Grady is from and grew up in Luxomni, near Stone Mountain,  Georgia. He always had a keen interest in anything that involved electricity, the more voltage the better. Much to his mother’s dismay-Grady would stand in the yard transfixed at the lightning from frequent thunderstorms, and would have to be forced to go inside during a storm because he “just wanted to see what happened when lightning struck”.  His Dad, Gene was a master Electrician and Telephone Engineer.

At age six, Grady installed his first 120VAC electrical circuit on his own. (1967); At age eight, he won the county science fair with a series of home-made electromagnetic relays that controlled various circuits that were later deemed “too complex” for the elementary school level entry at the national science fair and “he must have had a lot of help from a professional” none of which was true. (1969) No one helped him build any of the coil prototypes presented, yet he got only small scale recognition for his efforts.

As a young man, Grady worked as a line technician  for a national communications company where he was exposed to a lot of high technology that required a high degree of practical understanding of the practical application of proper grounding, electrical protection strategies, and Emergency Back-up power requirements to keep the systems up and running 24-7. (1979)

In the early 80s, Grady and his brother Randy, developed a UL Listed Fire Alarm and Security Communications Company (Vickery Alarm Services), that is NICET Certified for Fire Alarm Engineering and also an International Member of the National Fire Protection Association or: NFPA.

The Company was Immediately plagued with problems resulting from lightning destroying their fire and security systems. Grady approached professionals in the field and Underwriter’s Laboratories for answers. He knew that military installations had the same equipment that he had installed but did not have the same problems with systems being “Blown Up” by lightning. They were protected with Lightning Rod Systems!

Bound and determined to find answers he turned to his resources at Underwriters Laboratories for answers and learned about advanced Lightning Protection Techniques. He then became tested and then Listed by UL (Underwriters Laboratories) to install certified Lightning Protection Systems (LPS) on buildings. Later, Grady completed a rigorous examination with Lightning Protection Institute (LPI) in order to get certified and gain status  as a Master Installer Designer of Certified Lightning Protection Systems.

Since 1985, Grady has worked in nearly every area of the United States protecting properties and their families who own them. Grady has been fortunate enough to work on not only important residences but some of the tallest and largest  buildings in the world. Some of his projects have included such notable clients as:  US Department of Energy sites, US ARMY and AIRFORCE Bases, as well as recognizable businesses such as The Weather Channel,  Georgia Institute of Technology (GA Tech), Emory University,  Scientific Games,  etc.

Today, Grady designs the most technologically advanced protection systems available in the world. Combining Lightning Protection Systems with being a fully authorized Kohler power generator systems designer/installer keeps Grady at the forefront of many projects. Grady is a frequent guest speaker on television and radio shows that deal with protecting your family and disaster mitigation.

On his off-time, Grady is involved with the leadership of Sons Of Confederate Veterans Mechanized cavalry and enjoys riding Indian motorcycles along  with his  lovely wife Lori.

Since it has been his life-long passion, and if you get the chance, talk to Grady about Lightning: you might come away with a whole new perspective on “Nature’s Most Deadly Force”.

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