CSAA Annual Meeting Draws Raves from Attendees

/in , , /by

First Year of Multi-Year Reimagining of CSAA’s Signature Event a Hit with Members

VIENNA, VA (October 22, 2015) – Security industry professionals explored their leadership styles, received tools and insights for dealing with health insurance trends, crisis communications and cyber security, and discussed technology trends and legal issues last week in Sonoma, CA. The 2015 CSAA International Annual Meeting garnered rave reviews from attendees, who attended at the highest rate since 2008.

The 2015 meeting marked the beginning of a multi-year reimagining of CSAA’s annual event. “We have been delighted with the member feedback on the revamped Annual Meeting,” said CSAA President Pam Petrow, President and CEO of Vector Security. “The responses have been overwhelmingly positive and confirm we are headed in the right direction.”

With the goal that attendees would have an experience that added value to their business, CSAA assembled a roster of expert presenters to share information to help members change and improve their business practices. So strong was the participation throughout the education sessions that the room was still full for the last session on the last day.

“President Petrow and I saw this meeting as a bellwether event for CSAA, where we would present a vision for where we wanted to take the association during her tenure,” said CSAA Executive Director Jay Hauhn. “We created an agenda that was much different from our traditional programs. We eliminated having the same speakers as in previous years, just giving updates on what’s changed in the last 12 months. We threw away the old agendas, and started from scratch with a laser focus on evolving member needs. Judging from our members’ participation and feedback, we succeeded in presenting a program that will have a real and meaningful impact on their businesses.”

“I thought every session held was relevant, to business and specifically our industry,” said CSAA member Howard Sanders, VP of Operations, Kings III. “I look forward to coming back next year!”

“The CSAA Annual Meeting was a great event,” said first-time attendee Justin Bailey, COO, AvantGuard Monitoring Centers. “I’ve learned a lot from the courses and from rubbing shoulders with some of the leaders of the industry. I’m planning on returning for 2016, and I look forward to what I can learn there and the connections I can make. “

The conference included plenty of networking opportunities for members, both onsite at formal and informal gatherings, and offsite at special events that took advantage of the setting in Sonoma wine country. This format allowed members to get acquainted and for associate and consultant members to engage with CSAA’s North American and international alarm company members. “[This was] actually one of the best and most relevant Annual Meetings I’ve been to,” said Chuck Speck, president of Bold Technologies. “As an associate member, it’s really encouraging to see the focal changes on the association becoming more geared toward growth, content and development. There’s a tremendous amount of value there, and I hope that message gains traction throughout the industry.”

A unique aspect of the CSAA Annual Meeting is the presence of Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) representatives. The 2015 event included the largest representation of AHJs in several years, including Chiefs of Police, Fire Chiefs, and Sheriffs. These groups were allotted time to meet separately by themselves and with the CSAA members, so that they could engage with each other and then bring their own unique challenges to the attention of the alarm industry.

“My expectations were exceeded tremendously at our CSAA annual meeting,” said Ralph Sevinor, president of Wayne Alarm Systems. “This was the first time we had our general manager, Jeff Kahn, attend, and he told me that he felt so motivated and confident after the event, and that he could not recall at any other industry event such an open dialogue at such a high level.”

“This CSAA annual meeting was an amazing experience,” Sevinor added. “People will really have to ask themselves why they were not there?”      

At the event, CSAA announced that the 2016 Annual Meeting will be held in Marco Island (FL) Marriott Beach Resort, October 22-27.  “We will continue to build on 2015’s success for the 2016 Annual Meeting and welcome comments related to content and format,” said President Petrow.

The 2015 CSAA Annual Meeting program included:

  • Meeting the Information Security Management Challenge: The Financial Implications of Cybercrime on the Alarm Monitoring Industry — Stan Stahl, Ph.D.
  • Protect Your Reputation: Crisis Management in the Cyber Age — David Margulies, Margulies Communications
  • “Why Can’t You Be Normal…Like Me!” — Robert A. Rohm, Ph.D., Personality Insights
  • This is Going to Pinch! National Market Trends in Health Care and How They Will Affect Your Bottom Line: A Panel Presentation by National Experts Representing Health Insurance Carriers and Brokers
  • Business Impact of Technology and Innovation Speaker: Jay Hauhn, Executive Director, CSAA
  • Legal Concerns in a Tech-Crazy World Speaker: Charles C. Eblen, Esquire, Partner, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, L.L.P.
  • The Communications Landscape Speaker: Syed Zaeem “Z” Hosain, Founder, SVP Engineering and CTO, Aeris Communications, Inc.
  • Innovation in a Services Based Economy–It’s Not Your Father’s Monitoring Business Anymore! — Steven Van Till, President and COO, Brivo Systems, Steve Trundle, CEO, Alarm.com

###

 

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.

