Vol. 16, No. 13 - July 9, 2010
8150 Leesburg Pike, Suite 700, Vienna, VA 22182
703-242-4670; Fax 703-242-4675
www.csaaintl.org

This issue of the CSAA Signals is brought to you by our sponsor:

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Table of Contents

• Please participate in one of the CSAA NLETS Committees
• In Memoriam: Tonja Jenkins
• Mineau Recognized with CSAA Honorary Membership
• July's CSAA Security Trends Survey
• Ivan Spector Receives SIAC's 2010 William N. Moody Award
• Calling All Contract Monitoring Companies
• Jim George Steps-in as CSAA Proprietary Council Chairman
• 60th Anniversary Pins
• Last Chance: Celebrate CSAA's 60th Anniversary with a Personal Message
• Remember To ...

Please participate in one of the CSAA NLETS Committees

As covered in the 2010 spring issue of the CSAA Dispatch, CSAA started developing an alarm communication protocol that would allow the computerized transmission of dispatch information from Listed Central Stations to the police and fire departments five years ago, under the direction of then-CSAA President John A. Murphy. This has been an enormous undertaking, but the fruits of these early efforts are now coming into focus.

The International Justice and Public Safety Network (NLETS) and the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) have reached an agreement to gain access to a secure data pipe into most of the police dispatch agencies across the country. Pam Petrow and the entire Vector Security company hand-carried this project to this point. With much more work still to be done, it is now time for the rest of the association to contribute time, talent and possibly money to complete this project.

CSAA president Ed Bonifas invites you and/or others in your company to participate in three committees that will make the direct electronic communication of central stations to the PSAP a reality.

Alarm Interface – Steering Committee
Committee Chair: Pam Petrow

The steering committee is charged with overseeing the project, keeping all committees on task, and developing the funding mechanisms needed to operate. This committee is tasked to be the decision maker on all the strategic issues surrounding the project.

Committee members should be composed of CSAA leadership and the leaders of forward-thinking central station alarm companies.

Steering Committee members should be willing and able to commit company resources and talent where needed.

Alarm Interface - Technical and Standards Committee

This committee is charged with all of the bits and bytes of a project as complex as this.

Their mission is to work on the details of data fields, transport protocols, connectivity, testing, training programs, and communication of needed changes to the participants. Long term, the Technical Committee will have oversight responsibility to ensure the system is used within the agreed upon parameters and standards.

Committee Members should be IT professionals, tech savvy central station management people and high-level representatives from ALL alarm industry automation vendors.

Alarm Interface – Outreach Committee

This committee is charged with communicating project goals to our partners in public safety and with assisting with the implementation of this program within their communities.

This committee will also interact with the controlling agency of the NLETS connection in each of 50 states in the U. S. to achieve the support of this program.

Committee members should be member company owners, public relations representatives, marketing professionals, and public liaison officers.

Members should represent a diverse cross section of the map of the U.S.

Our partners in this project, APCO and NLETS, may be represented on all committees.

To volunteer to serve on these committees, please e-mail CSAA Executive VP Steve Doyle at director@csaaintl.org or CSAA President Ed Bonifas at ebonifas@adsalarm.com.

In Memoriam: Tonja Jenkins

Our sympathies, prayers and condolences are with the family of our friend and colleague, Tonja Jenkins, Associate Executive Director of the Electronic Security Association (ESA), who passed away on July 3, 2010. We also extend our thoughts and prayers to the staff at ESA, as they mourn Tonja's loss. Tonja's many contributions to ESA include the Young Security Professionals and the Executive Strategic Partners programs. A fund has been established to assist the family with funeral expenses. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Jenkins Funeral Trust, P.O. Box 613305, Dallas, TX 75261-3305.

Mineau Recognized with CSAA Honorary Membership

The Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) is pleased to announce that the CSAA Board voted unanimously to extend a CSAA Honorary Membership to Marc Mineau.

Mineau spent his entire career in the electronic security field. For over thirty years, he built bridges among the related industry associations.  His career covered all facets of the industry including monitoring, installation, sales, manufacturing, and design.  In the span of his career, he was the CSAA member representative for DSC, Sur-Gard, Tyco, and Brivo. 

Marc served as the SIA president in 1999 and made it his core mission to create easily deliverable education for the industry. Under Marc’s leadership and strong educational commitment, SIA advanced seed capital to CSAA for the CSAA Central Station Operator Level 1 Online course. This was at a time when CSAA had the subject matter experts, but not the discretionary funds to fund the course.  Marc navigated this project through a myriad of roadblocks and saw it through to completion.

Marc also participated on a Board level at CSAA for many years and served on several CSAA committees.  Marc was instrumental in working with Mel Mahler to redefine the CSAA Association membership category and to create parity for Associate and Regular member status.

Congratulations, Marc!

