Sights & Insights: An Overview of TMA Annual Meeting 2017
The Monitoring Association hosted its annual meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz., Oct. 7-11. Check out this image gallery for a taste of what took place.
The Monitoring Association (TMA, formerly CSAA) leadership gather at the organization's annual meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — After 10+ years serving as a reporter and editor for Security Sales & Integration, I finally made it to The Monitoring Association’s annual meeting, held here Oct. 7-11. What took so long? Well, mostly geography worked in my favor this time around.
I live and work in the Los Angeles area. Those far-flung, exotic locales that have previously served as host to TMA (formerly CSAA) conferences and its members simply weren’t in the cards for me. I’m not revealing any dark secret when I say the exclusiveness of the group’s overseas excursions may have contributed to TMA’s once burnished reputation as a good ol’ boys club.
Because it was my inaugural trip to the annual meeting, I’d be lying if I told you I arrived in Scottsdale without at least a modicum of curiosity whether or not this good ol’ boys thing still persisted. A bit of a salacious diversion, I know, but there it is. This is all just a blathering prelude to this: If, in fact, former CSAA annual meetings rightfully earned a reputation as being exclusive — if not exclusionary — that all seems in the rearview mirror.
Unfortunately, I was not able to arrive at the conference until Oct. 9 and missed the first couple days. What I saw throughout the remainder of my stay was a highly engaged group of security professionals, both male and female, across generations, who came to learn and prepare their organizations for the future.
In yet another apparent death blow to said reputation of a bygone era, the meeting’s educational programming was strong and diverse. Panels, featured presenters, the keynote address, all touched on key organizational and personal areas to sustain excellence in a fast-changing world. The business landscape was deliberated as well, including in-depth reports about attrition and valuations. Cybersecurity. It’s a big deal. The panelists assembled for “The Legal Implications of Cybersecurity” reflected the appropriate urgency.
Check out this image gallery from my time at the meeting, which serves as an overview of sorts peppered with some insightful tidbits. But before you do that, let’s all raise our hands in a collective high-five for Pam Petrow, who served the past two years as president of TMA.
Strengthening the annual meeting’s educational programming has been a considerable focus for Petrow, as she told me it would be soon after her election. Ivan Spector was formally welcomed during the event as succeeding Petrow. I spoke with him some in August about the association and his upcoming efforts.
Now for that image gallery.
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About the Author
Rodney Bosch, Senior Editor
Although Bosch’s name is quite familiar to those in the security industry, his previous experience has been in daily newspaper journalism. Prior to joining SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION in 2006, he spent 15 years with the Los Angeles Times, where he performed a wide assortment of editorial responsibilities, including feature and metro department assignments as well as content producing for latimes.com. Bosch is a graduate of California State University, Fresno with a degree in Mass Communication & Journalism. In 2007, he successfully completed the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association’s National Training School coursework to become a Certified Level I Alarm Technician.
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