Pat Comunale Named Recipient of 2018 George R. Lippert Memorial Award
The award will be presented to Comunale during SIA Honors Night on Nov. 14 in New York City, held each year concurrently with ISC East.
Pat Comunale
SILVER SPRING, Md. — Pat Comunale, a longtime leader in wholesale distribution and an SSI Industry Hall of Fame inductee, is the 2018 recipient of the George R. Lippert Memorial Award.
The honor is presented annually to a distinguished individual for long-term, selfless service to the industry and to the Security Industry Association (SIA). The award will be presented to Comunale during SIA Honors Night on Nov. 14 in New York City.
Comunale — a retired security industry veteran and former member of the SIA Board of Directors — is the former CEO and president for Tri-Ed Distribution, an Anixter company. He has over 25 years of extensive experience in the security industry and has held senior-level leadership roles in both manufacturing and distribution.
“I’m extremely honored to be receiving this year’s Lippert Award,” said Comunale. “As I look at past winners, I feel privileged to be in their company.”
In their award submissions, nominators praised Comunale for his active participation in the security industry at the local and national levels, his strong personal industry relationships and dedication to helping the people who have worked with and for him grow. In his time on SIA’s board, Comunale guided SIA in its general policy activity and served on the Membership and Marketing Committee.
“SIA is pleased to honor Pat Comunale for his many valuable contributions to the security industry through his work at ADI, Tri-Ed and Anixter. He actively promoted technology and vendor-to-distributor partnerships. Pat’s leadership with systems integrators and dealers of all sizes aided their ability to build strong businesses that delivered important security solutions to end users globally,” says SIA Chairman of the Board Scott Schafer. “Beyond his own organizations, Pat has always been passionate about the success of the security industry as a whole. His involvement as an active partner and SIA Board of Directors member helped us be a catalyst for growth within the industry.”
In 2005, Comunale was part of the management team that acquired Tri-Ed from Tyco. Over the next five years, under Mr. Comunale’s successful leadership as chief operating officer (COO), Tri-Ed experienced double-digit growth, acquired multiple regional distributors and opened over 20 new locations. Tri-Ed merged with Northern Video Systems in 2010, and Comunale took on the role of president and COO. He was named Tri-Ed’s president and CEO in 2012. In 2015, he was inducted into the SSI Industry Hall of Fame.
The Lippert Award is named in honor of George R. Lippert, who dedicated more than 20 years of his life to SIA and the security industry. When evaluating candidates for this award, SIA’s committee considers nominees’ long-term service to SIA and the security industry, the impact of their efforts on behalf of SIA and the industry and the integrity, leadership and diplomacy displayed in their industry dealings.
SIA Honors Night — held each year concurrently with ISC East — features a gala dinner reception, an awards ceremony recognizing industry leaders and engaging entertainment. Along with presenting the Lippert Award, SIA will also honor industry leaders at Honors Night 2018 with the Jay Hauhn Excellence in Partnerships Award, the SIA Insightful Practitioner Award, the inaugural Progress Award sponsored by SIA’s Women in Security Forum and the Women in Biometrics Award co-founded by SIA and SecureIDNews and co-presented with sponsors FindBiometrics, IDEMIA and SIA’s Women in Security Forum.
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