SILVER SPRING, Md. – The Security Industry Association (SIA) has named Lynn de Séve – founder and president of GSA Schedules, Inc. – as the 2021 recipient of the George R. Lippert Memorial Award, an honor presented annually to a distinguished individual for long-term, selfless service to the security industry and to SIA. de Séve will receive the award on Wednesday, Nov. 17, during the 2021 SIA Honors cocktail reception.
“It is such an honor to be selected as the recipient of the George R Lippert Memorial Award. I was frankly speechless when I received the news, as I had no idea I had been nominated. To be considered and then to be among the group of prior awardees is quite humbling,” said de Séve. “I wish to thank the Security Industry Association for always being supportive of this ‘woman in security.’ Joining SIA has directly contributed to the success of my company, has been a great benefit to my clients and has been one of my most important resources in my career. The advocacy for our industry in government affairs, standards, education, inclusiveness and so much more based on the efforts of the membership and SIA staff is something for which I am very proud. Thank you, SIA, for your contributions and for this amazing award.”
In addition to her SIA membership, de Séve is a member of the National Contract Management Association and ASIS International. As a member of SIA, she served on SIA’s Board of Directors for four years and on the SIA Executive Committee for two years as secretary. de Séve chairs the SIA Procurement Policy Working Group, serves on the steering committee for the SIA Women in Security Forum and is a past member of SIA’s Member Engagement and Experience Committee. In 2006, she received the SIA Industry Advocate Award for her leadership related to public policy challenges impacting the electronic physical security industry, and she was presented with the SIA Chair’s Award in 2016 for her efforts in procurement policy and support for the industry and again in 2019 alongside the rest of the SIA Women in Security Forum steering committee. de Séve has presented at many industry events, training seminars and SIA GovSummit conferences and is a frequent contributing writer for security industry publications.
“Lynn de Séve is an inspiration to many in the security industry and a role model for small business owners who may not see the ROI in association involvement. There is an ever-growing community of individuals in the federal contracting space who have been helped by Lynn either directly or indirectly and who left any interaction with her feeling that any contacting challenge could be overcome after hearing her optimistic words of encouragement. SIA is thrilled to recognize Lynn with the 2021 Lippert Award for her outstanding leadership and service to SIA and the industry,” said SIA CEO Don Erickson. “Lynn’s dedicated volunteer efforts on SIA’s Board of Directors, working groups and committees have had an extraordinary impact, and her expertise and key contributions on procurement policy over the past 15 years have helped SIA to better advocate for and serve our members. We thank Lynn for her invaluable efforts and look forward to presenting her with this special recognition at SIA Honors Night .”
de Séve’s company, GSA Schedules, Inc., provides expertise and support services for General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule Contract submissions, GSA contract maintenance and management with a primary focus on the security industry. de Séve and her company have over 35 years of experience in the submission, negotiation, implementation, marketing, contract administration and management of GSA Multiple Award Schedule contracts and state contracts. Over her many years of working in the government marketplace, de Séve has established strong alliances with manufacturers, system integrators, manufacturer’s representatives and industry organizations, and of equal importance are the partnering relationships she has established while working with GSA and federal government agencies on behalf of her clients. She served for over 10 years as the industry chairperson for the executive council of the GSA Alliance for Quality Business Solutions at the GSA Southwest Acquisition Center (Region 7) in Fort Worth, Texas; in this capacity, she served as a participant, organizer and presenter in GSA Industry Day training events for GSA contractors.
The Lippert Award is named in honor of George R. Lippert, who dedicated more than 20 years of his life to SIA and the security industry. When evaluating candidates for this award, SIA’s committee considers nominees’ long-term service to SIA and the security industry, the impact of their efforts on behalf of SIA and the industry and the integrity, leadership and diplomacy displayed in their industry dealings.
Each year, SIA Honors – held concurrently with ISC East, the Northeast’s largest security trade show hosted in collaboration with premier sponsor SIA – features a gala cocktail reception and an award ceremony recognizing industry leaders. At SIA Honors 2021, in addition to presenting the Lippert Award, SIA will also honor industry leaders with the SIA Insightful Practitioner Award and the SIA Progress Award. SIA Honors 2021 will be held Nov. 17 at Glasshouse Chelsea in New York City; learn more and register to attend here.
