ADS Security

Longtime alarm industry leaders Mel Mahler and Maria Malice padded their laurels last week with SIAC’s 2012 William N. Moody Award, which pays tribute to those in the industry who exhibit “integrity, fairness and perseverance in the face of adversity.”

Mahler, chairman and CEO of Nashville, Tenn.-based ADS Security, was a charter board member of SIAC and is currently co-chairman and treasurer. He oversees daily operations and has helped the group clear a hurdle that long defied it: establishing a better relationship with police agencies around the country.

“SIAC’s success in building bridges to law enforcement, creating new standards for equipment and encouraging best practices in alarm monitoring and regulations would not have been possible without Mel’s dedication,” SIAC Executive Director Stan Martin said in a prepared statement. “We are pleased to add the Moody Award to the many awards Mel has received for his leadership.”

Malice, VP of special projects for COPS Monitoring and president of the Arizona Alarm Association, was instrumental in getting a statewide licensing law enacted in May in Arizona. [http://www.securitysystemsnews.com/article/arizona... [Link - statewide licensing law enacted in May in Arizona.] Alarm dealers there will soon be able to operate with one license, replacing a web of local regulations that subjected many companies to duplicative background checks and paperwork.

“No one has faced more challenges in a single year than Maria Malice,” said Jon Sargent, industry/law enforcement liaison for SIAC. “Opponents constantly tried to undermine her efforts [on behalf of the AzAA]. Maria rallied the troops, fought back with facts and traveled to numerous meetings to help elected officials understand the issues.”

Mahler and Malice will receive their awards June 26 at the ESX IceBreaker Luncheon in Nashville. Congratulations …

Say “cheese”: The Wisconsin Electronic Security Association has bestowed its annual Bill Cooper Award on Dave Simon, who recently stepped down as SIAC’s public relations chairman after being named marketing communications manager at Brink’s Inc. The Cooper Award embodies “the ultimate in hard work and fun, tenacity and getting the job done, but with a lighter side,” said Mike Horgan, former WIESA president.

The American Pet Products Association reported this spring that Americans spent nearly $51 billion on their pets. The organization said that's an all-time high—and security dealers, you should be aware the pet market is a “purr-fect” marketing opportunity for you.

Honeywell pointed that out in a blog posted today during National Pet Week, which runs May 6-12. Angela Remmert, a media specialist with Honeywell Security, writes that 72.9 million homes have pets and that many owners consider their pets family.

And she said Honeywell has many products that will appeal to such pet owners. “Our wireless pet immune sensors have been providing pet owners with interior protection since 1998. Then, the technology had pet immunity up to 40lbs. Today, our IS2500 Series ups the detection with selectable immunity for animals weighing up to 80lbs. Our CO and smoke detectors offer life-saving benefits and our outdoor contact can be placed on a gate to notify the owner if a gate is left open. With environmental sensors, you can even alert them to a low temperature or flood so they can ensure a safe environment.”

She also goes on to talk about a program Nashville-based ADS Security has to developed to protect pets: “ADS Security understands what pet owners are looking for from a security company.  In fact, they’ve created a program around it. It’s called ADS Pet Alert & Watch Systems (PAWS) [and is] designed … to keep pets safe in the home when owners are away. The program monitors smoke and CO levels and the monitoring center also keeps pet profiles on file for those who want to give additional info to help emergency workers remove pets safely in an emergency. In addition, they also have distributed hundreds of PAWS rescue decals across the Southeast, which are available to all pet owners within their service area.

One of the most popular parts of the program is Honeywell Total Connect, which they market as pet cams. From the road or at the office, these animal lovers can check in and actually see their loved ones, whenever they like. If you haven’t seen it already, take a minute to watch our video … You can embed it on your web site or YouTube channel to reach the pet owners in your area.”

(You can check out Angela’s blog here.)

So, if you have yet to put your mark on the pet security market yet, consider National Pet Week a good time to think about doing so!

ESX attendees who want to get an inside look at a CSAA Five Diamond central station will get their chance on June 26 when ADS Security hosts a tour of its monitoring facility in Nashville.

A motor coach will take tour participants from the Nashville Convention Center to ADS headquarters, where the company's latest monitoring technology will be on display. After the tour, ADS will host a cocktail reception to meet company staff and discuss operations at the central.

ADS serves more than 70,000 commercial and residential customers throughout the Southeast, providing burglar, fire alarm, video surveillance and access control systems. Each central station operator at ADS is Five Diamond certified.

The tour, sponsored by Honeywell Security Group, runs from 4-6:30 p.m. Space is limited. The cost is $75 if registration is received by June 1 and $100 thereafter. For more information, go to www.esxweb.com.