TORRANCE, Calif. – It’s that time of the year when security industry professionals seem to spend as much time on show floors as they do installing equipment. From the International Security Conference (ISC) West in Las Vegas to the National Alarm Monitoring Technology Symposium & Exhibition (NAMTSE) in Memphis, Tenn., to the False Alarm Reduction Association’s (FARA) International Training Conference in Bloomington, Minn., the coming of spring brings with it several conferences and shows.

Standing alongside the attendees were the staff of Security Sales & Integration. In fact, SSI Publisher Mike Zawinski and Editor-in-Chief Scott Goldfine were among the featured speakers at the FARA conference and NAMTSE, promoting the magazine’s mission of propelling the industry in a positive direction.

Memphis Hosts NAMTSE

More than 250 Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) and National Burglar and Fire Alarm (NBFAA) members filled the famous Peabody Hotel in Memphis for the 2004 NAMTSE April 15-19. Video, access control, GPS, Internet monitoring and IT convergence were among the hot technology topics discussed.

“We will see more developments in open connectivity and interoperability during the next two years than we have the past 20,” Bosch Security Systems Inc. Director of Systems Integration Sales John Judd promised during his “Today’s Technology Landscape” lecture.

SSI‘s Goldfine made two presentations at NAMTSE, one on sales and marketing techniques and the other an upbeat report on industry trends called “Spring Is Back in Security Industry’s Step.” In addition, Goldfine presented a check to CSAA President Richard Sampson on behalf of SSI for the association’s participation in the magazine’s LeadTracker service (for more, visit www.ssileadtracker.com).

FARA Unites Both Sides

The Embassy Suites Hotel in Bloomington, Minn., was the setting for the April 26-30 Eighth Annual FARA International Training Conference, where law enforcement and members of the security industry came together to discuss remedies to the false alarm problem.

SSI‘s Zawinski was the invited keynote speaker, aiding the conference’s mission of seeking solutions to the false alarm problem by giving the magazine’s perspective on the issue to an audience of members of the law enforcement community. (For more on Zawinski’s presentation, see “Publisher’s Perspective” in the June issue.)

For the first time, security installation companies joined in on a FARA conference panel discussion, and the results were surprising according the FARA President Norma Beaubien.

“One question that was thrown out asked what their company has done to reduce false alarms. It was really overwhelming the amount of initiatives that are there and working,” says Beaubien, who also directs the false alarm reduction section of the Montgomery County, Md., Police Department. “It was very helpful for the law enforcement membership to hear that, yes, something is being done and you’re not alone. When both law enforcement and industry work together, it works much faster and easier.”

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