The Electronic Security Association's new location is adjacent to the Dallas-Fort Worth Int'l airport. It opens Nov. 1.
By Ashley Willis
IRVING, Texas — In order to provide more services to its members, the Electronic Security Association (ESA) will move to an 8,000-square-foot facility here at the end of the month.
"The rapid growth ESA has experienced in the past two years prompted the move," ESA Executive Director Merlin Guilbeau tells SSI. "That growth necessitated the need for more space."
Adjacent to the Dallas-Fort Worth Int'l Airport, the facility will serve as the central location for the National Training School (NTS). Designed to accommodate as many as 30 students, attendees throughout the country will have the opportunity to take courses in a classroom setting. Courses will still be available online and at various locations.
"NTS has grown exponentially under Dale Eller [director of education] for the past seven and a half years," Guilbeau says. "By having NTS under the same roof as ESA, we will be able to streamline the processes for our students and bring NTS up-to-date technologically. We hope to expand the training program even further by bringing it in-house."
The new location also features a centralized member service center. The expanded space provides ESA staff members with an open environment that allows them to communicate easily, and exchange information quickly and efficiently, while providing support for members. The center allows members to do their own work while visiting the office, Guilbeau explains. It will also allow staff to handle outgoing calls that will benefit all ESA chapters.
ESA Executive Director Merlin Guilbeau addresses staff members in the new training room.
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Having been in the works for the past six months, Guilbeau notes that donations from members has helped ESA provide the latest security technology — access control, biometrics, intrusion, multi-room audio and video surveillance — to the facility.
ESA will also use the additional space to display the history of the security industry, dating back to the 1600s, according to Guilbeau.
"One of our board members, Ralph Sevinor, has collected and archived the history of the security industry for decades," he says. "The new space will give us room for a gallery of sorts, where we can showcase artifacts and present a timeline of the industry."
For ESA, the location change will not only offer more support for member companies, it will also aid in growing the security industry as a whole.
"We want to have staff provide our members with information and assistance they need to stay in touch with the latest trends, legislative information, committee support and events," Guilbeau says. "We're committed to putting the resources in place that will allow us to accomplish even more effectively."
ESA will host an open house for the new facility during the 2012 Leadership Summit in Irving, Texas on Jan. 8-12, 2012.
For a behind-the-scenes look at the new facility, click here.
Ashley Willis is associate editor for SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION. She can be reached at (310) 533-2419.