Sandy is gone, and Honeywell has new president of authorized dealer groups

Here in Hollywood, Fla. on the first night of Honeywell's annual First Alert Professional Convention, the weather is balmy and we dined on shrimp and key lime pie—and felt lucky to be here.

Not too many days ago Florida was being buffeted by the high winds generated by Hurricane Sandy, and of course other parts of the East Coast—particularly New Jersey, the state Honeywell calls home—took a beating from it early this week.

And what with the damage, loss of power and thousands of cancelled flights, some East Coast dealers areas who regularly attend this event haven't been able to make it this year.

Still, attendance tonight at the convention, called Connect 2012, looked strong. And Honeywell officials tell me that while they don't have an official count yet, they're pleased at the numbers who did make it. The conference attracts dealers from across the nation and Canada. There also are dealers from places such as Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Trinidad. I had interesting conversations with some of those attendees at dinner.

And I'm looking forward to the first full day of the conference tomorrow. Among those we'll hear from is Marek Robinson, a longtime Honeywell employee who recently was promoted to be president of authorized dealer groups.

Robinson, with Honeywell since 1995 and most recently western region director of sales for Honeywell Systems, will be focusing on the First Alert Professional and Commercial Security Systems dealer programs. He'll be introducing himself at the convention to dealers who haven't met him yet. It will be interesting to hear what he has to say.