Celia Besore named TMA's executive director

VIENNA, Va.—The Monitoring Association announced yesterday that Celia T. Besore will become the new executive director of the association on Nov. 1, succeeding Jay Hauhn who is retiring on Oct. 31. Besore will be the first female executive director for TMA.

Besore first began working with TMA—then CSAA—in 1999 as the director of marketing and communications, eventually rising to the role of VP of marketing and programs. “I like to work in associations with missions that I believe in,” Besore told Security Systems News. “I already had an alarm system and believed in security before I even thought of working for the industry. When I saw the job opening, I applied for the job.”

In 2010, Besore left TMA to lead the National Association of Hispanic Nurses as its executive director and CEO, a position she held until 2016.

Besore rejoined TMA in early 2017. “I left the industry, but I still stayed connected. I was really happy when the opportunity came to be able to come back,” she said.

Besore noted that when returning to the industry in 2017, it had undergone a significant change since 2010. “It had become a technology industry, even more than it was originally. IT is now a huge part of what our members do.”

Until the end of October, Besore serves as TMA's VP of membership and programs. For nearly two years, she has been working to identify the needs of current and prospective members and working to fulfill those alongside volunteers, her colleagues, and the board of directors. “Of course, I also wanted to grow the association,” Besore said. “I still feel strongly that will be part of my role, to be a champion for TMA.”

“I'm very fortunate that Jay Hauhn is very committed and already actively working to make sure that the transition is as easy as it can be,” Besore said.

“I'm very aware I'm following a highly respected industry leader. � It's great to have his support. I know that he's still going to be there—he's a past president of TMA, and will be part of the board. I'm really appreciative of what he's doing,” Besore said, adding that Hauhn and the board has been involving her in current projects and giving her all the information she will need to be successful.

As Besore ascends to the new role just after TMA's annual meeting, held Oct. 13-17, her first order of business will be to implement items decided on by TMA's board and the members at the meeting, she said. Besore plans to reach out to related organizations, such as ESA, SIA, ASIS and AHJ organizations, and hold one-on-one discussions with TMA members.

The new role of executive director will involve managing the association, as well as incorporating more strategy and looking to the future of TMA, Besore said.

“In the short term, we're going to continue—and hopefully grow—a lot of the initiatives that we have right now,” Besore said, mentioning cybersecurity training, ASAP, and the TMA Tech Summit. “We're going to make an effort to also grow membership in the new categories.”

TMA has evolved with the industry and its members, Besore noted. “When I first came to then-CSAA, all of our members were full-service, UL-listed central stations. And through the years, we added proprietary companies, contract monitoring companies, and now we're adding anyone who offers monitoring services, whether in-house or through a contract monitoring company,” she said. “Because there's so much transition in our industry, I suspect that the TMA of five years down the road will be a very different TMA than what it is now.”

Besore holds the Certified Association Executive credential from ASAE as well as an MBA from George Mason University. She is a recognized association management community leader, volunteering with ASAE programs such as the Diversity Executive Leadership Program for which she serves as a mentor.

“Frankly, choosing Celia to lead TMA was an easy choice,” said TMA president Ivan Spector. “Throughout the years that I have known her, she has been a tireless advocate for the association. Her energy, passion and enthusiasm for the industry will spur TMA to grow to the next level in a rapidly changing landscape.”