“1999                   Dealer of the Year” award-winner Richard Sampson (left)                   of Pro-Tec Security Inc. accepts the honor from SAFE                   President/CEO Paul F. Sargenti during the week of ISC                   Las Vegas.

When organizers of the ISC EXPO/West 2000 in Las Vegas announced Feb. 22 that, for the first time, the show had sold out all available exhibition space (three entire halls) to more than 500 exhibitors, those planning to attend the event began to grasp the size and importance of the first ISC show of 2000. More than 10,000 attendees descended on the Las Vegas Convention Center on March 13-16 and were greeted by sunny skies, warm temperatures and a plethora of new security technologies, ranging from biometrics to digital cameras to Internet system controls.

The attendees, massed from all 50 states and more than 50 foreign countries, also filled a conference program that featured guided tours of casino surveillance areas, lectures on topics including integrated security, thermal imaging and access control, and a panel discussion featuring experts on the topic of public CCTV.

During the public CCTV conference on Wednesday, March 15, Security Industry Association (SIA) Deputy Executive Director Richard Chace moderated a valuable discussion among: Mike Shanahan, president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP); Steve Harris, chief of police in Redmond, Wash.; Charlie Pierce, renowned CCTV expert and president of LRC Electronics and LTC Training Center in Davenport, Iowa; and Lessing Gold, senior member of the corporate department of Los Angeles-based law firm Mitchell, Silberberg and Knupp LLP. The group conducted a solid and lively back-and-forth on public CCTV issues. But, in the end, all agreed that without the cooperation of the police and security industries, the controversies surrounding the technology’s use would not be easily solved.

Also, SIA presented its New Product Showcase awards on Tuesday, March 14. A record 52 entries were narrowed to 20 “Security Industry’s Finest” semifinalists that were saluted by SIA at the show. However, two products from Sentrol dominated the awards program, winning five of the 11 categories, including the Innovation Award for its Range-Controlled Radar motion sensor.

Speaking of awards, SAFE handed out its “1999 Dealer of the Year” award to Richard Sampson of Pro-Tec Security Inc. in Chesapeake, Va. SAFE also recognized Maria and Don Turrell of S.E.S.S. Co. in Granada Hills, Calif., as the “1999 Service Dealers of the Year.” The awards were presented by SAFE President/CEO Paul F. Sargenti.

Outside of the convention center, there were many after-hours soirees that kept attendees busy. On Monday night, March 13, the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association (NBFAA) celebrated its 2000 Awards Gala at the Las Vegas Hilton, while just down the strip, ADI saluted its top vendors at its annual Vendor Awards Dinner at the plush Venetian resort. ISC had its own bash, the Opening Night Reception, on Tuesday evening, March 14 on the Hilton’s lavish Pool Deck, where attendees noshed on kebabs, potstickers and other finger foods, while schmoozing with industry leaders. Perhaps the week’s biggest party was on Wednesday evening, March 15, when ADI threw its industry-renowned dealer party in the Greenwich Village section of the New York-New York Hotel & Casino’s first-floor boroughs. Hundreds of attendees lined up for entry in a line that snaked across the casino floor to sample food and drink from nine restaurants and dance to “The Boogie Nights,” a retro cover band.

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