2025 TMA/SDM Excellence Awards Finalists Announced

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The Monitoring Association (TMA) is pleased to announce the finalists for its 2025 Excellence Awards. This year, the awards competition received a total of 37 entries across five categories. Listed in alphabetical order by company within each category, the finalists are:

Monitoring Center of the Year – Enterprise

  • Affiliated Monitoring
  • Becklar Monitoring
  • TELUS Smarthome Security & Secure Business

 Monitoring Center of the Year – SMB

  • Elite Interactive Solutions
  • Kimberlite – Sonitrol
  • Pro-Vigil

 Monitoring Center Manager of the Year

  • Shari Wilson, ADT LLC
  • Allen Waldrip, Brinks Home
  • Galina Klimchuck, Vivint, an NRG company

 Monitoring Center Operator of the Year

  • Terell King, ADT LLC
  • Jennifer Rivera, Affiliated Monitoring
  • Carol Marcil, TELUS Smarthome Security & Secure Business

 Monitoring Center Support Person of the Year:

  • Michael Christatos, Affiliated Monitoring
  • Heather Ferrara, COPS Monitoring
  • Johnny Garcia, Kimberlite – Sonitrol

TMA’s Monitoring Center Excellence Awards recognize any FM Approvals, Intertek/ETL or UL-listed monitoring center (TMA members) and outstanding personnel who perform in the highest professional manner, thereby making a significant contribution to the betterment of the alarm industry and the alarm profession while demonstrating exceptional service to their customers and community.

The purpose of the awards program is to:

  • Establish and promote the inherent value of professional monitoring services in general.
  • Honor those who have made the most significant contributions to the service.
  • Promote the distinct level of professionalism attained by NRTL-approved monitoring centers.

TMA’s Monitoring Center Excellence Awards are co-sponsored by SDM Magazine, which will publish a feature story on this year’s award winners in its August issue. Entries are judged by a volunteer judging panel appointed by TMA. The five winners will be announced at a virtual awards ceremony presented on April 24, 2025, at 3:00 pm ET. For past winners and more information, visit https://tma.us/events/awards/excellence-awards/.

Register to attend the General Business Meeting and Awards Presentation at https://themonitoringassociation.growthzoneapp.com/ap/Events/Register/52FvwwJsbCWCq

Tampa Police Department Implements ASAP Service to Handle Alarm Notifications

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The Monitoring Association (TMA) announced today that the Tampa (Florida) Police Department (TPD) recently implemented its ASAP Service to lessen the impact of alarm/sensor-generated calls that its 911 Communications Center receives. The solution leverages the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP), which was developed jointly by TMA and the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO).

Each year, the center handles about 300,000 calls for emergency service and dispatches the appropriate police, fire/rescue, and/or emergency-medical response. Roughly 20,000 of these calls are generated by alarms and sensors. The center is the 150th 911 center nationwide and the 12th in Florida to implement ASAP Service.

Traditionally, alarm/sensor-generated alerts have been delivered to 911 centers via telephone. Each one required manual interaction between alarm-monitoring-center personnel and 911 telecommunicators. Sometimes it takes as many as five voice calls to deliver the information needed by the 911 center to dispatch the appropriate emergency response. This approach is time-consuming and prone to human error — both outcomes are highly detrimental to the ability of emergency responders to save lives and property.

ASAP Service eliminates these challenges by electronically transmitting alarm and sensor data directly into the 911 center’s computer-aided-dispatch (CAD) system, reducing response times by two minutes on average and freeing telecommunicators to prioritize 911 calls that require their unique skills and expertise.

“The Tampa Police Department aims to serve our community in the most effective way possible, and technology plays a crucial role in achieving that goal,” said Chief Lee Bercaw. “We are constantly seeking out and integrating innovative tools that empower officers to respond to community needs with greater efficiency, precision, and ultimately, increased effectiveness. This proactive approach ensures we are able to provide the best possible service and improve safety in our community.”

According to Mike Terracciano, public-safety-technology manager for the city of Tampa’s Technology and Innovation department, telecommunicators are trained to ask only those questions that will enable them to quickly determine the best response to the emergency. As a result, useful information that the alarm company possesses for each of its clients typically went untapped.

“Now, with ASAP Service, that supplemental information — which might ring important from a responder-safety perspective — is readily available and easily accessed,” Terracciano said.

Learn more about how TMA’s ASAP Service is saving lives every day nationwide at www.ASAP911.org.