CSAA Security Trends Survey

On Monday, July 12, CSAA will send an e-mail with this month's CSAA Monthly Security Trends Survey. The goal of this monthly online survey is to deliver real-time feedback to members on business trends in the industry. The monthly survey results will be analyzed in the aggregate and all individual data and feedback will be kept completely confidential.

The results from the “inaugural” CSAA Security Trends survey showed some interesting results for April and May and should become a valuable benchmarking and forecasting tool for your business going forward. 

Please click on the below link for the full May survey results which include a detailed analysis of demand, profitability, and attrition year-to-date.

• Download survey at www.csaaintl.org/CSAASecurityTrendsSurveyMay2010.pdf

If you were not able to participate in the survey, but would like to participate going forward, or have any questions, please contact Celia Besore at 703-242-4670, Ext. 16 or communications@csaaintl.org.

Ivan Spector Receives SIAC's 2010 William N. Moody Award

Congratulations to CSAA Board Member, Ivan Spector, president of Alarme Sentinelle / Sentinel Alarm, on receiving the Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC)'s 2010 William N. Moody Award in recognition of his many contributions to the alarm industry, specifically alarm management issues.

SIAC Executive Director Stan Martin presented Spector with the award at the icebreaker luncheon at the Electronic Security Expo in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
 
Created in 2004 by the SIAC Board of Directors, the William N. Moody Award acknowledges individuals who unselfishly give of their time and talents to alarm management issues and who reflect the attributes of Bill Moody, including integrity, fairness and perseverance in the face of adversity.

Calling All Contract Monitoring Companies!!

You are invited to participate in the newly formed CSAA Contract Monitoring Council.  The Council is being created to address the specific needs of your companies as a third-party contracting company.

Don Maden of C.O.P.S  Monitoring, and Ron Wies of Monitoring America Alarm Co-Op are co-chairing this council.  For more information on the mission of the council, how to join, and issues of interest to you, please contact Becky Lane, Director of Membership at 703-242-4670, x18, or membership@csaaintl.org.

Jim George Steps-in as CSAA Proprietary Council Chairman

The CSAA Proprietary Council recently announced Jim George, Central Station Manager at Giant Food, has volunteered to head the Council. The announcement was made during the Council's meeting at ESX.

Many thanks to George Rosenbaum, Supervisor, State Farm Insurance, who served on the Council as Vice Chair in 2005, and then as Chairman since 2006.

60th Anniversary Pins

One of the highlights of the CSAA 60th Anniversary's celebration has been the 60th Anniversary Membership pin. Developed by Chet Donati, the 60th Anniversary Membership pin was a hot commodity at ESX! Not only did Chet design and produce the pins, but he also recruited additional CSAA members to fund the pins, at no cost to CSAA.

Many thanks to Chet and to the pin expense donors: Chet Donati (DMC Security); Bob and Ed Bonifas (Alarm Detection Systems); Stan Oppenheim (DGA Security); Mike Kelly (Mike J. Kelly Insurance); Pam Petrow (Vector Security); Rob Tockarshewsky (UL); Ralph Sevinor (Wayne Alarm Systems); Bud Wulforst; Ben Dickens (Blooston, Mordkofsky, et al.); and Mel Mahler (ADS Security).

Last Chance to Celebrate CSAA's 60th Anniversary with a Personal Message

Is there someone you want to congratulate? Someone you would like to thank? Someone who has served as a mentor or someone whose contributions to the industry you admire? Some person or group you would like to send a greeting? Is there some specific event or accomplishment you want to commemorate?*

As part of CSAA’s 60th anniversary celebration, we are delighted to offer you space in the 2010 CSAA Directory to include a personal message.

Available Sizes:

• Business card size (2” x 3½) $200
• Quarter page (3½ x 4½”) $500
• Half-page (7½” x 4½”) $850
• Full page (7½” x 10”) $1,200

*Note: These messages cannot have commercial nature. CSAA offers advertising space for that purpose.

Would you like some help designing the message? CSAA can do it for you! All you need to do is send us what you want to say and your logo or other image (optional) and we will take care of it for you!

To reserve your space, download the form at http://www.csaaintl.org/2010TributePageForm.pdf.

Please send your completed form by Monday, July 12, 2010 to be able to participate in this program. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact Celia Besore at 703-242-4670 x16 or cbesore@csaaintl.org.

Remember To ...

• Attend the CSAA UL 2050 Webinar on Wednesday, July 21, 2010 Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT. See complete details at http://www.csaaul.org/signals/csaa_signals_vol_16_no_12.htm#webinar. Reserve your Webinar Seat Now at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/301781531
• To sign-up for the 2010 CSAA Annual Meeting at www.csaaintl.org.  Just click on the 2010 Annual Meeting icon.
• Order your copies of A Practical Guide to Central Station Burglar Alarm Systems - 4th Edition. Download the 2010 order form of A Practical Guide to Central Station Burglar Alarm Systems - 4th Edition here. If you have any questions, please contact Celia Besore, CSAA Vice President of Marketing & Programs at 703-242-4670, Ext. 16 or cbesore@csaaintl.org.