LYNN, Mass. — At the Wayne Alarm Systems holiday party on Dec. 6, late alarm industry icon Charlie Darsch’s daughters presented an award in his honor to Charlie Townsend, the newest member of the company’s IT department.
Townsend was chosen as the 2025 Charlie Darsch Award winner in “recognition of his embodiment of all four of Wayne Alarm Systems’ core values: we care, honest humility, pursuit to be the best and capable work ethic,” according to the company announcement.
“These are values that Charlie Darsch embodied as well, as anyone who met him would attest,” the announcement says.
Through his work at Aritech and System Sensor (Honeywell), his time on the Security Industry Association (SIA) board, the ESA Historical Committee and the Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC) board of directors—where he served with Wayne Alarm’s founder Ralph W. Sevinor—as well as his extensive consulting career, Darsch was “well-known and respected throughout the alarm industry” before his death in 2023 at the age of 92.
What’s the Legacy of the Charlie Darsch Award?
Darsch was honored with many industry achievement awards throughout his life, including an induction into the SSI Industry Hall of Fame in 2007.
“We were delighted to have Charlie Darsch’s daughters, Amy Atwood, Kristin Blanchard and Julie Mogauro, be part of the presentation as well as having his wife Ellen in attendance,” says Sevinor in the Wayne Alarm announcement. “Everyone who knew or interacted with Charlie Darsch was made better by their association.”
Townsend handles training and HelpDesk inquiries for Wayne Alarm Systems, meaning that whenever an employee has a technical issue, he is the one who shows up.
“Everyone is happy to see Charlie Townsend coming—not only because they know that their problem is about to be solved, but because they know that it will be solved easily, quickly and with the quiet confidence of someone who knows exactly what needs to be done,” the Wayne Alarm Systems announcement says.
“When he walks into a room at Wayne Alarm, he is met by a resounding chorus of excited voices cheering his name,” according to the announcement.
This phenomenon was echoed during the award presentation as Townsend joined Darsch’s daughters and Wayne Alarm managing partner Brandon Freedman on stage. In less than two years, Townsend “has made himself an indispensable part of Wayne Alarm,” according to the company announcement.
“His can-do attitude and relentless pursuit of a solution made him the perfect recipient of the 2025 Charlie Darsch Award,” the announcement says.
