Ivan Spector is Voted President-Elect of The Monitoring Association

Membership Votes for New Officers at ESX 2017

VIENNA, VA (June 28, 2017) – Members of The Monitoring Association (TMA) chose their next president at the General Membership Meeting in Nashville on June 13: Ivan Spector, president of Montreal-based Sentinel Alarm Co. Sentinel has been in the security and critical monitoring business for more than 40 years and is a full-service, custom-designed ULC-listed and Five Diamond designated monitoring station.

“I am very honored and humbled to serve in the position of President,” said Spector. “I look forward to continuing our successes and I thank all of our members for their support and participation.”

In addition to his ownership of Sentinel Alarm, Spector is a leader in advancing alarm management in both Canada and the United States. For CANASA, he has 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 was a founding member and longtime board member of the Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC). Currently, he serves on the Executive Committee of TMA.

Spector is a Superior Court of Canada-acknowledged and accepted expert witness. He is a graduate of McGill University in Montreal. He and his wife Jodi reside in Montreal and have four children.

In addition to the election of Spector, officer positions for the next two years were proposed and accepted by vote of the membership: Don Young, ADT; Morgan Hertel, Rapid Response; and Steve Butkovich, CPI will become vice presidents of the Association and Alan Gillmore IV, Gillmore Security, will become treasurer.

“Congratulations to Ivan and our other new officers,” said TMA President Pamela J. Petrow. “I have had the pleasure of working with all of them during my presidency, and know that the Association will be in very good hands under their leadership.”

These leadership changes become official at the conclusion of the TMA Annual Meeting in Scottsdale October 7-11.

In addition to voting on these leaders, members approved several proposed changes to the Association bylaws sections pertaining to officers and committees. The revised bylaws are posted online at tma.us.

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About The Monitoring Association
The Monitoring Association (TMA), formerly the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA), is an internationally-recognized non-profit trade association that represents professional monitoring companies, including those listed by a TMA-approved Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory, such as FM Global, Intertek/ETL or UL. Incorporated in 1950, TMA is legally entitled to represent its members before Congress and regulatory agencies on the local, state and federal levels, and other authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) over the industry. TMA’s mission is to advance the professional monitoring industry through education, advocacy, and public safety relationships. www.tma.us. For more information, contact Elizabeth Lasko at TMA, 703-242-4670 x 16.

Rochester/Monroe County, NY’s John Merklinger is Recipient of 2017 TMA Public Sector Award

VIENNA, VA (May 22, 2017) – John M. Merklinger, Director of the Rochester/Monroe County 911 Center and 311 Call Center, is the recipient of The Monitoring Association’s 2017 Public Sector Award. This special honor is given by TMA in recognition of a public sector individual’s contribution to the alarm industry. He will be presented with the award at the 2017 Electronic Security Expo (ESX) Public Sector Luncheon on Friday, June 16, at Music City Center in Nashville.  

“It is our pleasure to recognize John for his tireless efforts to advance the implementation of ASAP – the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol – in New York State,” said TMA President Pamela J. Petrow. ASAP is a technology that automates communication between alarm monitoring central stations and 911 centers, resulting in improved accuracy and speed of emergency response.

The award recipient must be nominated by one or more TMA members in good standing. TMA President Petrow and Past President (and current Executive Director) Jay Hauhn put Merklinger’s name forward for consideration.

“New York State was projected to be one of the last states to implement ASAP due to the states unique IT infrastructure,” said Hauhn. “Merklinger, who understood the value ASAP would bring to his center, spearheaded an effort by New York PSAPs to work with the state police to have the needed changes to the state CJIS network funded, scheduled and successfully completed.”

As Director of the Rochester/Monroe County 911 Center and 311 Call Center, Merklinger manages a staff of 246 dedicated employees and an annual budget of $17.6 million at the 911 Center. The 911 Center handled nearly 1.3 million calls in 2016 (the 311 call center handled 484,844 calls in 2016). The Center is accredited by CALEA and the NYS Sheriffs’ Association.

Merklinger has an extensive Public Safety background as a paramedic, volunteer firefighter, and employee at the Monroe County 911 Center for the last 30 years. He has three A.A.S degrees from Monroe Community College in Public Safety Communications, Criminal Justice and Paramedicine. He also has a B.S degree in Organizational Management and a M.S degree in Management from Robert’s Wesleyan College.  A past Fire Chief, he is a life member of Gates Volunteer Ambulance since 1980 and a life member of the Gates Fire Department since 1991. He is past-president of the NYS NENA Chapter and currently serves as President of the NYS 911 Coordinators Association. Merklinger was appointed by Governor Cuomo to the NYS 911 board in 2011 and remains a member of the board.

“We are proud to be the first PSAP in NYS to go live with the ASAP protocol,” said Merklinger.  “We believe this will be a benefit to the public and the public safety organizations by providing quicker entry and response to alarm generated emergencies.”

