Join with TMA staff in congratulating the following TMA members for their long-time service:
1. Tracy Ehrsam is marking her 33rd anniversary at Habitec Security, Inc.
2. Joyce LaFond is marking her 25th anniversary at American Alarm & Communications, Inc.
3. Jennifer Badalich is marking her 7th anniversary at Quick Response Marketing
FirstNet®, America’s public safety network, now covers more than 2.71 million square miles. As public safety’s network partner, AT&T* has moved quickly to bring more coverage, boost capacity and drive new capabilities for first responders and the communities they serve – rural, urban and tribal. In 2020, we added nearly 100,000 square miles to the FirstNet coverage footprint (that’s like covering the entire state of Oregon).
Today, more than 15,000 agencies and organizations – accounting for more than 2 million connections nationwide – have subscribed to FirstNet.
Read the full announcement on AT&T’s website – https://about.att.com/story/2021/fn_expands.html
Learn more about FirstNet certification for your company elsewhere on TMA’s website.
TMA is proud to honor those within our community who have served in the U.S. and Canadian military today, Veterans’ Day, November, 11, 2020.
We invited members to share details of their service and photos to mark this special day.
You may view a presentation of our 2020 honorees HERE.
The TMA Board of Directors and staff extend heartfelt gratitude to all of those who have served and sacrificed.
On October 21, 2020, in the course of TMA’s General Membership Meeting, TMA President Don Young had the honor of presenting TMA’s two highest awards – Stanley C. Lott Award for Exemplary Service and the Mel Mahler Award for Outstanding Service to the Monitoring Industry.
Stanley C. Lott Award for Exemplary Service Presented to Ivan Spector, President, Sentinelle Alarms
In presenting the award, President Young stated, “This year the award is given to a man who has not only served TMA through many leadership positions on committees and the TMA Board, but who was a founding member and longtime board member of the Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC).
In addition, he has been a leader in advancing alarm management in both Canada and the United States. For CANASA, he served on the Board of Directors, was national president, and chair of the Response Committee. In that role he proved instrumental in driving many false dispatch reduction initiatives. He is also a Superior Court of Canada-acknowledged and accepted expert witness.
This year’s winner is a graduate of McGill University in Montreal and is the owner of Sentinel Alarm. I am pleased to award the 2020 Stanley C. Lott Memorial Award to Ivan Spector.”
Mel Mahler Award for Outstanding Service to the Monitoring Industry Presented to Steve A. Schmit, Senior Staff Engineer, UL
In presenting the award, President Young commented, “When deciding on a recipient for this year’s Award, one name came immediately to mind. He is an individual who has served our industry for more than 39 years, but with the onset of Covid 19 earlier this year, he worked tirelessly on behalf of the TMA membership to develop work at home standards that would allow our industry to continue to operate under safe conditions. This year’s winner is an experienced Engineering Manager with a history of working in the public safety industry.
He holds a BS in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and serves as Senior Staff Engineer for Underwriters Laboratories. I am very grateful for all of the help and guidance this year’s recipient provided on the establishment of the new standard and I am honored to present this year’s Mel Mahler Award to Steve Schmit.”
Please join TMA in congratulating Ivan and Steve on these esteemed honors.
The Electronic Security Association (ESA) presented its 2019 Morris F. Weinstock Person of the Year Award to TMA Past President Bud Wulforst in honor of his lifetime of achievements in the security industry. Wulforst has been involved in ESA throughout the years as part of many initiatives and as a mentor to other businesspeople in the industry.
Upon receiving his award, Wulforst stated, “I’m truly humbled as we stand here with 50 years of award recipients. I am so very proud to receive this wonderful ESA award. I’ve learned so much from so many over the years,” said Wulforst as he received the award. “The associations are the catalyst for bringing it all together. The power of networking and participating in our associations should never be underestimated. When I say thank you, I say thank you to you all.”
TMA extends its sincere congratulations to Wulforst.
TMA is pleased to announce that Glenn Schroeder, Chief Technology Officer, NetOne, Inc., has been appointed to Chair, TMA Standards Committee. Glenn bring 40 years of alarm industry knowledge and experience to his new role. Over the span of his career, Glenn has held key senior leadership positions in Information Technology, Corporate Finance, Central Station, Customer Service, Field operations, and sales disciplines.
“Standards creation is rewarding, but challenging, work. In defining best practices, standards help business, the economy and the safety of everyone. They affect all of us every day, wherever we go, and in whatever we do,” stated Glenn. “Having the opportunity to spend over 40 years in this industry, it is a privilege to be able to contribute my knowledge, expertise, and experience to influence the development of standards that could better the lives and business of the future.”
Please join us is welcoming Glenn to this pivotal role.
TMA released its latest Wage & Comp Survey—the purpose of which is to provide monitoring and security services companies with salary and benefits information to guide hiring and compensation decisions. The Survey was created in partnership with TRG Associates, Inc., a consulting firm that specializes in the security alarm industry.
Participation in the Survey was open to all security monitoring companies. Company specific information is not published to ensure confidentiality. The Survey collected wage and benefits information from the year 2018 for the following areas:
The Wage & Comp Survey is now available for sale on TMA’s website. The purchase price is $400 for TMA members and $500 for non-members. Discounts are available for companies that participated in the survey—they will be contacted individually.
If you have any questions, please contact Celia Besore, TMA Executive Director, at cbesore@tma.us or at 703-660-4914.
In its on-going effort to reduce the occurrence and impact of false dispatches, TMA has released the latest revision of its ANSI-accredited standard, TMA CS-V-01-2020 (Version August 01, 2020). This standard takes alarm verification and confirmation to its next level by defining multiple-attempt confirmation, biometric, audio and video confirmation. The standard is now available for free download.
Learn more about TMA’s standards activities at https://tma.us/standards/.
Our 2020 Monitoring Center of the Year demonstrates excellence across all aspects of its business. Learn more in the upcoming issue of TMA Dispatch. See other top 2020 Excellence Award winners.