About Tampa 911 Communications Center

The 911 Communications Center receives requests for emergency and nonemergency services from the public and various city agencies. The center’s primary mission is to provide effective and efficient communication between citizens requesting police, fire/rescue, and/or emergency-medical service and the units that respond. It also endeavors to expeditiously provide various other support services for police, fire, and administrative operations.

Tampa Police Department Implements ASAP Service

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The Monitoring Association (TMA) announced today that the Tampa (Florida) Police Department (TPD) recently implemented its ASAP Service to lessen the impact of alarm/sensor-generated calls that its 911 Communications Center receives. The solution leverages the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP), which was developed jointly by TMA and the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO). TPD is the 150th ECC to go live with ASAP.

Each year, the center handles about 300,000 calls for emergency service and dispatches the appropriate police, fire/rescue, and/or emergency-medical response. Roughly 20,000 of these calls are generated by alarms and sensors.

Traditionally, alarm/sensor-generated alerts have been delivered to 911 centers via telephone. Each one required manual interaction between alarm-monitoring-center personnel and 911 telecommunicators. Sometimes it takes as many as five voice calls to deliver the information needed by the 911 center to dispatch the appropriate emergency response. This approach is time-consuming and prone to human error — both outcomes are highly detrimental to the ability of emergency responders to save lives and property.

ASAP Service eliminates these challenges by electronically transmitting alarm and sensor data directly into the 911 center’s computer-aided-dispatch (CAD) system, reducing response times by two minutes on average and freeing telecommunicators to prioritize 911 calls that require their unique skills and expertise.

This is especially important given how TPD’s 911 Communications Center operated before the advent of ASAP Service, according to Richard Parsons, communications supervisor. Unlike other 911 centers, alarm and sensor calls came into the center on a 911 line, rather than a nonemergency administrative line. Consequently, those calls went into the same call-waiting queue that contained calls that were reporting medical emergencies, crimes, car accidents, structure fires, and the like.

“So, someone having a heart attack might have to wait for a telecommunicator to finish handling a call that was triggered by an animal tripping a motion detector before getting the lifesaving help they need,” Parsons said. “ASAP Service eliminates that problem.”

According to Mike Terracciano, public-safety-technology manager for the city of Tampa, telecommunicators are trained to ask only those questions that will enable them to quickly determine the best response to the emergency. As a result, useful information that the alarm company possesses for each of its clients typically went untapped.

“Now, with ASAP Service, that supplemental information — which might ring important from a responder-safety perspective — is readily available and easily accessed,” Terracciano said.

Learn more about how TMA’s ASAP Service is saving lives every day nationwide at www.ASAP911.org.

About Tampa 911 Communications Center

The 911 Communications Center receives requests for emergency and nonemergency services from the public and various city agencies. The center’s primary mission is to provide effective and efficient communication between citizens requesting police, fire/rescue, and/or emergency-medical service and the units that respond. It also endeavors to expeditiously provide various other support services for police, fire, and administrative operations.

TMA Members Win SIA NPS Awards at 2025 ISC West

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Established in 1979, the SIA New Products and Solutions (NPS) Awards, formerly the SIA New Product Showcase, recognize innovative physical security products, services and solutions. Technologies showcased through this program are used in the protection of life and property in residential, commercial and institutional settings. The SIA NPS Awards program, presented annually at ISC West, recognizes winners in several product and service categories and presents the prestigious Judges’ Choice and Best New Product awards. The showcase also offers a special physical display area where buyers can discover the latest in security products.

Several TMA members were awarded SIA NPS Awards last week at the 2025 ISC West in Las Vegas.

We’re pleased to congratulate the TMA winners…

Judges’ Choice Award
Winner: #RoboticAssistanceDevices #RAD – SARA – AI Security Agent for Autonomous Threat Detection and Response

Convergence and Integration Solutions
Winner: #AURA – AURA Auto Guard Dispatch

Fire/Life Safety
Winner: #Honeywell – Connected Life Safety Services (CLSS) Compliance Manager With Auto-Pass
Honorable Mention: #Honeywell – CLSS Cloud-Connected Horizon

Managed Services
Honorable Mention: #AlliedUniversal – Unified Command Center Threat

Detection and Response Solutions
Winner: #RoboticAssistanceDevices #RAD – SARA – AI Security Agent for Autonomous Threat Detection and Response

