Joe DePriest (President and CEO)
After obtaining a BS degree in construction, Joe began his career with WSFP in the Kansas City, KS office in 1997 as a Project Manager, where he worked on and has successfully completed many projects.
In 2001, Joe was promoted to Area Manager for the Kansas City office, where for the next 10 years, he focused his efforts on building his team and developing relationships throughout the region. These efforts led to a level of performance that has established benchmarks within WSFP and the industry as a whole.
In 2011, Joe met another challenge by accepting the position of Vice President. He travels extensively to support WSFP offices throughout the country, their managers, and staff with his knowledge and experience in the industry.
Joe became the current President of WSFP in 2020.
Travis Sticka (Executive Vice President)
After obtaining a Mechanical Engineering degree in 2005, Travis joined Western States Fire Protection as a Project Manager/Designer. He spent 5 years managing projects throughout the upper Midwest, working out of the Rapid City office.
In 2010, Travis was promoted to Operations Manager for our office in Phoenix, AZ. Over the next 3 years, he focused on developing relationships and building a solid business foundation for Phoenix while simultaneously working to start a new branch in Tucson. In 2013 Travis was promoted to Area Manager and helped acquire Signal One Fire and Communication into the WSFP family.
On top of running the Phoenix and Tucson branches, Travis became involved in developing and training project managers for WSFP by facilitating the company’s project management class.
In 2019 Travis accepted a position as Vice President for WSFP. He works extensively to support WSFP, Delta Fire Systems, and 3-D Fire with his knowledge and experience in the industry.
Mike Wade (Vice President)
Following high school, Mike entered the construction industry in 1998 as a union apprentice with WSFP. After becoming a 669 Foreman Sprinkler fitter, Mike completed multiple installs throughout Southern Wyoming and Northeastern Colorado.
The recession of 2008 hit the area where Mike was working in 2010, allowing him to assist in finding work through sales, service, and inspections. Not long after that, in 2013, Mike was asked to assist in rolling out a Service Initiative software across all WSFP. For the next three years, Mike spent his time with the team developing relationships across the organization, training field leaders to utilize new technology for time capture and service orders, as well as developing and building a marketing strategy for WSFP.
Mike’s time in the Marketing role for WSFP was cut short, as an opportunity for Learning and Development opened in the Human Resources Department at WSFP. Performing a dual role of Marketing and Learning Coordinator the company continued to grow, and as the Director of Human Resources retired in 2017, Mike took the challenge to acquire his Human Resources Certification.
From 2017 to 2023, Mike was able to accept the Director of Human Resources position and spent his efforts collecting and building relationships with the organization and assembling a stellar team to assist WSFP people in building many of the HR practices still used today. In 2023, Mike accepted the role of Vice President for WSFP. He continues to focus on building a Safe, Inclusive, Ethical, and Creative environment for all of WSFP’s vibrant employees.
Justin Sandberg (Vice President)
In 1998, Justin began his professional journey at WSFP Austin, starting as an apprentice. As he progressed to the role of Foreman, he dedicated many evenings and weekends to mastering the financial and project management aspects of his work, ensuring the success of each project he was involved in.
After spending five years in the field, Justin’s career trajectory led him to take on roles as a Superintendent, Project Manager, and eventually Service Sales.
In 2012, he assumed the position of Service Manager for the Austin office. Three years later, in 2015, Justin’s dedication and leadership skills earned him a promotion to Area Manager.
Over the past five years, he has invested countless hours in nurturing and expanding the Austin Branch, transforming it into the well-oiled machine it is today. During a transitional period, he even had the privilege of overseeing the Houston office. Justin consistently credits his team when praised for the achievements of the branches.