CSAA Signals Banner

Vol. 15, No. 19 - September 30, 2009
8150 Leesburg Pike, Suite 700, Vienna, VA 22182
703-242-4670; Fax 703-242-4675
www.csaaintl.org

This issue of the CSAA Signals is brought to you by our sponsor:

Please visit http://www.dsc.com/index.php?n=products&o=view&id=145 to learn about its products or click on the banner above. Sur-Gard System I Receiver

Please thank the sponsors of the 2009 CSAA Annual Meeting:

ADI (President’s Dinner & Dance Wine & Beverages); Alert Alarm of Hawaii (CSAA Board of Directors Dinner); Altronix (President’s Dinner & Dance Reception); Bosch Security Systems (Tuesday’s Continental Breakfast/AM Break); DICE Corp. (Wednesday continental breakfast); DMP (Keycards); GE Security (Opening Reception Buffet (partial) and Music); Honeywell Security (Theme Dinner); Micro Key Solutions (Monday’s Continental Breakfast/AM Break); Sur-Gard/DSC (President’s Dinner & Dance Dance Band); System Sensor (Opening Reception Wine & Beverages); Tri-Ed Distribution (Theme Dinner's Wine & Beverages); Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (PSLC Committee & AHJs Dinner and AHJ Travel)

Table of Contents

Attend the CSAA Sales Webinar
It's on Us!

If you have not yet signed up to attend Bob Harris' blockbuster free webinar on Thursday, October 8, at 1:30pm - 3:00pm ET on how to increase your net profit, don't wait any longer! The seminar will provide you with some additional ideas on how you can differentiate your company from the pack.

Sign-up your whole sales team or anyone with customer services responsibilities. If you are a CSAA Five Diamond company, this is a critical webinar to attend to benefit even more from your designation!

It is easy to participate -- all that is needed is a computer and a phone or a audio-enabled computer. There is no limit on how many people can participate from your company.

Below is the information to register to this webinar. Feel free to forward this information to others in your company or outside. Non-CSAA members are welcome also!

  • Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/622385514. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

    System Requirements:
    PC-based attendees: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista
    Macintosh®-based attendees: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

If you have any questions about this webinar, please contact Celia Besore at 703-242-4670, Ext. 16 or communications@csaaintl.org.

CSAA 60th Anniversary Celebration

CSAA will begin the celebration of its 60th anniversary starting on June 2010 at the ESX meeting in Pittsburgh, Pa. This is EVERYONE's celebration and we want to hear from you on how you want to celebrate it!

Please participate in this very short survey: http://www.magnetmail.net/forms/display_form.cfm?uid=CSAA&fid=21667&rtype=nonmm.

In addition, CSAA has created a CSAA History wiki for everyone's participation. Please collaborate with us to "fill-in" any memorable events or accomplishments that we may have missed. If you have access to the CSAA Members' only wikis, you can use the same login information. You can access the CSAA History wiki at www.csaaintl.org/wiki2.

CSAA 2009 Annual Meeting Additional Information
By John McDonald, Vice President, Meetings & Convention

Airport Transportation in Athens

If you are traveling to Athens for the Annual Meeting the trip from the airport to the Grande Bretagne is roughly 45 minutes, depending on traffic and time of day.  Cabs are readily available at the airport.  If you wish something more scheduled, or for more assistance with your baggage you can book through the hotel concierge at concierge.gb@luxurycollection.com.

Booked through the hotel, the applicable one way costs are:

Taxi Service (Painted yellow)
Day Service (7:00AM - 11:00PM): €50
Night Service (11:00PM - 7:00AM): €65

Limousine Service
Day Service (7:00AM - 11:00PM): €100
Night Service (11:00PM - 7:00AM): €135

Both services have English-speaking hotel drivers.  A limo will be a large model Mercedes, not a stretch.  If two couples are traveling together, keep in mind the amount of luggage you have.  If you have packed a lot, four people and their luggage may not fit in the Taxi Service. 

Contact the concierge at concierge.gb@luxurycollection.com

 

CSAA 2009 Annual Meeting Dress/Packing Suggestions

With only a couple weeks to go to the start of the CSAA 2009 Annual in Athens, many of you are considering what to pack for your trip.  First, consider that the average daytime temperature in Athens in October is 74F.  However, the last few days have been running on the warm side with daytime highs ranging from 78 to 82.  Evening and early morning temperatures have been dropping in to the 60s.  You will definitely want to bring clothes that you can layer.  Also keep in mind that laws in Athens prohibit irons in hotel rooms, so unless you have the packing expertise of Jeeves the Butler, pack items that are resistant to wrinkling.  The hotel does have a valet service and can press, launder or dry-clean clothing.

Athens is a cosmopolitan city, but tends to be less dressy than other European cities, like Paris and Milan.  CSAA meetings will be business casual.  For tours, wear comfortable clothing and rubber soled shoes.  You will visit sites with uneven surfaces which can become slippery when wet.  Take along a folding umbrella just in case.

For the Opening Reception on Saturday evening, CSAA has suggested a jacket and tie for men and a dress or dressy slacks for ladies.

This year’s theme night will be Greek Fete at the Byzantine Estate, and will take place on Monday evening.  We will be traveling just outside of downtown where the evenings will be a bit cooler.  For the men, we have suggested slacks and a shirt, but you may wish to have a sport coat for the cooler evening temperatures.  Light wool slacks or a skirt is fine for the ladies, but a sweater or a light wrap will be a must for the cool evening air.

The final function of the meeting will be the President’s Dinner/Dance on Wednesday, October 21st.  Black tie is suggested for men.  A cocktail dress or evening dress (long or short) or a formal pantsuit is suggested for the ladies.

Reminder: CSAA Standards Review Period
Comments DUE 10/19/2009

The CSAA Standards Committee and its chair, Lou Fiore, is announcing the opening of a public comment phase for four CSAA standards and draft standards.

Two of these standards are already ANSI standards but are being updated.

Please forward us any comments or questions, using the form at www.csaaintl.org/Form_for_Proposals_on_CSAA_Standards_Documents.doc.
Be sure to sign the form and submit it to communications@csaaintl.org.

Two draft standards are again open for public comments.

 

The public comment period will end on October 26, 2009.
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