Executive Board of Directors 2007-2008

President: Matthew Broyles

Matthew was born and raised in Atlanta, GA, where he started Firefly Lighting LLC in 1999. Matthew had such a passion for the industry that he soon realized that he could not just do low voltage outdoor lighting, which led to Firefly Lighting now installing lighting systems for all sorts of needs, with the main focus on residential landscape lighting. Matthew resides in Roswell, GA with his wife, son, and daughter.

Vice President: Paul Gosselin, Sr.

As an electrician in a small town with plenty of competition, Paul Gosselin, Sr. went looking for something out of the ordinary to offer his clients. When he discovered low voltage landscape lighting, he made a huge leap of faith and launched NightScapes Landscape Lighting Professionals from his central Texas home in the spring of 2004. Since joining the outdoor lighting field, Paul has been a dedicated and vocal advocate for high standards and continuing education to improve the quality of his own company’s work, and the integrity of the outdoor lighting trade on the national level. His involvement in the AOLP since 2005 has been an expression of this commitment to industry excellence. Currently serving as AOLP Vice President, Paul also chairs the Membership Committee. He has served as Secretary, worked on the Legislative Committee, and also proctors the certification exams. Paul incorporated his growing family company in 2007, and changed the name to NightScenes to avoid brand confusion with a lighting manufacturer. His wife Patty works as Vice President/Secretary/Treasurer, as well as Marketing Manager for NightScenes Corporation. Paul Gosselin, Jr., his son, has been a part of the company since the beginning, and manages most installation projects and maintenance. Paul and Patty also have a daughter, Samantha, and make their home together in the beautiful hill country of Texas.

Treasurer: Michael Southard

Mike has been with Kichler Landscape Lighting as National Sales Manager and Director of Sales since 1995. Kichler Landscape Lighting is among the leaders in the low voltage lighting industry and one of the largest privately held lighting manufacturers in the world. Prior to the position at Kichler, Mike was the owner of a small plastic blow molding company that was later sold. Other experience included approximately 8 years in corporate finance in banking with GE Capital and Huntington Bank. Mike and his wife Amy have been married for over 20 years and have 2 daugthers, Ashley and Kasey. They reside in Cleveland, OH. His hobbies include winemaking, tennis, basketball… and of course, landscape lighting.

Director: Gerry De LaVega

Gerry is the owner and president of Terradek Lighting, Inc. Gerry has been involved in the Outdoor Lighting Industry for the last twelve years, first as a Lighting Design and Installation Contractor and now as a National Wholesale Distributor specializing in outdoor lighting products. Gerry is an AOLP Certified Low Voltage Lighting Technician. In addition to the AOLP Board, he serves on the AOLP Membership Committee. Gerry is certified by the State of Minnesota to provide continuing education training for the Minnesota Low Voltage Lighting license. He sits on the Landscape Lighting Committee of the Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association. In addition he is the AOLP representative to the U.L. Standards Technical Panel for UL 1838 and UL 2108. When not involved in lighting, Gerry likes spending time with his family, fishing, golfing, and playing poker. He has two children, one in college (Francesca) and one in elementary school (Antonio). Gerry and his wife Debbie have been married for 31 years but have known each other since the 6th grade. Gerry and Debbie grew up in San Antonio, TX, went to college in Boston, MA, and now live in Minneapolis, MN.
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Director: Oscar Welch

Oscar Welch has worked in the professional lighting industry for over 25 years. As co-owner of Welch Creative Lighting based in Orlando, FL, with his wife, Mindy, this duo has received numerous Emmys and television production awards for their work. Welch Creative Lighting designs and installs landscape and architectural lighting for builders and individual homeowners, as well as large-scale lighting projects for commercial vendors. They also install controls for lighting, with easy, one-touch and automatic systems. Oscar currently has a CLVLT designation and Florida and Georgia electrical licenses.

Director: Chris Mitchell

Chris is the General Manager of NiteLiters, Inc. in Owensboro, Kentucky. He has managed elements of the companies production, sales, and marketing (2005-2007). Chris graduated from Vianney Boy’s College Prep High School; attended the University of Missouri, Columbia, majoring in housing design, as well as Meremac College, St. Louis; and graduated with a degree in business administration.

Chris became interested in outdoor lighting in 1998 when his father, Gary Mitchell, started NiteLiters, Inc. His father is a charter member of LVLIA, now AOLP, and instilled in Chris the desire for continued education in this industry. Chris received his CLVLT certification in 2006. He continued his service to AOLP in 2006 administering several of the "hands on" tests for that year's CLVLT testing. He has spent the last two years promoting the benefits of membership throughout the country by speaking out in online forums, e-mail, and personal contact with other contractors.

Chris is married to Tina who together have a five year old son, Tyler. They are members at Bellevue Baptist Church, where Chris serves as a children's Bible school teacher.

Executive Director: Jodi Snyder

Jodi Snyder has worked in non-profit association management her entire career and has served as the Executive Director. She takes pride in assisting associations with membership growth and board/committee development. Jodi is also experienced with writing, designing and editing various publications, budget planning, event coordination, proposal writing and marketing.