Honest, reliable, polite, neat…we expect a lot of our employees. Each has to be someone we look forward to seeing every day. Someone who is a welcome presence in our house, because they have to be a welcome presence in your house. However, our standards do not stop there. We are responsible for the warmth of fire in your house, and our team must have the ability, knowledge, and caring attitude needed to ensure your family’s enjoyment and safety. We don’t just hand over our truck keys, send a person out, and say “see what you can do.” The first step for a new hire is training while assisting one of our seasoned, certified techs. For a skilled new employee – with strong analytical, tool, and people skills – we can instill our ethic in a matter of months. For younger, less experienced helpers, teaching to our standards may take years.
Although we can get a pretty good handle on employees’ skills and knowledge by working with them, we also require that our installers and sweeps study for and gain the appropriate certifications. The key industry certifications come from the National Fireplace Institute (NFI) and the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA). NFI offers certification in Wood, Gas, and Pellet installation. The course covers code requirements and best safety practices for planning, installing, and maintaining hearth systems. Passing a rigorous final exam is required to achieve certification. Taking additional classes annually is a requirement for maintaining certification. We are currently the only hearth dealer in Virginia with a Master Hearth Professional – one who has been certified in all three areas.
The CSIA offers a week-long, hands-on course with a final exam to achieve certification. The candidates learn sweeping and inspection of chimney systems, equipment operation, health and safety considerations, and they receive step-by-step instruction in codes, clearances, standards and practices. At the end, an exam ensures the new sweep deserves certification.
Kim has over 25 years of experience in the chimney business, and is one of only two certified Master Hearth Professionals (NFI certification in wood, gas, and pellet appliances) in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
When Madison is not exploring Virginia with her son and boyfriend, she is building her knowledge as a Maternal Support Practitioner and guiding Wooden Suns customers through various hearth and patio projects and installations. In between the day-to-day, she often daydreams of growing her homestead to accommodate the many fur family members that are sure to join (stay tuned!).
In her non-Wooden Sun life, Taylor loves to paint, cook, and wrangle her two ornery dogs. She loves the outdoors, enjoying kayaking, fishing, and particularly crabbing.
After graduating from the University of Virgina, Beth bounced around Charlottesville for a few years before joining the Wooden Sun team in 2013. When not writing Wooden Sun’s blog entries, she enjoys gardening, knitting, and singing in her church choir.
When she’s not scheduling service calls or keeping the office organized (no small task!), Becca likes to spend her free time enjoying the great outdoors. Boats, adventures, and long walks on the beach — there’s certainly never a dull moment!
When he’s not helping out in the field or around the showroom, or studying to become an engineer, Forrest can often be found exploring with friends, whether it’s an old abandoned factory, or a fantasy world they’ve created.