Video Surveillance Advanced Imaging Technologies
Winner: #AxisCommunications – ARTPEC-9

Video Surveillance Cameras
Honorable Mention: #AxisCommunications – AXIS Q1809-LE Bullet Camera

Brinks Home™ Achieves Alarm Validation Scoring Standard Certification for Monitoring Centers

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Brinks Home, one of North America’s leading home security and alarm monitoring companies, announced today that its Monitoring Centers have earned UL certification for Alarm Validation Scoring (AVS-01). With only a handful of certified companies, it marks a significant advancement in alarm verification practices, and through Brinks Home’s achievement, the certification reinforces the company’s commitment to improving emergency response and reducing false alarms.

The AVS-01 certification comes at a time when the security industry is grappling with the growing challenge of false alarms, which place unnecessary strain on Emergency Communication Centers (ECCs) and local law enforcement. Designed by The Monitoring Association (TMA), the AVS-01 is a framework for alarm validation scoring that provides ECCs with the information needed to accurately assess the severity of an alarm and pass that information to the appropriate authorities before they arrive on-site. With this scoring standard, monitoring centers like Brinks Home can categorize alarms with specific threat levels—from no threat to a confirmed threat to life—ensuring law enforcement understands the situation and can respond accordingly.

“Accuracy in security monitoring is critical to ensure the most effective response to an alarm,” said Rick Sheets, vice president of monitoring and compliance at Brinks Home. “Through the AVS-01 certification, we can provide ECCs with the most accurate information possible, reducing false alarms and improving safety for everyone involved.”

To achieve this certification, Brinks Home adopted the necessary technology in its monitoring systems and underwent a UL audit for compliance. The process also involved integrating new workflows into the monitoring platform, training Emergency Dispatch Operators (EDOs) to gather and score information accurately, and implementing a quality assurance program to ensure adherence to the new standards. The AVS-01 certification is a new development in the security industry, and Brinks Home’s certification underscores the company’s dedication to innovation and customer safety.

As technology evolves, Brinks Home is exploring advanced verification methods, including video monitoring and AI recognition, to further enhance alarm assessment. The AVS-01 system will continue to refine alarm prioritization, aiming for police to respond to the most critical alarms first with more accurate information to make better decisions and improve emergency response. Brinks Home remains committed to leveraging new technologies to reduce false alarms, enhance safety, and provide greater peace of mind for homeowners.

For more information about Brinks Home and its Monitoring Centers, visit www.BrinksHome.com/monitoring.

UL Solutions Host Webinar on AVS-01 Certification, March 26

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For everyone in the public safety sector, please join us to gain insights into AVS-01 certification and its impact. Understand the UL Solutions certification process, learn best practices from industry experts, and assess your monitoring center’s readiness for UL AVS-01 Certification. This event is designed to equip you with the knowledge needed for effective preparation.

Here is the registration link: Registration

 

 

TMA members visit Capitol Hill

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On March 4-5, several TMA leaders, members and staff members took part in the industry’s annual Security Hill Walk, which was organized by The Security Industry Association (SIA). ESA leaders, members and staff members also took part in the event, which brought more than than 60 security industry executives to Washington, D.C., to promote important policy priorities that affect our industries every day.

Topics and priorities covered ranged from artificial intelligence and data privacy to workforce development and various critical homeland security grant programs.

On March 4, this year’s Security Hill Day kicked off with the Policy Leadership Dinner, featuring special guest speakers Tom Wheeler, general Counsel for the U.S. Department of Education, and  Brendan Buck, a political analyst for MSNBC and NBC News.

Wheeler spoke to attendees about the current state of school security and what can be done to make schools safer for students and faculty. Buck helped demystify some of the inner workings of Washington, D.C., and put in context the importance of industry engagement with policymakers at this critical time.

On the following morning, the events began with an informative policy breakfast featuring remarks from Rep. Aaron Bean (R-Fla.) from the House Committee on Ways and Means, Rep. David Joyce (R-Pa.) from the Committee on Energy and Commerce and Robert Boland, chief of staff to House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.).

Experts discussed the latest policy developments on a range of issues, including important details of the tax reform package under development, tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, new efforts on crafting a national data privacy law, Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission policies, school security and the outlook and challenges facing the new 119th Congress following the 2024 elections.

Once the Policy Breakfast concluded, Security Hill Day attendees spent the rest of the day meeting with lawmakers and their staff from both the Senate and House.

