Central station-specific education at NJ ESA symposium

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.— The New Jersey ESA symposium has always attracted vendors and dealers in droves, but it's also an event those in the wholesale central station space are marking on their calendars, Joe Parisi, president of NJ ESA, told Security Systems News.

“Our clients are looking for central stations to be the solution provider,” he said. “[Central station] reps can offer deals to their clients with the educational benefits, and advise on where to look for certain solutions.”

From the monitoring space himself, Parisi, senior account executive at Rapid Response Monitoring, said the conference also appeals to central station personnel from a human resources standpoint.

“It can help them find the right people to employ if, for example, they're looking to get into video, or if they're having problems with an account package,” Parisi said.

Though a state event, the annual symposium, held Feb. 19-21 in Atlantic City, regularly draws attendance numbers more in line with that of a good-sized trade show. Many attendees flock to the show from outside New Jersey, coming from states like Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut and Maryland, Parisi said.

That's in part due to the symposium's educational component, which Parisi says is “the major focus of the show.”

The education sessions allow attendees to earn CEU credits and renew their licensure, and are taught by “industry and professional consultants and code enforcements officials,” Parisi noted. He added that this year's program includes 18 new breakout sessions.

For central station representatives, Parisi believes the symposium can be a good window into the perspective of their dealers, and can help them stay abreast of what offerings their partners want.

“They get exposure to the day-to-day operations and see what's of interest to dealers,” he said. “That's a big benefit for central stations.”