CSAA is pleased to announce the four winners of the 2016 Excellence Awards:
Central Station of the Year
Rapid Response Monitoring Services, Inc.
Central Station Manager of the Year
Michelle Lindus, Vivint Smart Home
Central Station Operator
of the Year
Amy Cerney, Vivint Smart Home
Central Station Support Person of the Year
David Carter, Vector Security, Inc.
From left: Vivint’s Amy Cerney and Michelle Lindus, CSAA President Pam Petrow, Rapid Response President Jeff Atkins, and representing Vector’s David Carter, Vector Central Station Manager Sal Calafato following the presentation of the 2016 Excellence Awards. Photo by Elizabeth Lasko.
Rapid Response’s core belief is three-pronged: people, training, and technology. The Excellence Awards judges determined that this outstanding company proved to deserve the spot at the pinnacle of our industry. Rapid’s application detailed extensive plans for disaster recovery, false alarm reduction, education and training, technology innovation, customer relations, and community outreach efforts including charitable activities. Its leaders are heavily involved in bettering the industry through volunteering with industry associations to advance important issues such as standards, public sector engagement, and legislation.
Michelle Lindus is Central Station Manager at Vivint, where she leads a team of 140. She participated in the establishment of Vivint’s HOME Quality Service policy to ensure world-class customer service and heads the team that specializes in false alarm reduction. A perpetual student who is always reading, researching and testing new ideas, Michelle has a passion for service in the alarm industry that compels her to work holidays alongside her team and volunteer her off time to CSAA education programs.
David Carter is East Central Station Tech Support Leader at Vector, where he started in 1997 as an operator in data entry. He is a key member of the Disaster Recovery Team and excels at quickly troubleshooting and solving phone carrier issues. Always striving to expand his knowledge, David is known for his willingness to travel to other sites for technical projects and to stand in as an operator or tech support representative whenever needed, and for his commitment to ensuring no piece of equipment ever fails.
Amy Cerney has been a Monitoring Representative at Vivint for ten years. Her responses are frequently featured in company-wide reports of exceptional service; she ably mentors new representatives; and is known as a comforting voice of calm for customers. She is a shining example of Vivint’s and the security industry’s core values to protect lives – last year, she donated a kidney to save the life of a Vivint co-worker.
The CSAA Central Station Excellence Awards recognize any FM Approvals, Intertek/ETL or UL-listed central station (CSAA members and non-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 central station 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 central stations.
The CSAA Central Station Excellence Awards Program is sponsored by SDM Magazine.
Entries are judged by a blue-ribbon judging panel appointed by CSAA. The four winners were announced at the 2016 Industry Excellence Awards Breakfast at ESX in Fort Worth on Thursday, June 9. For past winners and more information, visit csaa.org/csaa-excellence-awards.
On November 1, Hamilton County / Chattanooga, TN became the 30th 9-1-1 PSAP (Public Safety Answering Point) in the United States and the 1st in Tennessee to implement the ASAP-to-PSAP service (ASAP®). Tennessee is the 11th state plus the District of Columbia now open for ASAP traffic.