The ASAP program is based on an American National Standard developed jointly by the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International and TMA, then the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA). The program provides a standardized method through the use of automation and the power of Nlets to deliver alarm notifications to 9-1-1 Public Safety Answering Points. As a result, there is an increase in the likelihood of increased law enforcement apprehensions for crimes in-progress, fire quickly extinguished with minimal property damage, and could mean a life-saver for a medical emergency patient when every second counts.

For more information, contact Elizabeth Lasko at TMA, 703-242-4670 or elasko@tma.us.

UCC President Teresa Gonzalez Honored with Stanley C. Lott Award at 2016 CSAA Annual Meeting

VIENNA, VA (November 1, 2016) – Teresa Gonzalez, president of United Central Control, was awarded the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA)’s highest honor, the Stanley C. Lott Memorial Award for Exemplary Service, at the 2016 Annual Meeting in Marco Island, Florida on October 26.

This award was created to honor the memory of Stanley C. Lott, a CSAA past president renowned for his above-and-beyond efforts to lead and financially support the Association through difficult times.

“On behalf of CSAA, I am thrilled that Teresa has been selected as the recipient of the 2016 Stanley C. Lott Award,” said Pamela J. Petrow, president of CSAA. “This award is not presented each year, but reserved for the very special recognition of individuals who have made significant contributions to the security industry over an extended period of time. Teresa’s efforts distinguish her among the volunteers who move CSAA forward — this award is well deserved.”

Teresa Gonzalez has 25 years of experience in central station operations and technology, including 15 years managing personnel, business operations and technical advancements in the central station.  She joined UCC in 1997 and served as UCC Vice President and General Manager until being promoted to President in 2008. She is a member of the CSAA Board of Directors and a Co-Chair of the CSAA Education Committee.

“I am very humbled and honored to have been selected to receive this award,” said Gonzalez. “It is definitely an unexpected but pleasant surprise! Over the last 15 years, it has been a gratifying experience to work with and share ideas with other CSAA members who are passionate about this industry and its professionalism, especially all those who have contributed to the education committee over the years. I also feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn from so many great leaders at CSAA. I am grateful to them for their support and friendship.”

As chair of the CSAA Education Committee, Gonzalez has been a driving force behind creating and updating CSAA’s educational content, one of the Association’s most important programs. “Be it upgrades to existing programs, such as the Distance Learning Programs for frontline staff, or bringing in relevant speakers for the Fall Operations Conference and CSAA Annual Meeting, Teresa’s vision has been critical in our effort to create relevant content that our business members can use to improve performance and bottom line results,” said Petrow. “As we have been working to advance CSAA, her work in the area of education has significantly contributed to our success.”

“It’s an exciting time to be a part of CSAA,” said Gonzalez. “Under the leadership of President Pam Petrow, Executive Director Jay Hauhn, and all the support staff, CSAA has had new direction and positive change. Board members have a renewed commitment of participation, a common goal and desire to re-create value and relevance for our members, and to continue the furtherance of professionalism in our industry. I am proud and thankful to work with such exceptional people.”

Find out more about the Stanley C. Lott Award and view the list of recipients since 1991 at http://csaaintl.org/stanley-c-lott-award/.

Leadership, Business Management and Technology are Key Themes at 2016 Annual Meeting

2016 is Second Year of Multi-Year Reimagining of CSAA’s Signature Event;
Adjustments to Traditional Schedule Will Enable Full Participation in Fewer Days

VIENNA, VA (July 25, 2016) – With a sharp focus on technology and on business and performance management, along with the networking opportunities for which the event is famous, the 2016 CSAA Annual Meeting offers participants the kind of value in both content and engagement that is unmatched at any other industry event.

The 2016 meeting will be held at the Marriott Resort Marco Island, Marco Island, FL, on October 22-26. Last year’s Annual Meeting in Sonoma, where a revamped education program took center stage, drew rave reviews from attendees. “2015 marked the beginning of a multi-year reimagining of CSAA’s annual event, and based on the member feedback, our efforts were successful,” says CSAA President Pam Petrow. “Attendees in 2016 can expect the same value, with timely presentations built around themes of leadership, business management, and technology, along with the networking opportunities you can only find at a CSAA Annual Meeting.”

Petrow notes that CSAA is making a change from “our traditional leadership meeting schedule this year, in order to address feedback on the length of the meeting.” The CSAA Board will meet on the first day of the conference–Saturday, October 22. Committees will meet on Sunday, October 23. “This change will help committee members participate in the complete array of annual meeting events but arrive a full day later than in the past, if they wish,” she says.

