Allegion's Tim Eckersley awarded

SILVER SPRING, Md.—SIA announced in late September that Tim Eckersley, Allegion's senior vice president and president of the Americas, will receive this year's Jay Hauhn Excellence in Partnerships Award, in part for his work with PASS—the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools.

“School security is a passion of mine—for as long as I can remember, I've had a genuine interest in kids' wellbeing. As a board member for the Security Industry Association as well as a business leader for Allegion, I've been able to combine that interest with my industry expertise to help push for advancements,” Eckersley told SSN in an email interview.

PASS formed in 2014, Eckersley said, as a combined effort between SIA and the National Systems Contractors Association. Additionally, Eckersley said he has “an active role with the Secure Schools Alliance, which was founded by Allegion in 2015 and has the support of the Security Industry Association.”

“Currently, PASS and the Alliance have both been focusing on securing federal legislation and funding for K-12 school security enhancements,” Eckersley said. “We're working with our government leaders in Washington D.C. to better understand what best practices are already in place at different facilities across the country and how those can be leveraged and learned from nationwide.”

Specifically, Eckersley said that Indiana and New Jersey are “leading the way” in terms of best practices.

Eckersley entered the security industry in 2007, when he joined Ingersoll Rand as its president, commercial Americas. Prior to that, he served as Nokia's SVP Americas.

Eckersley will be presented the award during SIA's Honors Night, Nov. 16, 2016, at The Current at Chelsea Piers in New York City.