Security Technology Executive

NOV-DEC 2017

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6 SECURIT Y TECHNOLOGY E XECUTIVE • November/December 2017 • www. SecurityInfoWatch.com MY POINT OF VIEW By Steve Lask y, Editorial Director • slasky@Southcomm.com Steve Lasky If you have any comments for Steve regarding this or any other securit y industry-related issue, please e-mail him at slask y@southcomm.com. B ack in mid-October, I had the pleasure to help host the first CONSULT17 event in San Antonio along with its founder Ray Coulombe, a leading security voice in our industry and president of SecuritySpeci- fiers.com. As you know, Ray also happens to be a regular columnist for both STE and SD&I.; The unique symposium was built on the premise that consults, A&Es; and systems integrators need to better under- stand the collaborative process inherent in any suc- cessful security project. The symposium was spot on in its format, which provided intimate interaction among attendees, including some of the industry's top solution pro- viders. The highlight, however, was the recognition of the first winner of what is to be the annual Elliot A. Boxerbaum award; a prize honoring the best example of the best project collaboration among a team of consultants, A&Es;, systems integrators and vendors. The award, named after dear friend Elliot Boxerbaum, a long-time consultant from Columbus, Ohio and a mentor to many of us who died of ALS. The top project, the Sedgwick County Adult Detention Center in Wichita, was a unanimous pick among the judges and is our featured cover story in this issue. While paying tribute to outstanding project part- ners and honoring them in memory of Elliot was cer- tainly the highlight of the week, I was fortunate to meet an inspiring woman during a group conversa- tion with several other security professionals during an afternoon break. What had been shop talk soon shifted to a tragic story regarding the loss of Donna Chapman's son to a recent suicide. Her son, Sgt. William Davidson, just 24 years old and fresh off a year's tour in Kandahar, Afghanistan, serving in Operation Enduring Freedom with the Army National Guard, took his own life in January of this year shortly after returning home from war. "A mentor enables a person to achieve. A hero shows what achievement looks like" — John C . Mather Remembering Two Heroes Chapman's son served in the "hot zone" of Kan- dahar Province, which experienced close to 500 military casualties during his one-year tour of duty. He was a member of a mechanized transport unit who had the responsibility of collecting soldier 's remains and body parts after bomb attacks and IED incidents. "It was his job to pick up the pieces and parts so the Army could send them home. That was an extremely traumatic experience for not just him but I'm sure others in his unit. The National Guard abso- lutely knew he was in trouble," laments Chapman. Chapman, who is currently Assa Abloy 's direc- tor of security consultant relations and has been in the security industry since 1999, is refusing to let her son become just another VA statistic. She is currently working to help troubled vets through her newly established foundation in honor of her son and is hoping to get not only her fellow security professionals on board with this effort but the entire New England and New York communities as well. The Will Power for Veterans fund, Inc., a non-profit organization, is recognized as a public charity with 100 percent of all donations going to the fund to help veterans and their families through awareness programs, information resources, and financial con- tributions to wounded and troubled vets. "Obviously, I'm very sad about my son's death. But I didn't want his death to be in vain and have him become just another of the statistics of the 22 who die every day. I wanted to establish a charity that would honor my son and have his memory live on, but also highlight the struggle thousands of other returning vets are having with their own experiences and PTSD," says Chapman. The reasons for suicide among veterans are many and varied, ranging from depression or survivor 's guilt to post-traumatic stress disorder or an addic- tion to drugs or alcohol. According to the VA study that was released this year, it highlights the fact that 14 of the 22 veteran suicides each day were service people who went undiagnosed or untreated. I never solicit for charities in this space, but I'm making an exception now. If you and your organi- zation would like to donate to the Will Power for Veterans fund or donate to efforts to construct the Willpower Retreat Center, please go to the website at http://www.willingnesstochange22.com for more information or contact Donna Chapman at donna. chapman@assaabloy.com.

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