General sessions begin Monday morning, October 24. They include:

Bankable Leadership Strategy: The Secret Weapon to Accelerating Business Success
Speaker: Tasha Eurich, PhD, The Eurich Group

Keynote speaker Tasha Eurich is an organizational psychologist, speaker and New York Times best-selling author of Bankable Leadership – and a fresh, modern voice in the leadership world. By pairing her scientific grounding in human behavior with a pragmatic approach to business challenges, she has helped thousands of leaders over the last fifteen years. With a PhD in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Colorado State University, Eurich serves on the adjunct faculty of the Center for Creative Leadership, one of the top ten executive development institutions in the world. She’s also the principal of The Eurich Group, an executive development firm that helps companies succeed by improving the effectiveness of their leaders and teams. (View Eurich’s recent TedxMileHigh Talk at https://youtu.be/NVPxmz_PvUw.)

“In today’s competitive business environment, leadership is as difficult as it is important. Good leaders create economic value–and poor leaders can sink companies. Even though research tells us that effective leaders balance people and results, this complicated balancing act is easier said than done,” says Eurich. “In the quest to create engaged employees and drive business growth, most leaders feel more comfortable doing one than the other, but this imbalance drastically limits their success.” Eurich will deliver an engaging keynote based on her bottom-line research that will help attendees master the balance. Built on decades of research on the transformation of real leaders, her fresh, practical approach can help almost anyone become bankable–delivering bottom-line results, while simultaneously fostering a healthy work environment. At the end of the session, attendees will understand their personal preferences as a leader and what skills they need to sharpen, and leave with a plan to improve immediately.

Capitalizing Customer Experiences
Speaker: Dennis Snow, Snow & Associates, Inc.

Noted speaker, trainer and consultant Dennis Snow is the author of the book Lessons from the Mouse: A Guide for Applying Disney World’s Secrets of Success to Your Organization, Your Career, and Your Life. His customer service abilities were honed over 20 years with the Walt Disney World Company. There, he developed his passion for service excellence and the experience he brings clients and audiences worldwide. Today, Snow helps organizations including banks, universities and hospitals achieve goals related to customer service, employee development and leadership.

Snow explains: “World-class customer service is not simply a matter of smiling employees who say ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’ Everything your customer sees, hears or touches impacts their experience … This session will cover how delivering world-class service requires careful orchestration of the entire customer experience. Employees watch to see how committed we are as leaders and take their cue directly from us.” Snow will help participants discover what key points of contact make or break the customer experience and understand the behaviors that create a culture of accountability among employees. “As customer expectations are at an all-time high and business competition is fierce, learn about the steps you can take to reinforce organization values and gain organizational commitment to a vision that capitalizes customer service in your company,” he says.

Marketing in the Digital Age–Social Media 102: How to Leverage Social Media To Build Your Business and Your Bottom Line
Speaker: Ken Countess, The Countess Group

Ken Countess is managing director of The Countess Group, a strategic marketing and communications consultancy now in its 15th year. He is an award-winning marketer and an internationally recognized, accredited expert on email marketing and social media marketing. His approach to educating audiences about how to use these tools to build their businesses has earned him the respect of loyal followers around the world.

Countess understands the challenges marketers face. “You’ve hit all the social networks to market your business–but they seem to change every day. Your email contact list is up-to-date–but reaching your audience is a challenge as best practices continue to change. Where do you go from here? Are you getting back what you are putting into your digital marketing efforts?” he says. This session will give participants a closer look at the value of popular social media networks to the professional monitoring industry. They will discover how others in the industry are using social media and email to develop business and learn how to tell if their social marketing activity is working and how to gauge success based on customer reaction and engagement. Takeaways will include reporting and measurement metrics tools and a better understanding of how using digital media can impact the bottom line. CSAA and Countess will present a pre-meeting webinar on Tuesday, September 13 in which participants can get a preview of the impact and value of social media tools.

The complete preliminary program can be found at csaaintl.org/2016am. Additional speakers and session details will be announced in the coming weeks.

To register for the CSAA Annual Meeting, visit csaaintl.org/2016am. The Marriott Resort Marco Island in southwest Florida is on the Gulf of Mexico, just 55 minutes from the Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) or a short drive from Naples, FL. Visit csaaintl.org/2016am for the special reservations link, or call 1-800-GET-HERE (1-800-438-4373). Rates as low as $185/night are available.

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About CSAA International

The Central Station Alarm Association International (CSAA) is an internationally-recognized non-profit trade association that represents professional monitoring companies that are listed by a CSAA-approved Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory, such as FM Approvals, Intertek/ETL or UL. CSAA is legally entitled to represent its members before Congress and regulatory agencies on the local, state and federal levels, and other authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) over the industry. Since its incorporation in 1950, CSAA has served its members’ interests through education, online training, meetings and conventions, certification, insurance, and industry standards. www.csaaintl.org. For more information, contact Elizabeth Lasko at CSAA, 703-242-4670 x 16.