Tony Thornton
- Owner
About Fence Consulting Group
Thornton Fence Consulting Group was established in 2022 by founder and visionary, Tony Thornton, a 47+ year veteran of the fencing industry with a vast level of experience as a contractor, supplier/distributor and manufacturing. While working with others and owning his own companies, he gained experience in sales, operations, installation, and project management and began developing efficiency methods that streamlined the processes that highlighted the importance of profitability.
Certifications & Partnerships
About Tony Thornton
Tony’s humble beginning into the fence industry happened at age 15 when a neighbor and family friend, stopped by while he was cutting his lawn and was told to “get in the truck, done talked to your dad, we going to build a fence” – and that day started his career. That family friend and neighbor was Mr. Jere Jefcoat and every summer between junior high, high school and even college, Tony worked for Jefcoat Fence Company in Pearl, Mississippi.
For the past eight years, (2014-2022) serving as the Executive Director for the American Fence Association, his knowledge of the fence industry and of the association needs served him well as the organization grew membership, developed education and training and most rewarding was the development of (ACI) Accreditation and Certification Institute that leads the fence and gate automation industry with several levels of certifications and accreditations as a third-party entity. Bringing a new level of professionalism and relevance to the fence industry, Tony has always strived to highlight that the fence industry professionals should be looked upon as true industry tradesman, just like the electrical and plumbing industries. No reason why as tradesman, we have to be looked upon as the “last contractor on the job”.
Serving as Executive Director for these eight years, offered Tony an opportunity to speak, mentor, support and coach many companies that needed help to take the next step towards being efficient and profitable. Speaking with hundreds of fence companies annually, a common theme developed through this interaction- everyone had the same problems and no special antidote to fix it. Those companies that allowed his mentorship will provide positive feedback in all areas of sales, operations, installation and project management about his knowledge and expertise in the fence industry.
His passion as always been to teach, educate and provide training to industry professionals to enhance their opportunities for training, retaining, and growing their company and Thornton Fence Consulting Group focuses on organizational structure and building a company culture that will drive a stable and proven track record of success.
Tony and his wife, Tammy have been married for 39 years and they have two children and six grandkids that keep them busy. His motto is “Life is Good” and promotes this everyday through living his passion.
A favorite book called the Inner Voice- Unlock your Purpose and Passion by bestselling author Russ Whitney is what motivated Tony to start Thornton Fence Consulting Group and from this reading, the focus of “Master my own change- Pursue my Passion” was born!