Why Security Hill Day is So Crucial for the Industry

Security industry leaders relayed policy priorities important to the industry and highlight its support for more than 2 million jobs (according to SIA’s recent study), as well as the crucial role our industry plays in providing solutions that safeguard the American people and our nation’s vital assets and infrastructure.

In just one day, participants were able to meet with 73 congressional offices, as company executives provided a unique outlook on how policies under consideration directly affect their businesses, customers and employees. At the end of the day, participants joined members of Congress and staff for the Security Hill Day reception in the historic Speaker’s Dining Room within the U.S. Capitol building.

Security Hill Day continues to serves as a powerful platform for the security industry to make its voice heard and provide valuable insight to lawmakers, relaying the needs of the industry, spurring action and fostering important relationships.

This is an excerpt from an article written by George Sewell, the manager of government relations for the Security Industry Association. The original version of this post appeared on SIA’s website and is used with permission.

L.A. Wildfires: Security’s Role in the Recovery and Rebuild

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On March 18, 2025, members of the security industry will hear an impactful and personal assessment of the tragic and devasting wildfires upon the surrounding communities and offer the opportunity for interested industry stakeholders to discuss a potential role in the recovery efforts.

This program, co-presented by the Security Industry Association, the Electronic Security Association, PSA and The Monitoring Association, is developed for information purposes and to raise awareness of current recovery efforts that may involve security strategies; it is not intended to be a platform for any endorsement of specific security products or services.

Objectives:

  • Present an overview of how the impacted communities have begun to organize and develop rebuilding strategies
  • Understand current and near-term security and life safety needs
  • Discuss how security may be part of the infrastructure and rebuilding strategy
  • Receive information about relevant first responder engagement and planning

Intended Outcome:

  • To educate the industry about the current recovery plan and to begin a process for companies to contemplate potential involvement in such efforts

Featured Speakers:

  • Michael Zatulov, president, Elite Interactive Solutions, and co-organizer of the Palisades Rebuild group with 2,000+ members including residents, businesses, contractors, officials and agencies
  • Tom Stone, Los Angeles Police Department sergeant II, Metro Division, 26-year veteran; former U.S. Army sergeant major
  • Mitch Tavera, Palisades Rebuild member; ex-police chief (39 years with El Segundo, California, Police Department)

Moderated by:

  • Geoff Kohl, senior director of marketing, Security Industry Association

Register at https://www.securityindustry.org/webinar/l-a-wildfires-securitys-role-in-the-recovery-and-rebuild/.

Alarm.com Acquires CHeKT

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Alarm.com announced a majority-stake acquisition of CHeKT, a cloud platform for remote video monitoring (RVM) services.

CHeKT’s enterprise-ready platform includes subscription-based RVM services that enable central stations and service providers to deliver high-value, proactive, crime-stopping solutions to commercial and residential subscribers.

According to the announcement, CHeKT has cultivated a robust partner base, and the acquisition strengthens Alarm.com’s market opportunity in the emerging professional video monitoring space. CHeKT’s intuitive control room operator interface enables proactive video verification and response capabilities, allowing central station operators to evaluate video alarm events quickly and accurately.

CHeKT’s RVM solution is already embedded into many central stations and offers compatibility with many different video camera brands and other security products. CHeKT will continue to operate independently, and the Alarm.com video solution and the OpenEye enterprise video solution will be fully integrated into CHeKT’s control room software. With the addition of CHeKT, Alarm.com’s service provider partners can deliver an RVM solution to protect any property type.

“CHeKT is a pioneer and a leader in the RVM space,” said Jeff Bedell, president, ventures business and corporate strategy, Alarm.com. “CHeKT’s deep industry experience has allowed them to design a comprehensive product that fits in seamlessly with monitoring station workflows. Their technology has attracted an impressive roster of partners, and we look forward to building on that momentum with the CHeKT team.”

Wes Usie, president and founder of CHeKT, said, “We’re excited to take CHeKT to the next level with Alarm.com. We built the CHeKT platform to help professional security providers deliver a unique and crucial video security solution to their customers. No company delivers on that vision as comprehensively as Alarm.com, making it an ideal outcome for CHeKT to continue to evolve and expand our solutions with them.”

This announcement appeared on SDMmag.com on Feb. 11, 2025.

New York Fire Alarm Association (nyFAA) Celebrates Two Decades of Fire & Life Safety Excellence

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