ASIS Celebrates Security's Best

ASIS International honored 2019 security leadership and service at Global Security Exchange (GSX)—formerly the ASIS Annual Seminar and Exhibits—in Chicago this September. ASIS is pleased to honor the following members and supporting organizations for their work to advance the profession year-round.

“It is with great joy that we celebrate the accomplishments of global security leaders and ASIS chapters for their excellence and achievement,” said Christina Duffey, CPP, president, ASIS International. “Each and every day, these honorees go above and beyond the call of duty to make our communities a safer place.”

The Presidential Award of Merit recognizes the commitment of exceptional volunteers. This year, the award was presented to Bonnie S. Michelman, CPP, and Nicolas A. Le Saux, CPP. With more than 45 years of ASIS membership between them, these individuals demonstrate the very best in unselfish volunteer leadership, commitment, and mentoring on behalf of our profession.

The CSO Center’s Don Walker Award for Enterprise Security Executive Leadership celebrates an individual who demonstrates a commitment to promoting security management education, certification, and standards. The 2019 award recognizes the contributions of longtime CSO Center member and Professional Certification Board (PCB) member Joseph Lee Rector, CPP, PCI, PSP, to advance the professionalism of the security industry.

The 2019 PCB Organizational Award of Merit honors Tampa Electric Company. Over the past 10 years, the company has supplied both staff and resources to create and facilitate an annual Chapter Certification Review Course for all ASIS board certifications—aiding in the successful certification of more than 50 members.

Every year ASIS International’s Women in Security Council recognizes security professionals who have consistently worked for the betterment of the security industry over an extended period with the Karen Marquez Honors award. In 2019, this award was presented to Sandra M. Lortscher Cowie, CPP, 2018 president of the ASIS Foundation Board of Trustees.

The I.B. Hale Chapter of the Year Award is given to chapters that demonstrate financial stability, membership growth, high-quality meetings, educational programs, publications, and efforts that support the advancement of the security profession. This year’s winners are the Lima, Peru; Mexico City; and Houston chapters. The San Francisco Bay Area Chapter earned an honorable mention.

The Roy N. Bordes Council Member Award of Excellence recognizes a distinguished council member who selflessly shares expertise, encourages the next generation of leaders, and offers insight to ASIS educational programs and publications. The 2019 winner is Gaming and Wagering Protection Council member Derk J. Boss, CPP.

The E.J. Criscuoli, Jr., Volunteer Leadership Award, presented this year to Robert J. Thinnes, recognizes a member who has made significant volunteer commitment at the chapter and regional levels.

Jerry Lindenmuth, recipient of the 2019 Ralph Day Security Officer Heroism Award, was recognized for exceptional action in the face of a brewing active shooter situation. When a visitor to his hospital’s behavioral health department was showing disturbing signs, Officer Lindenmuth was quick to isolate the assailant and initiate an active shooter alert.

The Matthew Simeone Award for Public Private Partnership Excellence, administered by the ASIS Law Enforcement Liaison Council, distinguishes an outstanding chapter program promoting cooperation between the public and private sectors. This year’s award, nominated by the ASIS Minnesota Chapter, recognizes the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office Shield Program, the largest in the United States outside of the NYPD Shield program.

The ASIS Foundation is proud to invest in individuals and chapters, offering scholarships and grants to support those pursuing security careers in achieving their professional goals. These scholarships would not be possible without the generosity of ASIS members, and the Foundation recognized the following donors at GSX: 2019 Donor of Distinction Frank Argenbright, Outstanding Corporate Partner Convergint Technologies, and Chapter Philanthropy Award winner ASIS Las Vegas Chapter.

ASIS thanks these award winners for their valued contributions to the security profession.

GSX Sets the Standard in Security Innovation

By the time the doors closed on Chicago’s McCormick Place on 12 September, Global Security Exchange (GSX) 2019 offered its community of 20,000 registrants top-notch security education and networking. Boasting new features like the Startup Sector and the GSX Pitch Competition, the GSX exhibit hall displayed the latest innovations to hit the security market.

