Vol. 15, No. 21 - December 7, 2009
8150 Leesburg Pike, Suite 700, Vienna, VA 22182
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Table of Contents

• Bonifas, New Leadership Elected
• Stanley Oppenheim Receives CSAA’s Lott Award
• Pam Petrow receives APCO’s Highest Honor
• CSAA By-Law Change Approved by Members
• Lunch is served!
• Enforcement of Red Flags Rule Delayed Until June 1

Bonifas, New Leadership Elected

Ed Bonifas and Bud Wulforst

The Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) members elected a new Executive Committee during the General Membership Business meeting on Monday, October 19th at the 2009 CSAA Annual Meeting. The CSAA members unanimously voted Edward (Ed) Bonifas to lead the association for the next two years, accompanied by an excellent leadership team. Members of the newly elected CSAA Executive Committee are: President: Edward Bonifas (Alarm Detection Systems, Inc.) First Vice President: Robert R. Bean (Alert Alarm of Hawaii) Second Vice President: John Lombardi (Commercial Instruments and Alarm Systems, Inc.) Secretary: Pamela J. Petrow (Vector Security) Treasurer: Daniel Demers (Reliance Protectron Security Services) Immediate Past President: Bud Wulforst

Also voted to join the CSAA Board of Directors are:

• Jay Hauhn (ADT Security Services, Inc.)
• Ron Rothman (Honeywell Security & Communications)

Re-elected to serve on the Board for two more years are:

• Wayne W. Beck (United Monitoring Services, Inc.)
• Chester M. Donati (DMC Security Services, Inc.)
• Peter Lowitt (Lowitt Alarms & Security)
• Michael S. Meridith (Security Equipment, Inc.)
• Stanley Oppenheim (DGA Security Systems, Inc.)
• Ivan Spector (Alarme Sentinelle / Sentinel Alarm)
• Steve Walker (Stanley Convergent Security Solutions)

Gordon Hope (Honeywell Security & Communications), newly elected as the Security Industry Association’s (SIA) president, replaced Wendy Diddell (Richardson Electronics) as SIA representative.

Stanley Oppenheim Receives CSAA’s Lott Award

The Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) is pleased to announce Stanley Oppenheim, president of DGA Security, received the 2009 Stanley C. Lott Award, CSAA’s most prestigious recognition, from CSAA President Bud Wulforst on Wednesday, October 21, during the 2009 CSAA Annual Meeting. Mr. Oppenheim has been involved with CSAA for 25 years. From rewriting the CSAA Practical Guide to Burglar Alarm Systems, to redesigning the CSAA and the CSAAFive Diamond logos, to developing the CSAA Alarm Industry Museum, to chairing the CSAA Insurance Industry Liaison committee, Stan’s contributions will be felt for many years to come. Add to this prestigious award, DGA Security winning the 2009 CSAA Central Station of the Year Excellence Award, the 2009 CSAA Central Station Manager of the Year Excellence Award, and 2009 CSAA Central Station Operator of the Year Excellence Award Honorable Mention, and one could say that 2009 is Stan’s and DGA’s year.

“Stan’s contributions to CSAA in terms of the Insurance Industry Liaison Committee, the CSAA Five Diamond Certificate Committee, the design work on so many of our CSAA projects, as well as his leadership on the CSAA Alarm History Museum made this an easy decision and one so richly deserved,” said Steve Doyle, executive vice president and CEO of CSAA. “All who know Stan, know him as someone always willing to help out on a project, many times doing all the work himself. While many of his fellow Board members may tease him from time to time, they agree his enthusiasm for the industry and CSAA make him a natural for our highest honor. Our most heartfelt congratulations to Stan.”

“This recognition is truly an honor,” said Stanley Oppenheim. “Stanley Lott was a consummate professional and a close friend and colleague. It is a privilege to be associated with his name and this award. My work with the CSAA has been a fulfilling part of my life. I look forward to many more years working with this group of dedicated professionals.”

Stanley Oppenheim has been involved in the security industry for forty-five years and is an acknowledged expert in high risk commercial physical security. He founded DGA Security Systems, Inc. in 1969, and protects more New York City diamond and jewelry firms than any other company. Additionally, DGA is one of the few companies accredited by the New York Fire Department (FDNY) to monitor fire alarms in New York City.

A decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, Oppenheim is a long-standing member of the board of directors of CSAA. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Security Network of America. He served two terms at the Vice President of NBFAA (now ESA) during which time he participated in the creation of the National Training School. Stan was the recipient of the 2008 CSAA President’s Award.

The Lott Award recognizes those individuals whose contributions to CSAA and the industry are exceptional, and is CSAA’s highest recognition of leadership and support.

Stanley now joins a group of very special people. Past recipients of the Stanley Lott Award are Robert Bitton (1991), Patricia and Thomas F. Smith (1993), Robert A. Bonifas (1995), Steve Roth (1996), Robert L. Ohm (1997), Tom Lewin (1998), Isaac Papier (1999), Stanley Martin (2001), William (Bill) Moody (2002), Ralph W. Sevinor (2003), John Mabry (2004), Louis T. Fiore (2005), Ben Cornett (2006), Benjamin H. Dickens, Jr., Esq. (2007), and John A. Murphy (2008).