 

Call for 2015 Annual Meeting Presentations

/1 Comment/in , /by

You are cordially invited to share your experience and expertise with your colleagues in the alarm industry. Others will benefit from your experience while you make a valuable contribution to the profession’s field of knowledge.  Our goal is to showcase topics that have a high impact and inspire discussion.  If you would like to enhance the knowledge and skills of your industry peers, CSAA wants to hear from you!

With the continuous effort to keep up with technology and its impact to the central station monitoring industry, this year’s presentations should address topics that are in the forefront of our minds – in other words: “What keeps you awake at night?”  Or perhaps, “What SHOULD be keeping us awake at night?”  Suggested topics include:

 Best Practices in Executive Professional Development

The Connected Everything

Cyber-Security – Is Your Company Protected?

The Do it Yourself Frontier

Insurance and the DIY Security Movement

Keeping Your Business Competitive and Relevant

The Legal Landscape of New Capabilities

Overcoming Challenges Caused by the Speed of Technology

Understanding New Standards

Video Monitoring

Please DOWNLOAD and complete the presentation proposal for consideration by Noon EST on Monday, February 2, 2015.  Submit your completed proposal(s) via e-mail to: education@csaaintl.org

Note that some features of this form may not be supported in some PDF viewers.  This form works best with Adobe Reader.  To download and install Adobe Reader visit http://get.adobe.com/reader/

If you have any questions contact Julie Webber, VP of Education and Training, 703-242-4670 x15.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR SPEAKERS

  • The specialization and decision-making authority of our audience provides an outstanding opportunity for speakers to increase their visibility and establish valuable contacts with a targeted audience.
  • Previous speaking experience is not a requirement; CSAA encourages professional growth and will review all proposals that are complete, well- structured, and demonstrate true benefit to the program attendees.
  • Speakers are expected to pay full registration and other related fees. 
  • Speakers  are responsible for providing their own handouts. While handouts are not required, they are strongly recommended for the success of your session.  When available,  CSAA will work with individuals to provide a digital medium to disseminate materials.  
  • Presentation  submission deadline for the 2015 Annual Meeting is by Noon on Monday,  February 2, 2015.  For multiple proposals, please use a separate form for each presentation concept.

Speaker Selection Process   
The CSAA education committee co-chairs and advisory committee along with the CSAA Vice President of Education and Training will review all submissions received by the deadline.  Selections will be made based on subject matter and relevance.  All primary contacts will be notified of selection status on or before Friday, February 20, 2015.

Speaker Prep Sessions will take place in August/September 2015.   These 30-minute conference calls will include a thorough review of the presentation slides, related handouts, and other materials.  CSAA has a strict “no-advertising” policy and reserves the right to remove any material deemed as such.

CHECKLIST FOR COMPLETING YOUR PRESENTATION PROPOSAL

  • Provide contact information for those involved in your presentation.  If you plan on presenting with one or more people, please make sure to include their names and contact information, including preferred method of contact, company affiliation, phone and email address.
  • Include a short bio. Outline your years of experience, educational background/credentials, and practical experience in the subject matter.  Don’t forget your co-presenters!  If you have not yet identified your co-speaker(s), please provide a representative category (i.e., from the Central Station perspective).
  • Along with a brief overview, please indicate the proposed length of your presentation.  Educational programs range in length from 30-60-90 minutes, depending on the date, time and format requirements.  Discuss what makes your topic relevant.  Why should we attend?
  • Please indicate whether you will be providing handout materials.
  • Submission deadline:  Noon on Monday, February 2, 2015

CS Monitoring Resource Guide:

/in /by

The Essentials of Operator Training

Elizabeth Lasko, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, CSAA elaborates on the essentials of operator training and central station best practices.  Read more at Security Info Watch.

 

 

SecInfoWatch

2013 CSAA General Education Survey

/in /by

Now’s your chance to let us know what you want out of CSAA Education. If you attended any CSAA events in 2013, including webinars, please let us know your thoughts. Even if you didn’t attend, we still want to hear from you. Your responses will help shape CSAA’s educational programs for 2014.

Click here to take the survey.

 

 

.

.

.

.

.

.

.