CAA leader identifies goals

SAN FRANCISCO--Developing guidelines to help members to deal effectively with local officials and ensuring high professional standards are among Matt Westphal's goals as he embarks on his new role as president of the California Alarm Association.

Westphal, of Bay Alarm, was elected at the December CAA convention along with other new officers: vice presidents John Hopper of Sentry Alarm and Bob Michel of Valley Alarm; secretary Ron Galippo of Total Watch Security; treasurer David Michel of Valley Alarm and Sargeant-at-Arms Richard Jimenez of DC Electronics. Jon Sargent will serve on the executive committee as past president.

 “The number one goal is to promote the highest standards of performance in professional conduct in the security industry,” Westphal said. “We have to make sure to police ourselves and if there's a member who's not on the straight and narrow we'll want to work with them to get them on track. And [if they continue to have problems,] we want to work with the state to get them on track.”

Westphal said his second goal is to have “all local associations on the same page in terms of community outreach.” There are 10 local associations that report up to the CAA. Westphal believes there are opportunities for local associations to work together on charitable efforts, for example. In addition, he'd like the CAA to develop guidelines to help members work with the media effectively.

Goal number three is “developing a coordinated approach to get members involved with the local police and sheriff's department.” The time to develop a relationship with law enforcement is before any problems arise. And, goal number four: The same goes for local politicians, whom members should get to know and support when appropriate.

The fifth goal is to “continue to support our legislative advocates [Alan Edelstein in Sacramento] and grow our PAC [Political Action Committee]. “It's important for licensed alarm companies to be part of CAA, for a number of reasons. One very important reason is so they can stay informed about what's going on at the state level and understand issues that they need to be aware of,” he said.

The other CAA officers are eager to tackle these goals. “I'm looking forward to working with Matt and the other members to grow the association and the membership,” said Bob Michel of Valley Alarm.