Kick Off ISC with the SAMMYs

February 28, 2009 Rodney Bosch

Hall of Fame, PDQ Spotlighted

Each year the SAMMYs also serve as a grand stage to welcome inductees into the SSI Hall of Fame and to commemorate the winner of the Police Dispatch Quality (PDQ) Award.

The industry stalwarts celebrating their entry into the SSI Hall of Fame in alphabetical order will be: Allen Fritts, president of Honeywell Fire Systems; George Gunning, CEO of USA Alarm Systems; Ken Kirschenbaum, managing partner of Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum; George Lippert (deceased), co-founder of the Security Industry Equipment Association (later SIA) and Alarm Installer & Dealer magazine (later SSI); and Mel Mahler, chairman/CEO/owner of ADS Security.

For an up-close look at each of these distinguished professionals, click here.

Now in its fourth year, the PDQ Award was created by the Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC), False Alarm Reduction Association (FARA) and SSI to stem the proliferation of false dispatches. The award recognizes the efforts of installing and monitoring companies that follow established industry practices and join with law enforcement to achieve the highest quality in police dispatch requests.

The PDQ Award judges have completed their entry reviews and named the following finalists: ADT, based in Boca Raton, Fla.; Atronic Alarm of Lenexa, Kan.; Custom Alarm of Rochester, Minn.; and V.I.P. Security Alarms Inc. of Belton, Texas. Both Atronic and Custom are past finalists. Honeywell Security will pay for a representative from the winning company (not yet selected at press time) to make the trip to Las Vegas for the award ceremony.

All told, the 2009 SAMMY Awards will provide another fun and bustling occasion. SSI sincerely hopes you can share in this grand celebration along with so many others who make the electronic security industry their professional home.

Bucking Tough Economy, ISC West Set to Shine in Desert

The 41st annual International Security Conference (ISC) West in Las Vegas will feature a few new wrinkles that attendees will want to note.

Held April 1-3 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center, event producer Reed Exhibitions for the first time will offer the Integrator’s Solution Center — a dedicated theater setting where integrators can host end-user customers to talk some serious shop. All presenting integrators will be available for one-on-one meetings, plus there will be half-hour presentations detailing security installations around the world.

Also new, the Public Security & Safety Expo will feature exhibitors targeting law enforcement, campus safety, urban and border protection, and all transportation sectors. Prequalified attendees can set up appointments in advance to meet with suppliers. Here again, the end game is to germinate conversation and business opportunity.

“If there is one thread that underlines all of this it is our goal to do an even better job of creating one-to-one connection within the larger ISC event,” says Ed Nichols, industry vice president, ISC events.

ISC, of course, is a major draw for security professionals looking to expand their skills through educational coursework. New for 2009, an enhanced and restructured format to make it easier to identify sessions based on specific job functions and an individual’s uniqu
e needs. Heretofore product-centric, all coursework is now categorized based on singular disciplines such as dealer/installer/integrator/technician, central station and IT/IP convergence, among others.

“While that may seem like a minor detail, we feel we left too much for potential registrants to figure out what would be applicable to them,” Nichols says. Despite what promises to be a sold-out show floor, Nichols says as an indication of tough economic times attendees will immediately notice reduced booth footprints for some of the larger vendors. And there will be a single show floor; no spillover to the lower level, which housed mostly international exhibitors.

“The unintended benefit of the challenge that the economy has posed to us is we have been able to get everybody on the main floor,” Nichols says.

For more information and a complete event schedule, visit www.iscwest.com.

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About the Author

Rodney Bosch, Senior Editor

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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.