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Rapid Response’s Morgan Hertel Honored with Stanley C. Lott Award at 2017 TMA Annual Meeting

Morgan Hertel, vice president of Technology and Innovation for Rapid Response Monitoring Services, Inc. was awarded The Monitoring Association (TMA)’s highest honor, the Stanley C. Lott Memorial Award for Exemplary Service, at the 2017 Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, AZ on October 11.

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

“As always, the Lott Award was presented to a person who has demonstrated above and beyond commitment to our association and to the industry over a number of years,” said Pamela J. Petrow, then-president of TMA, who presented the award. “Morgan is someone who gives tirelessly of his time through committee work, responding on our digital community board, and in one-to-one consultation, all in an effort to improve our

Morgan and Pam Lott Award

Morgan Hertel (left) and Pam Petrow. 

association and to educate others in the industry … including his competitors!”

“Morgan is a chair or participant on numerous committees – not only TMA’s, but on SIA, ESA, AICC, PPVAR and UL groups,” Petrow continued. “I would guess that the majority of people present when we announced his name at the Annual Meeting have benefited from Morgan’s knowledge and wisdom, which he shares so generously. I am honored to be the president who presented Morgan with the Lott Award – it is richly deserved.”

Hertel has been with Rapid Response since 2012. His work has led to many technological enhancements to the company’s infrastructure and the development of its west coast monitoring center in Corona, CA. He is well known throughout the industry, is a contributor to many industry publications and has served in various capacities in its education programs and in the development of standards. He is the chair of TMA’s Contract Monitoring Council and, in June 2017, was elected to the position of Vice President on the TMA Board of Directors.

“This is really an honor and a privilege – not only to receive this award but to be here at the TMA Annual Meeting,” said Hertel. “One of the reasons I do what I do is a personal belief in the importance of giving back. I think many in our industry feel the same way. You give back to your community, church, faith, your industry that’s provided you with a great living over the last 40 years. I’m honored to receive this and it’s great to be recognized, but really it’s another opportunity for inspire other industry members and their kids and the people following behind us to start giving back.”

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

 

Onetel’s Sascha Kylau Honored with TMA President’s Award, for Leadership in Education, Technology

Sascha Kylau, vice president of sales at OneTel Security, was awarded The Monitoring Association (TMA)’s President’s Award for service to the alarm industry on October 11 at the 2017 Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, AZ.

Sascha Pam President's Award

Sascha Kylau (left) and Pam Petrow. 

“Part of TMA’s mission to provide education to our members that helps them meet today’s industry challenges. This year Sascha’s efforts as co-chair of the Technology Committee and member of the Education Committee have resulted in considerable advances toward that goal,” said Pamela J. Petrow, then-president of TMA, who presented the award. “He helped coordinate technology webinars open to all TMA members, spearheaded the Annual Meeting technology sessions that were a big attraction at our event, and assisted in the review of the Level 1 training course.”

Petrow continued, “Sascha is a valued member of the TMA community. As the representative of our associate member Onetel, his enthusiastic participation in the initiatives of TMA make him a real partner and well-deserving of the President’s Award.”

Sascha Kylau is the VP of OneTel Security and a frequent speaker and educator at industry events. He started as an engineer for Sur-Gard 20 years ago and has worked in the monitoring industry for his whole career. He is the current co-chair of The Monitoring Association Technology committee and is an active participant of the Alarm Industry Communications Committee. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronics Engineering.

“I would like to start off by saying thank you,” said Kylau upon receiving the award. “I am honored to be presented with this award by Pam Petrow. Not only do I consider Pam a friend but I look to her as a mentor; she has helped me to become the person I am today.  I have had the privilege of serving this association for the past 19 years. I will continue to bring my knowledge to the table and assist the association in its education as we move forward in a constantly-evolving industry.”

–Elizabeth Lasko, TMA, October 18, 2017

 

State Farm’s Joe Miskulin Honored with CSAA President’s Award for Leadership in Education, Proprietary Monitoring

On October 26 at the Central Station Alarm

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Joe Miskulin, left, with his President’s Award and CSAA Executive Director Jay Hauhn

Association’s Annual Meeting in Marco Island, Joe Miskulin, manager at State Farm Central Monitoring Services, was awarded the CSAA President’s Award for his service to the monitoring industry. Miskulin, who was not in attendance at the Annual Meeting, was presented with his award at the CSAA Fall Operations Management Seminar (“Fall Ops”) in Elizabeth, NJ, on November 14.

