Honoring a great man's legacy

As we all prepare for ISC West next week, one man who sadly will not be in Las Vegas will instead be honored for his years of dedication to his company and the security industry as a whole.

Paul Ahern was the longtime CEO of Cypress Integration Solutions who passed away in January 2023 after a battle with liver and pancreatic cancer.

Paul’s presence at industry shows - including ISC West and Security Systems News’ own SecurityNext conference - demonstrated his commitment to not only Cypress, but also to the many colleagues and customers he acquainted himself with over many years of travel.

In fact, according to the company, he logged more than a million miles to meet with customers regarding Cypress solutions for physical and logical access control.

Those business relationships that Paul built with his clients led to lifelong friendships. When he passed, Cypress noted that Ahern viewed the company and the security industry as an extension of family.

“It can’t be stated heavily enough how much he adored everyone at the office, the people he worked with, at home or on the road,” said Brien Ahern, Paul’s son. “Every car ride I’d be in with him, even if it was only 30 minutes, at least one person was called, or called him to talk about life and family. He went out of his way to make sure everyone was looked after with the highest selflessness.”

It was Paul’s selflessness and dedication to his company and his extended family that led to the Security Industry Association (SIA) announcing earlier this week that it will introduce the Paul Ahern Scholarship next week at ISC West during the association’s tech-forward social event, The Interface, on Thursday, April 11.

SIA noted that the scholarship will be presented annually to applicants from member companies that have successfully completed the SIA Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP) OSDP Verified program or those individuals responsible for the implementation of access control systems.

Scholarship recipients may use the funds for OSDP Boot Camp enrollment and any related content that will support individuals’ understanding of effective OSDP implementation.

“The Paul Ahern Scholarship is made possible through the generous support by SIA member companies and the OSDP community who greatly admired Paul’s expertise, enthusiasm for the security industry and passion for strongly encouraging widespread adoption of OSDP,” SIA said in its announcement. “SIA anticipates that the first scholarship award will be announced in the fall prior to ISC East.”

SIA CEO Don Erickson noted Paul’s support and sponsorship of association events and programs in announcing the establishment of the scholarship in his name. “It is an honor to recognize Paul Ahern and his personal involvement within SIA, the respect he earned from industry peers, and enthusiasm for the value of OSDP and SIA standards,” he said.

Kudos to SIA for introducing the Paul Ahern Scholarship next week at the security industry’s biggest event of the year. SIA may have said it best when summing up Paul -  “He was known across the industry for his many contributions to security and his self-deprecating humor, kind nature and giving spirit.”

It’s an honor that I’m sure Paul would have accepted with the same selflessness and humility that he demonstrated to everyone in his two families - at home and at work.