View all GSX photos at flickr.com/asisinternational.

GSX Evolves for 2020

As 20,000 ASIS members and volunteer leaders, allied association and media partners, attendees, exhibitors, and vendor partners descended upon Chicago for Global Security Exchange (GSX) 2019, the ASIS team announced plans for a new event footprint for GSX 2020—which will take place Monday, 21 September through Wednesday, 23 September 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Guided by data on event industry trends and important feedback from valued stakeholders including attendees, exhibitors, and vendor partners, ASIS will debut the following GSX event schedule in 2020:

Saturday, 19 September–Sunday, 20 September:

Traditional preconference activities occur as usual, including ASIS International Board and Foundation meetings, council meetings, preconference workshops and certification review courses, volunteer leader Town Hall, and awards programming.

Monday, 21 September:

• GSX officially kicks off on Monday morning with the Opening General Session, laying the groundwork for three days of learning, networking, and exposition.
• Monday remains preserved as a day for learning and networking, punctuated by a new addition to the agenda: a second General Session in the afternoon, delivered in a unique format.
• Following that General Session, which concludes at 3:15 p.m., attendees and exhibitors will convene on the expo floor for three hours of networking activities from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. This includes the Opening Night Celebration and presentation of the OSPA Awards.

Tuesday, 22 September:

• Tuesday begins with a General Session that will set the tone for the day.
• The event will then transition to a full day of classroom and X Learning, exposition, and networking, with lunch served at the GSX Bistro in the exhibit hall.
• Tuesday closes with a happy hour in the exhibit hall, and the evening is dedicated to exhibitor-hosted events.

Wednesday, 23 September:

• Wednesday features a full day of activities—with a General Session in the morning and a full schedule of classroom and X Learning, exposition, and networking activities.
• GSX concludes on Wednesday evening with the President’s Reception.

 

Some important takeaways that informed these changes:

• Attendees and exhibitors are looking for a more compact but holistic and robust event experience.
• In 2020, all stakeholders will still learn, network, and conduct business as they always have—but in a more efficient schedule.
• Because the exhibit hall opens Monday evening, attendees will be able to preview exhibitor offerings earlier in the week without impacting GSX’s best-in-class education offerings.

“The ASIS International event management and volunteer leadership teams embrace a culture of continuous improvement in every area of our operation,” says Ron Rosenbaum, chief global marketing and business development officer, ASIS International. “While we are confident this is the final substantive change to our event schedule in the coming years, our event stakeholders have our commitment that we will continue to make smart investments in GSX and always look for opportunities to improve the attendee and exhibitor experience.”

Registration for GSX 2020 opens in February. You can read frequently asked questions about the new event footprint at gsx.org/2020news.

New Chapters Chartered

ASIS announced the formation of four new chapters to date in 2019.

The Carolina Pines Chapter will serve members in the Southern Pines area of North Carolina. It joins six other chapters in the U.S. state of North Carolina: NC Research Triangle Chapter, Greater Fayetteville Chapter, North Carolina Piedmont Chapter, Greater Charlotte Chapter, NC Azalea Coast Chapter, and Western North Carolina Chapter.

The Maiduguri, Nigeria Chapter is the newest chapter in Nigeria. Other Nigerian chapters include the Abuja, Nigeria Chapter; the Port Harcourt, Nigeria Chapter; and the Lagos, Nigeria Chapter.

A new chapter in Guayaquil, Ecuador augments opportunities for security professionals in that country, which also hosts the Quito, Ecuador Chapter.

Mexico also has a new chapter: the Peninsula Yucatan Chapter. Other chapters in Mexico include the Mexico North Chapter, the Mexico West Chapter, the Mexico City Chapter, the Puebla-Sureste Chapter, and the Ciudad Juarez Chapter.

In addition, the Johannesburg and Cape Town Chapters have merged into one South Africa Chapter that covers the entire country. Congratulations to all the new and revised chapters!