FT. WORTH, TEXAS — In just two years, outgoing Electronic Security Association (ESA) president Marshall Marinace has seen his fair share of industry changing events — from the entrance of cable companies into the security market, to massive industry consolidation, to net neutrality, DIY, MIY, 2G sunsets and beyond.
For his many years of dedication to the electronic security industry and to the ESA, Marinace — who is also owner of New York’s Marshall Alarm Systems — received the Morris F. Weinstock Person of the Year Award on Thursday at the ESX expo in Ft. Worth, Texas. “I spent pretty much my entire adult life in this industry,” Marinace said in his acceptance speech.
Joined by many of the previous Weinstock honorees on stage, Marinace went on to outline some of the efforts he spearheaded at ESA as president, thanked his colleagues and family, and welcomed incoming ESA president Angela White, who is executive vice president of Central 1 Security in Brookfield, Wis.
“Over the past two years, we’ve seen the beginning of several new ESA initiatives and the continued growth of existing ones,” Marinace wrote in his farewell letter to the ESA membership. “This year’s Leadership Summit saw the launch of the ESA Mentorship Program, which will help groom the next generation of leaders for our industry. Last year, thanks to the hard work of ESA staff and the Industry Advisory Group, saw the unveiling of the dealer toolkit for ESA members as part of an overall workforce development initiative.”
To conclude his acceptance speech, Marinace said that despite the hard work and hours it took as ESA president, if he had the chance, he would do it all over again.
The Weinstock award was first presented in 1970 to honor the lifetime volunteer work of the ESA co-founder and past president. The award is sponsored by Interlogix.
White will take the reins at ESA starting July 1.
Awards Galore
In addition to Marinace’s high honor, several other awards were handed out at ESX by the ESA, Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) and the Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC).
The 2016 William N. Moody Award, created in 2004 by SIAC to acknowledge individuals who “unselfishly give of their time and talents to alarm management issues” was bestowed upon Glen Mowrey, who has been involved in the law enforcement and electronic security industry for nearly 50 years — the past 13 of which as National Law Enforcement Liason for SIAC. Mowrey spent 36 years in law enforcement, and retired as Deputy Chief of Police in Charlotte.
SIAC also honored Amherst Alarm as its 2015 Police Dispatch Quality (PDQ) Award winner.
Chief Harlin McEwen was the recipient of CSAA’s 2016 Public Sector Award, recognizing a public sector individual’s contribution to the alarm industry. “It is our pleasure to recognize Chief McEwen for his tireless efforts to advance the relationship between monitoring companies and our partners in the public sector,” CSAA President Pamela J. Petrow said in a statement.
McEwen served for 13 years as the Chief of Police for the Cayuga Heights, N.Y., Police Department before moving on to serve as the Deputy Commissioner for the NY State Division of Criminal Justice Services. He later returned to police work, serving as the Chief of Police for the City of Ithaca, N.Y., before taking the position of Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI.
CSAA also presented its 2016 Excellence Awards, which included honoring Rapid Response as the Central Station of the Year. Michelle Lindus of Vivint was named Central Station Manager of the Year; Amy Cerney of Vivint was named Central Station Operator of the Year; and David Carter of Vector Security was honored as Central Station Support Person of the Year.
Finally, Kelly Bond of Alarm Capital Alliance announced that student Katherine Waugh of Joel Barlow High School in Easton, Conn., was this year’s recipient of the ESA Youth Scholarship Award. Her father, Steven Waugh, is chief at Easton Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 and was on the front line when Hurricane Sandy struck Connecticut. The ESA Youth Scholarship is made possible by vendors Hikvision, DMP and Monitronics.
Tech Innovation
In addition to the individual awards at ESX, many vendors were honored with technology-focused Innovation Awards, and Qolsys took home the show’s top honor, winning the ESX TechVision Challenge for its IQ Panel 2, an all-in-one security and smart home platform that combines advanced hardware and interactive software services from Alarm.com. Software applications include glass break detection, Bluetooth disarm, the ability to send disarm photos to a smartphone and cloud, and more. The panel includes four field-replaceable radio slots for current and future connectivity, and an integrated 5MP camera.
The ESX Innovation Awards were bestowed on companies in more than 25 different categories. For the full list of winning products, software and services, visit www.securityinfowatch.com/12211296.
About the Author: Paul Rothman is Editor in Chief of Security Dealer & Integrator (SD&I) magazine. To access the current issue and digital archives, please visit www.secdealer.com.
