The Monitoring Association honors security leaders at annual meetings

The Monitoring Association (TMA) honored several leaders in the security industry recently at its general business meeting in Florida.

TMA President Morgan Hertel presented the Stanley C. Lott Memorial Award, the association’s highest award, to TMA past presidents David Carter, formerly with NetOne, and Don Young, ADT. The Stanley C. Lott Memorial Award, established in 1991 to honor its namesake, a dedicated leader and past president, recognizes exceptional long-term leadership and support. 

“This person is always there whenever help is needed. Like the good ones I’ve known, he works in the background and never seeks recognition,” TMA President Morgan Hertel said in   presenting the award to Carter. 

 “I’ve worked in this industry for my entire adult life -- 42 years. I was young and excited when I started; now I am old and stupid. This is a wonderful industry with a great future ahead,” Carter said in accepting the award. 

Hertel praised Young for his “near herculean efforts” to help keep monitoring centers open and functional at the onset of the COVID pandemic. “In all of the madness of trying to get people to work and the great resignation, (Young) drove efforts with UL to quickly convert in-person monitoring to remote monitoring.” Young recently served as TMA immediate past president.

“I am honored. It’s a great privilege to lead so many dedicated and talented teams over the years who are changing the landscape of security through advancements in technology and innovation,” Young remarked.

Two of TMA’s long-serving volunteer members were also honored at the annual meeting with the Mel Mahler Award, formerly known as the President’s Award.

The Mel Mahler Award is presented at the discretion of the TMA president in recognition of outstanding contributions within his/her tenure. The 2022 Mel Mahler Award recipients are Anita Ostrowski, Vector Security, and John Brady, TRG Associates.

In presenting the first 2022 Mel Mahler Awards to Ostrowski, Hertel called attention to the dramatic shifts that took place in the industry as a result of the COVID pandemic.

“When monitoring center employees could not get to work, many people worked heroically to find a way for them to deliver life-saving services,” Hertel said. “My first honoree was one of them. I’ve worked with this person since I began in the security industry. She’s always stood out in my mind. In the past three years, (Ostrowski) worked tirelessly as the chair of TMA’s UL Committee. It is not an easy job, by any means.”

“I really appreciate this award,” stated Ostrowski in her acceptance remarks. “As Morgan stated, we experienced a dramatic shift not only in our industry, but as a culture as well. I’ve had the great fortune to work with a wonderful team of professionals comprised of both TMA members and UL Solutions.”

The second 2022 Mel Mahler Award was presented to Brady who has long served as TMA’s Education Committee chair.

“I’ve had the pleasure of working with this honoree for 10 years,” Hertel said. “In that time, I witnessed his extraordinary dedication to TMA and its members, as well as the industry at-large. He is always at-the-ready to assist and support when called upon. And he gets things done!”

“Having known and worked with Mel Mahler for many years, it is my privilege to receive an award named in his honor,” stated Brady, adding, “It has also been a privilege to be able to work with the TMA team and organization over the years to provide and improve the educational agenda.”