“This is completely unexpected and humbling for someone like me, who came into this profession with a ton of questions and no experience to speak of,” said Miskulin. “I don’t have the words to thank all of the mentors that have helped me along the way.”

Miskulin has been with State Farm Insurance for 35 years, the last 20 as the manager of the State Farm proprietary central station. He is one of the founding members of the CSAA Proprietary Council, which started in 1999 with a change in the association’s bylaws permitting not-for-profit central stations to become regular members. He has served on the CSAA Board of Directors since 2008 and been the co-chair of the CSAA Education Committee since 2009.

“We congratulate Joe on receiving this well-deserved recognition in front of his peers and the membership that he has worked tirelessly to support for many years,” said CSAA President Pam Petrow. “As chair of the Proprietary Council and co-chair of the CSAA Education Committee, he has accepted leadership roles that have been very important to the growth and sustainability of the membership. He has led the Proprietary members, driving participation as well as content for meetings. On the education front, he has listened to the participants and worked to find topics and speakers, particularly for our annual Fall Ops event, that are relevant and engaging.”

It’s fitting that the President’s Award was presented at Fall Ops. “One of the highlights of my year is coming to the Fall Operations Management Seminar and having the opportunity to learn from my colleagues and friends,” said Miskulin, who called Fall Ops “the one industry event for central station personnel presented by central station personnel.”

“We’re an association that deals with security, yet I have never known a group more willing to share ideas and best practices with their ‘competition’ in order to achieve a common goal — to safeguard the public,” said Miskulin.

“As CSAA leaders and members have been working to revitalize CSAA, Joe’s efforts have significantly contributed to our success,” concluded Petrow.

 

 

 

 

New Year’s ASAP® News: Vivint is Latest Company to Connect

Implementation of the “Automated Secure Alarm Protocol” is Building Nationwide;
Boca Raton is First Connected PSAP in Florida

VIENNA, VA (January 12, 2016) – Vivint, one of the largest smart home technology providers in North America with more than one million customers, is the latest national alarm company to go live with ASAP®.

“We are very pleased to announce that Vivint has completed testing and officially is live with ASAP messaging,” said CSAA President Pamela J. Petrow. “They join the ever-growing list of companies actively participating in this technology and further increasing our accuracy and speed at getting emergency information to the first responders.”

“We are excited to be live with our first PSAP—Richmond, VA,” said Amy Becht, Vivint Director of Central Stations. “We plan on steadily adding additional PSAPs in the coming weeks.”

CSAA announced in December that Vector Security and Rapid Response went operational in production with Boca Raton on December 16, followed by Monitronics on December 17. This is the first ASAP implementation in the state of Florida. “We had great momentum throughout 2015 and look forward to the continuation of added PSAPs and connected alarm companies in 2016,” said Petrow.

ASAP-Concept1DASAP was launched in 2011 as a public-private partnership, designed to increase the efficiency and reliability of emergency electronic signals from central station alarm companies to Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). ASAP utilizes ANSI standard protocols developed cooperatively by the Association of Public Communications Officials (APCO) and the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA).

With ASAP, critical life safety signals and accurate information is processed more quickly, through the Nlets system of state-to-state PSAP communication, insuring that complete and accurate information is transmitted to the PSAP every time. The ASAP program has the potential to save PSAPs and emergency services millions of dollars.

For more information on ASAP or to access ASAP resources (videos, webinars, training and outreach materials), contact CSAA at asap@csaaintl.org or 703-242-4670, or visit csaaintl.org/asap.

 

CSAA Kicks Off CSAA/Verisk Data Exchange Project

The CSAA (Central Station Alarm Association) Board of Directors formally approved the CSAA/Verisk Data Exchange Project at its October 11 annual meeting in Sonoma, CA.

The project goal is to study the impact of professionally monitored alarm systems on insurance risk. This will be accomplished by combining CSAA member alarm system data with Verisk’s proprietary insurance data. Insights from this study could be used in filings for updated discounts with insurance department regulators. This project will also assess the relevancy and value of alarm system data in the insurance underwriting, pricing and claims handling process.

Verisk Analytics (Nasdaq:VRSK) is a leading data analytics provider serving customers in insurance, energy, healthcare, financial services, government, and risk management.

CSAA president Pam Petrow, president/CEO of Vector Security, related that “this project is the most important collaboration between the alarm industry and the insurance industry in a generation. Working together with Verisk will quantify the value of security solutions to reduce risk and give the insurers a reason to offer their policy holders incentives for professionally monitored alarm systems.”