For more information about Stan Lott and this award, visit http://www.csaaintl.org/StanleyCLott.htm.

Pam Petrow receives APCO’s Highest Honor

Pamela (Pam) Petrow, Chief Operating Officer, Vector Security, received the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International (APCO)’s President’s Award from the hand of APCO’s immediate past president, Chris A. Fischer, Executive Director of NORCOM, Des Moines, WA, during the 2009 CSAA Annual Meeting’s President’s Dinner in Athens, Greece. Petrow was honored for her outstanding contributions to the electronic transmission of signals between central stations to 911 dispatch centers. Pam worked for two years, representing CSAA and Vector Security, in a CSAA/APCO joint project composed of 16 representatives from law enforcement, fire services, emergency medical services, industry, emergency management, transportation, APCO International, and Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).

“It has been a tremendous honor working with so many individuals that are committed to improving public safety, “ said Pam Petrow. “The countless hours spent by the CAD vendors, York County and Richmond City personnel, GE development, and APCO have been invaluable in creating a standard that utilizes current technology to facilitate the transfer of alarm data. This project has been a shining example of how a public and private partnership address an issue that results in a win for the alarm companies, a win for the PSAPs, and a win for the citizens with alarm systems.”

After being in operation with the testing partners for two years, over 5,000 alarm exchanges were transmitted between Vector Security and two Virginia PSAPs.

The benefit resulting from these 5,000 exchanges include:

• A reduction of 5,000 telephone calls to the two PSAPs, eliminating the need for the alarm monitoring company operator to converse with the PSAP call-taker.
• Elimination of miscommunication between the alarm company operator and the PSAP call-taker.
• A significant decrease in response times to alarm-related calls-for-service, with an increase in law enforcement apprehensions made, fires more quickly extinguished, and lives saved.

“After 15 years of many attempts to develop these types of systems, Pam was able to bring together all the various parties to create a protocol and an ANSI standard for the transmission of signals that has wide industry and public sector support,” said Steve Doyle, executive vice president and CEO of CSAA. “Her efforts were monumental and nobody deserves this APCO honor more than she does. It was truly an amazing accomplishment that baffled industry experts for years.”

CSAA By-Law Change Approved by Members

CSAA members overwhelmingly approved a by-laws change whereby any company certified as a CSAA-approved Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTL) will be able to apply for CSAA membership. At this point, the only NRTLs recognized by CSAA are Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and FM Global.

North American Members voted by paper ballot to facilitate the participation of CSAA North American members unable to be present at the 2009 CSAA Membership Business meeting in Athens, Greece.

Lunch is served!

Join your comrades who have referred and sponsored new members to CSAA membership during the two-hour lunch break campaign. We have already added new members and are pleased to thank the sponsoring companies with a $100.00 gift certificate. CSAA member benefits continue to expand and we are looking forward to additional upgrades to existing programs. Please get your calls in before December 31, 2009 and sponsor a new member.  Then, have lunch on us! For additional information, contact Becky Lane, Director of Membership at 703-242-4670 x 18 or membership@csaaintl.org.

Enforcement of Red Flags Rule Delayed Until June 1, 2010

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), at the request of Members of Congress, has delayed until June 1, 2010 enforcement of its Red Flags Rule to give creditors and financial institutions more time to review FTC guidance and develop and implement written Identity Theft Prevention Programs. The delay applies to entities under the jurisdiction of the FTC and does not affect the Address Discrepancy or Card Issuer Rules. Under the new rules, all businesses that maintain a creditor-debtor relationship with customers, including virtually all telecommunications carriers (but other companies as well), must adopt written procedures designed to detect the relevant warning signs of identity theft, and implement an appropriate response. 

The Red Flags compliance requirement was in place as of Nov. 1, 2008.  But the FTC will not enforce the rules until June 1, 2010, meaning only that a business will not be subject to enforcement action by the FTC if it delays implementing the program until June 1, 2010. The FTC announcement does not affect other federal agencies’ enforcement of the original Nov. 1, 2008, compliance deadline for institutions subject to their oversight. Other liabilities may be incurred if a violation occurs in the meantime.  The requirements are binding on telcos and wireless carriers that are serving the public on a common carrier basis,  but also apply to any “creditor” (which includes entities that defer payment for goods or services) that has “covered accounts” (accounts used mostly for personal, family or household purposes). This also may affect private user clients, as well as many telecom carriers’ non-regulated affiliates and subsidiaries.

CSAA Counsel BloostonLaw has prepared a Red Flag Compliance Manual to help your company achieve compliance with the Red Flags Rule. Please contact Gerry Duffy (202-828-5528) or Mary Sisak (202-828-5554) with any questions or to request the manual.