Orvis, Monitronics, Doyle big ESA, CSAA winners

PITTSBURGH—The Electronic Security Association held its annual Weinstock Awards and the Central Station Alarm Association its Central Station Excellence Awards on June 15 and 16, respectively, here at the 2010 Electronic Security Expo here.

The Weinstock Awards presentations ran in conjunction with the CSAA's 60th Anniversary Gala and spotlighted the winner of the 2010 Morris F. Weinstock Person of the Year Award winner, James Orvis, president of Norwalk, Conn.-based Security Solutions.

Last year's winner, Lynn, Mass.-based Wayne Alarm president Ralph Sevinor presented the award to a surprised Orvis. “Wow. 'I'm shocked' is a bit of an understatement,” Orvis said. “People will ask me later, I'm sure, 'Were you surprised?' I can honestly say I had no idea. I'm truly, truly, truly honored … I want to accept this award on behalf of my family as well.”

The 2010 ESA Youth Scholarship Award went to Claire Williams, whose father is a volunteer fireman. “I want to thank every one of you here and the ESA for all that you do every day for first responders,” Williams said to the auditorium full of security industry executives. Presenter Dave Simon read a selection from Williams' essay about her first-responder father. “As I grew older, I could better recognize my dad's choice to get involved. As I began to notice his personal sacrifices, [it] inspired me to make a more personal difference as well and I started volunteering. Even small efforts can make a big difference in the lives of others.” Williams, a high school senior, had a perfect 4.0 GPA and scored 2,190 on her SATs.

The 2010 Sara E. Jackson Memorial Award went to Madison, Wis.-based Capital Lock's David Koenig, who elected not to speak upon accepting the award. ESA's outgoing president Mike Miller spoke for him. “Dave has done a phenomenal job on the committees,” Miller said. “Thank you for all of your work. Thank you and thank you and thank you.”

The CSAA Central Station Excellence Awards Breakfast, held June 16, showcased outstanding performance in the central station. According to their leadership, CSAA has had such an overwhelming response from member central stations that they needed to add a new category this year. The winner of the new addition, Support Person of the Year, went to AlarmCo's Phil Arnold. The Operator of the Year award went to ADT Security's Lindsay Marcell.

The Central Station Manager of the Year Award went to Dallas-based Monitronics' Greg Hurst. “Everything is for my team. My name is on the trophy, but clearly it's the Monitronics team,” Hurst said. “It's truly a team effort. If it wasn't for the team I work with and am part of then obviously no individual awards would have been given to me.”

Central Station of the Year Award winner Doyle Security, with offices in Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, NY, as well as Erie, PA, was gratified with their win. “I think this says to our clients that we do a great job and we will continue to do so for years to come,” said Jim Quirin head of Doyle. “I'm especially excited for the Doyle team back at the central station. They earned this and earn it for us each and every day.”

Asked about the theme of the awards, CSAA president Ed Bonifas said he is proud of the industry he serves. “The whole idea of the awards was that a number of years ago, we wanted to reach down into the central stations a little bit further than just the owners of the companies and start to touch the operators, managers and people running them,” Bonifas said. “The common theme here is always that they're always excellent … I think that all these submittals were all high quality. I think the companies that put them forward are the right people every year, and this is just a terrific way to recognize what's going on.”

ESA's Weinstock Person of the Year Award is a nationally acclaimed award considered the most prestigious honor in the electronic security and life safety industry. First presented in 1970, the award was initiated by the family of Morris F. Weinstock to honor the lifetime work of the NBFAA co-founder and past president.