Anthony Canale, vice president of Verisk Crime Analytics, added, “We’re excited to work with CSAA and use alarm system data to create risk models for our insurance stakeholders to help them quantify risk, reduce losses and improve their customers’ experience.”

Jay Hauhn, the executive director of the CSAA, stated that the CSAA/Verisk Exchange Committee (CVEC) will drive this data collection and analysis project and include several subcommittees.

Keith Jentoft, president of Videofied and a strong advocate of insurance/security alliances, has been appointed to chair the CVEC and is working with CSAA members to organize the committees and define project milestones. Don Young, COO of Protection 1, has been appointed as the board liaison giving the CSAA Board oversight and direction to the CVEC.

 

CSAA Annual Meeting: “People will really have to ask themselves why they were not there?”

CSAA Annual Meeting Draws Raves from Attendees

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

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.

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CSAA Annual Meeting participants at Dr. Robert Rohm’s interactive leadership session, “Why Can’t You Be Normal…Like Me!” Photo by Brandon Freedman.

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.”

Sonoma Beary Cunningham small

Richard Beary, president, International Association of Chiefs of Police, and Terrence Cunningham, first vice president, IACP, participate in the AHJs luncheon with CSAA members. Photo by Brandon Freedman.

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 at the 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.

CSAA President Pam Petrow, Keynote Speaker Stan Stahl, Ph.D., and CSAA Executive Director Jay Hauhn. Photo by Brandon Freedman.

CSAA President Pam Petrow, Keynote Speaker Stan Stahl, Ph.D., and CSAA Executive Director Jay Hauhn. Photo by Brandon Freedman.

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

 

Diebold is Latest Central Station to Go Live with ASAP®

ASAP-Concept1DDiebold, Incorporated, a global provider of integrated self-service solutions, security systems and services, went live with ASAP® in the city of Richmond, VA on September 9. “The momentum with ASAP continues as we add another national provider,” said CSAA President Pamela J. Petrow. “We are excited to have Diebold now transmitting alarm activity through the network and look forward to their expansion into additional cities.”

“With ASAP, priority alarm signals are processed within seconds, not minutes, ensuring that complete and accurate information is transmitted from the Diebold Monitoring Center to the PSAP every time,” said Damon Kanzler, Diebold electronic security, vice president, centralized services and business processes. “This time savings will improve dispatching services for Diebold customers while reducing the volume of time-consuming alarm calls to local PSAPs and increase our dispatcher productivity.”

Read the complete story.

CSAA President Pam Petrow is a Featured Expert on the “Business of Security” at Securing New Ground

CSAAPam-Petrow[1] President Pam Petrow, president and CEO of Vector Security, is one of the featured presenters at the Security Industry Association (SIA)’s Securing New Ground® (SNGTM) at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City. The event is coming up fast — October 28-29.

CSAA Executive Director Jay Hauhn, a former president of both SIA and CSAA, has participated in SNG as a speaker and presenter for many years. “SNG is a one-of-a-kind experience,” he says. “I have made it a priority to participate throughout my career in the security industry. It’s the event where you can really gain a sense of the market today and what is likely to happen tomorrow.”

According to SIA, Securing New Ground® (SNG) is about the “business of security. At SNG, C-level executives, new entrants, investors and security practitioners discuss and map the state of the security industry.” Participants in SNG will gain access ​​to unparalleled networking opportunities and valuable industry information, presented by ​​​market leaders sharing relevant industry information, not sponsored content.

Petrow will participate in a panel titled “Market Leaders Perspective: How Established Companies Stay Nimble and Relevant.”  In her session, she and moderator Kirk McDowell, Vice President, Platform Sales, alarm.com and co-panelist Tim Whall, Chairman & CEO, Protection 1, will discuss how successful companies grow and evolve over time. They will address how technological and industry shifts, the threat of new entrants, understanding your market and your customers’ aspirations, globalization, changing government regulations and more require companies to stay efficient and innovative to keep ahead of their competitors.

See the complete program and register at http://www.securityindustry.org/Pages/IndustryEvents/Securing-New-Ground.aspx

Shannon Woodman Joins CSAA Board of Directors Executive Committee

CSAA board member Shannon Woodman, COO of Washington Alarm in Seattle, Washington, is the newest member of the CSAA Board of Directors’ Executive Committee. She joins the committee at the invitation of the president, in the role of Special Advisor. Shannon Woodman headshot

“I am very excited to have Shannon join the Executive Committee,” said CSAA President Pam Petrow, President and CEO, Vector Security. “She has shown great leadership with her work as Chair of the Membership Committee and Co-Chair of the Owner Operator/Regional Voice of the Customer sessions. Her abilities to collaborate, be innovative, and communicate effectively are talents that will further strengthen the EC.”

