.

What is your favorite aspect of your job? My favorite aspect of this job is and has been so far, being a woman in a male dominated industry. I try to represent all women in the industry as a whole, reaching out to as many women as I can find in the industry and bringing them into our Facebook group— Bad Ass Women of Spray Foam. We share all of our daily struggles as women in this industry among one another. We are sisters in foam, and we strive to be the best we can be.   

Nate Abdelmaseh – Spray Right Foam Insulation LLC (East Longmeadow, MA)

How long have you been in the spray foam industry?

I have been behind the gun installing spray foam since

2005 and I have been in insulation since 2003. I’ve worked for two companies, one national and one family-owned before I started my own business in late 2017.

What was your last and biggest achievement at work? Starting my own business has been my biggest accomplishment. I started off knowing nothing of spray foam, then got a job installing. I installed for years before going into business for myself. But as a contractor, and as an owner installer, my greatest accomplishment would be selling and doing the install on the University of Massachusetts Polymer Science Lab. Maybe I’m just a nerd but keeping the possible future generations of our industry warm as they learn, just puts a smile on my face.

What has been your greatest challenge this year (2020)? My greatest challenge this year, besides the obvious 2020 answer of the pandemic, has been the juggling act of business and life. I started Spray Right Foam to simply work for myself. I’m not out to get rich quick or sit around and lord over my employees, I just wanted to work for myself, install foam properly and for the customer to be well informed. The other side of that means that though my business is young, and I can grow, I am getting an overwhelming number of requests for quotes and I find very little down time for myself.

What gets you up in the morning? The answer to that is simple, my son. He was born when I was 19 and I’ve had sole custody since he was 3. He has heard me complain about working for others while he has also watched me start my own business and complain about working for myself. I’ve even been able to start showing him how to install as he has gotten older. It’s tattooed across my knuckles, “love Gage,” so I can talk about him as often as possible. It’s what I live for.

What is your favorite aspect of your job? I’m stuck between two things in reference to my favorite aspect of my job. Considering I do everything from record keeping to sales and installs, one is, in my opinion, spray foam is the perfect mix of brain and brawn. You need the stamina and rhythm to install all day at the same time as you need the proper knowledge and information to... well...install all day. The other is the absolute pure serenity I feel when I suit up, mask up, and spray away. It’s just peaceful to me.