Southface Biographies

Edward Fedoruk

Co-founder
Ed’s interest in conservation and what would grow into the “Green” movement started in high school in the early 70’s when he volunteered for an early chapter of Friends of the earth. In 1976 he built his first “solar oven” after meeting with Barbara Kerr. During 1978 he went to Prescott college and then to Colorado Springs, Co. looking for a school that could give him a good education in solar construction. He soon found that those teaching had only a basic understanding of the subject, and often times would find he was answering their questions. So in 1979 he became a licensed solar contractor and started building. First he built passive solar sunrooms and several solar hot water systems that are still functioning all across Colorado. In 1986 Ed moved back to the Sonoran desert, making his home Cave Creek,AZ. Since that time he has furthered his education and worked extensively with just about every energy efficient building system out there, always improving, refining and evolving in the field of solar energy and “Green” building. During that time he also used this knowledge in the design and construction of several of Desert Foothills most energy efficient homes. A few years ago, he built a beautiful home in Carefree, AZ that was featured in Architectural Digest. It was 3700 square feet and the electric bills were $100 a month. When asked about this he says “I pay attention to every detail and use what I’ve learned…it pays off.” For Ed it’s that extra 5% of effort that really pays off. A sign stating “craftsmanship, quality, innovation, integrity” hangs on the wall above Ed’s desk. As he often says, “good enough is never good enough! Solar energy’s popularity has come and gone and now come again and it seems like we see a new “solar energy” company almost every day.” In a few years, the large tax incentives that are driving the current solar craze will dry up and most of these builders will be on to the next “big thing”, but Ed will still be right here, doing what he started over 35 years ago implementing the most current techniques and equipment available in the construction of high quality, “Green” energy systems.

Corey Garrison

Co-founder
Corey has always been drawn towards electronics. As a child, he would take apart everything from the family phone to dad’s alarm clock, just to see how they worked. This is quite common, but what isn’t, is the fact that he could put them all back together in working order. He began his electrical career in a 2-year electronic/electrical vocational school back in 1995. After graduating he answered his country’s call by joining the United States Air Force. He spent the next few years increasing his electrical knowledge becoming, first an Electrical and Environmental Journeyman and then after 3 more years of on-the-job training he was award the rating of “Craftsman.” He spent the remainder of his US Air Force service, troubleshooting problems and repairing them on multiple aircraft mainly the F-16 fighting Falcon, troubleshooting problems and then performing the repairs to strict military standards, As Corey puts it “when you have a pilots life in your hands, not to mention several million dollars of our nation’s military hardware, you grow up fast, there’s simply no room for error!” After serving the Air Force for 10 years, he decided it was time to serve in a different way. Taking everything that school and his military training taught him about electronics and a dedication to excellence, he changed careers, and in 2007, with his close friend and mentor, Edward Fedoruk, he started Southface Solar Electric, bringing “aeronautical quality” to the southwest’s solar electric industry.

Ken Choate

Sales & Marketing
Being updated