​Those We Cheer This Year

ASIS presented MANY awards at the ASIS International 63rd Annual Seminar and Exhibits to celebrate members and partners with noteworthy accomplishments in 2017. These honored members and supporting organizations exemplify the determination and capability of all involved with the Society.

ASIS is pleased to recognize these outstanding accomplishments. The Don Walker Award for Enterprise Security Executive Leadership celebrates an individual who demonstrates a commitment to promoting security management education, certification, and standards. This year, it was presented to Raymond T. O’Hara, CPP. A former ASIS president, O’Hara currently serves as executive vice president at AS Solution. Throughout his career, he has supported lifelong learning, board certification, and the development of the next generation of security leaders.

The Presidential Award of Merit is presented to individuals who contribute to ASIS as exemplary volunteer leaders. The 2017 recipients of the award are Joseph N. Masciocco and Les Cole, CPP. Masciocco, president of Security Integrations, is a 33-year member of ASIS who is a senior regional vice president. He has been involved in ASIS volunteer leadership since 1995.

Cole, who passed away on September 15, 2017, was an ASIS member for 41 years, and served as a council vice president from 2011 to 2016. Don Knox, CPP, a fellow council vice president, accepted the award on behalf of Cole and his family.

The Certification Organization Award of Merit goes to entities that have made strides advancing the professionalism of the security field through board certification. The award was presented to Guidepost Solutions and Tech Systems.

In addition, the Certification Regional Award recognizes individuals who help advance ASIS board certification. Winners this year are Randolph C.D. Brooks, CPP, Region 6C; Mushtaq Khan, CPP, PCI, PSP, Region 13A; J.D. Killeen, CPP, Region 6B; Allan L. McDougall, CPP, PSP, Region 6B; Garfield A. Owen, PSP, Region 7B; Percy J. Ryberg, CPP, Region 8C; Jasvir Singh Saini, CPP, Region 13A; Gwee Khiang Tan, CPP, Region 13B; Larry D. Woods, CPP, PSP, Region 4A; and Richard J. Wright, PSP, Region 3C.

The I.B. Hale Chapter of the Year Award recognizes chapters of ASIS who excel in membership growth, educational programming, publications, and the advancement of the security profession. The chapters recognized in 2017 were the Mexico City Chapter and the National Capital Chapter. 

The Roy N. Bordes Council Member Award of Excellence, presented to Doug Powell, CPP, PSP, distinguishes an ASIS council member who helps engage the next generation of security professionals through sharing their knowledge and expertise with ASIS educational programs and publications.

The E.J. Criscuoli, Jr., CPP Volunteer Leadership Award was presented to Dr. Rolf Sigg. This award acknowledges the contributions made by one member to ASIS’s chapter and regional levels over an extended period of time.

The Matthew Simeone P3 Excellence Award is administered by the ASIS Law Enforcement Liaison Council and recognizes programs that promote cooperation between public and private sectors. The 2017 award was presented to the Columbus Police Department’s Capital Crossroads and Discovery SID Program.

The Transitions Ad Hoc Council, with the support of the ASIS Foundation, confers three Council Certification Scholarships to individuals serving in law enforcement who are seeking ASIS board certification. In 2017, the scholarships were awarded to Lieutenant Chapin T. Jones of the Louisville (Kentucky) Metro Police Department, Officer Henry K.S. Chong of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Lieutenant Brian T. Woods of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The ASIS Foundation also supports the Military Liaison Council Certification Scholarships. The 2017 recipients of these scholarships are Lieutenant Colonel Robert Kwegyir Sagoe, who serves at Headquarters Northern Command in Ghana; Master Sergeant Liviu Ivan and Lieutenant Colonel Eric Minor, who both serve in the U.S. Army at the Mission Command Center in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas; and Lieutenant Colonel Richard Cobba-Eshun, who serves in the Department of International Peace Support Operations for the Ghana Armed Forces.

This year is the 40th anniversary of the ASIS International Board Certification Program, initiated in 1977 with the Certified Protection Professional® (CPP) designation. Four individuals have been active CPPs since the program’s inception. They were recognized at the Opening Luncheon on Monday, September 25. They are Dr. James D. Calder, CPP, professor at University of Texas; Don W. Walker, CPP, chairman of Securitas Security Services USA, Inc.; Dr. Kenneth G. Fauth, CPP, senior consultant at K. Fauth, Inc.; and James P. Carino, Jr., CPP, senior consultant at Executive Security Consultants.