As the 3rd generation in an alarm company family, Shannon Woodman grew up in the security industry. She came to work full time for Washington Alarm in 2000 as a sales representative and quickly worked her way up to Sales Manager. In 2011 Woodman officially took over day-to-day operations of the company from her father, becoming Chief Operating Officer.

“I am excited to be a part of the new leadership team at CSAA,” said Woodman. “We have a great group of people working hard to make effective changes that will position CSAA to provide even greater benefits to our membership.”

Woodman is a member of Security Systems News “20 under 40,” Integrator Class of 2010. In 2014 she received the Presidential Special Recognition Award for her work with the membership committee with CSAA. She has served as:

  • Board Member Seattle Executive Association 2005-2007 and 2008-2010
  • President of Seattle Executives Association 2009
  • Board Member and Community Service Chair of Seattle International District Rotary Club 2003-2007
  • Board Member of Seattle International District Rotary Club 2013-Current
  • President of Seattle International District Rotary Club 2014-2015
  • Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) Membership Chair 2010-Present
  • CSAA Board Member 2013-Present

Woodman states, “I believe in working on our business and not just in our business. I do this by attending seminars, listening to speakers, asking other people how they do things in their business, as well as meeting as many people as I can.”

Want to receive news from CSAA? Subscribe to our blog or sign up for Signals, our biweekly e-newsletter.

–Elizabeth Lasko, October 2, 2015

ADT is Live with ASAP®

Automated Secure Alarm Protocol Now Available to PSAPs around the Country

VIENNA, VA (August 27, 2015) — ADT Security Services, ranked as the largest central station in the nation,  went live with ASAP® in the city of Richmond, VA on August 25. The news was met with cheers from security industry leaders who noted that it will cause a surge in the availability of the ASAP program to Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) around the country.

ASAP-Concept1D“Having ADT go live is a milestone for the ASAP program,” said CSAA President Pamela J. Petrow, CEO of Vector Security. “With the size of their account base, ADT’s utilization of ASAP brings instant benefits to most PSAPs.  This is critical because it allows the PSAP to better position the deployment of ASAP among their many initiatives.”

ASAP was launched in 2011 as a public-private partnership, designed to increase the efficiency and reliability of emergency electronic signals from central station alarm companies to PSAPs. ASAP utilizes ANSI standard protocols developed cooperatively by the Association of Public Communications Officials (APCO) and the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA).

With ASAP, critical life safety signals and accurate information is processed in seconds, not minutes, through the Nlets system of state-to-state PSAP communication, insuring that complete and accurate information is transmitted to the PSAP every time. The ASAP program has the potential to save PSAPs and emergency services millions of dollars.

“ADT’s implementation of ASAP is a win-win for ADT, the ASAP project, and the City of Richmond,” said Bill Hobgood, Project Manager, Public Safety Team Department of Information Technology City of Richmond, Virginia. “ADT will experience first-hand the benefits of using the ASAP program that so many other alarm central stations have experienced. This is the ASAP project’s biggest achievement yet. The city of Richmond’s Emergency Communications staff are thrilled about ADT joining the program and anxious for more alarm companies to follow.”

“ADT has supported ASAP thoroughly since its inception, and now that they are connecting, PSAPs throughout the country will take notice,” said Jay Hauhn, CSAA Executive Director. “With Protection One on line and other nationals at the doorstep, 2016 will be a great year for ASAP.”

In the August 2015 issue of APCO’s Public Safety Magazine (PSC), David Cutler, director of the Houston Emergency Center (HEC), reported savings of nearly $400,000 annually from reduced call volume following ASAP implementation. “These dollars were re-purposed within the department to expand training, supervisory and administrative positions,” Cutler said. He estimated that Houston will eventually achieve a 30% reduction in call volume as more alarm companies come on board with ASAP, for a savings of $1 million.

Also in PSC, Hobgood stated that “… all PSAPs currently using ASAP should experience a significant reduction in 10-digit call volume once ADT goes live with each agency. Those PSAPs will experience the luxury of having ADT’s alarm notifications delivered efficiently and accurately via the ASAP program. ADT monitors more than 6 million alarm systems, so the announcement is likely to [prompt] other alarm companies to step up and participate in the ASAP program as well.“

For more information on ASAP or to access ASAP resources (videos, webinars, training and outreach materials), contact CSAA at asap@csaaintl.org or 703-242-4670, or visit csaaintl.org/asap.

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.