ASIS salutes all these award winners for their valuable contributions to the security profession.

A Digital Transformation

Remaining relevant in today’s on-demand, content-driven world means that associations must be data-driven, customer-obsessed, hyper-connected, and agile. The need for innovation has never been greater.

With a clear directive to transform the organization through the strategic use of technology, ASIS strives to remain at the vanguard of the evolving security profession. It is currently engaged in a broad range of innovative projects, including a major redesign of the primary website and the underlying technologies that support both rapid content creation and the online and mobile member experiences that users expect in the consumer world.

In early 2018, ASIS will launch phase one of a multi-year transformation project focused on improved and personalized content access, user-centric search and commerce, online community, and integrated systems for learning and certification.

Building on a world-class enterprise system for commerce and content management, the new website will use a taxonomy structure to drive better content organization. Users will enjoy an intuitive and dynamic navigation structure to browse the site, and they will be presented with streamlined, personalized content.

One of the key strategies is to create a powerful search function that will unify content from a variety of ASIS sources (Web, learning, Security Management, and events, for example). By creating a search-centric site that allows users to filter results, ASIS will be able to meet its goal of helping members in their “moment of need” by providing resources of all types in a single interface.

There will be a major facelift for the website, incorporating a more graphical and modern interface with relevant imagery, infographics, and videos to present content in a variety of ways on both desktop and mobile devices. 

The “mobile first” initiative also ensures that all online experiences—from search to joining the organization—are simple and engaging on any device, regardless of size. In addition to the website overhaul, ASIS will be upgrading its membership database, including new functionality for engagement, certification, profile management, and data analytics.

The system will be tightly integrated with the website to ensure a positive user experience across platforms. ASIS will be asking members to fully update their online profiles, both to help drive online personalization and to comply with the EU General Data Protection Regulation, which takes effect in 2018.

Finally, ASIS will launch an online community platform aimed at providing its customers, members, and prospects with one secure location to interact and build value within the security profession. By providing an online home where members can network, share ideas, answer questions, and stay connected, ASIS will empower them to engage in real time with their peers, chapters, ASIS staff, and industry experts. The online community tools will also allow the Society to provide more engagement for committees, councils, and chapters, and serve as a dynamic online membership directory.

Life Member

Michael A. Khairallah, a member of the New Orleans Chapter since 1981, has been granted Life Member status. He has served ASIS as a regional vice president, assistant regional vice president, and chapter chair.

​MEMBER BOOK REVIEW

Implementing Physical Protection Systems: A Project Management Guide. By David G. Patterson, CPP, PSP. CreateSpace Publishing; available from ASIS; item #2335; 330 pages; $58 (members); $63 (nonmembers).

Author David G. Patterson, CPP, PSP, drew on decades of experience in physical security project management to write Implementing Physical Protection Systems: A Project Management Guide. The book is a comprehensive guide to the processes involved in setting up various elements of physical security plans.

As a follow-up to the author’s prior text, Implementing Physical Protection Systems, this book is geared towards the project management aspects of any physical security endeavor. It provides a clear review of the many topics under the umbrella of physical security. While covering many of the basic elements of physical security (lighting, fencing, alarming, and cameras), it also goes into the more technical aspects of cabling and necessary support networks.

If you are not a physical security specialist, but aspects of the technology side of security still fit within your area of responsibility, this book may be appealing. The text is simple to understand and the more complex parts of these projects are explained in terms that most security generalists will be familiar with.

A longtime member of the ASIS Physical Security Council, Patterson compiled information and concepts from experts in the technology aspects of security, delineating steps of the project in easy-to-read references. From risk assessments to deliverables and all action steps in between, his book serves as a valuable guide. Borrowing from the simple explanations he provides may help security practitioners explain the processes to nonsecurity leaders. For example, there is a section on documenting effectiveness, which can easily translate to return on investment, a term that every business leader should understand.

Clearly not intended to be the definitive text on all technical aspects of implementing security projects, the book will serve well as a resource to pull off the shelf at the onset of a new physical security project.

[Note: Author David Patterson passed away September 2, 2017.]

Reviewer: Michael D’Angelo, CPP, is the principal and lead consultant for Secure Direction Consulting, LLC, a Florida-based independent security consulting firm. He served on the South Miami, Florida, Police Department for more than 20 years, retiring as a major. He is an ASIS member and currently serves on both the Healthcare Security Council and the ASIS Transitions Ad Hoc Council. ​