MESSAGE FROM TMA PRESIDENT DON YOUNG, ADT volunteered their time to share their expertise in areas such as standards, best practices, legal advice, banking, and insurance. (See our cover story on page 15.)
The whole is greater than the sum... As my presidency began in the fourth quarter of last year, I realized the achievement of a long-held professional goal of mine. I’ve always held the association in high regard and esteem. From my very first experience with TMA members and staff, I recognized there was something very distinctive about the organization. The way in which members of all sizes interacted with one another surprised me. I was amazed by the open, collaborative spirit demonstrated by industry competitors. I observed an undeniable circle of respect and trust. It was then that I first came to realize that despite the size of a company, we all shared common mechanisms, tools, and processes. We speak a common language. Within the TMA community, all companies are, in a very real sense, on equal footing. Having myself been employed in every size and structure of a company over the course of my 30-year career in the security industry, I find the member engagement and collaboration to be equally remarkable and invaluable today as it has been over the years.
I find these thoughts and impressions of past experiences coming to the forefront of mind lately. In the past weeks and months, I’ve been so honored to be able to witness firsthand how we’ve come together as a professional community to support one another during these frightening and uncertain times for our businesses, our industry, and our world. The intrinsic value of TMA membership that captivated me years ago is shining through brighter than ever before. I am proud. We speak often of business “disruptors,” referencing a certain set of circumstances that arise, often mostly out of our control, which challenge our sense of normalcy. Such is the moment in which we live and work today. The pandemic has raised unknown fears and previously unimaginable questions for all of us. TMA’s weekly Virtual Town Hall Meetings have introduced a new forum for us to come together, to connect, and to draw upon our community’s collective experience, knowledge and skill sets. I am grateful for the members who have
While we have faced many challenges over the past days, weeks, and now months, I believe that this crisis will bring positive results. I believe this crisis brings clarity to our purpose. For example, COVID-19 has presented our industry with a unique opportunity to test our ability to deliver professional monitoring in a work-from-home scenario, something frequently discussed in the past, but never seriously contemplated until now. This has, in turn, called for significant changes to UL 827, both temporary and permanent, which has opened the door to new possibilities for accommodating our monitoring staff and leveraging more cost-effective infrastructure. The confirmation that we can have continuity in our business model with a significant portion of our operators actively working virtually has introduced innovative thinking from our members and invited another way for our association to play an effective role in changing the status quo. I am convinced that these changes will improve the quality of the services we provide to our customers and the efficiency of our monitoring personnel providing them. Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn’t also take this opportunity to express my appreciation to TMA Executive Director (ED) Celia Besore and her terrific staff of five for their hard work and dedication to our members along with their countless contributions the past six months. Celia has truly mastered her role as our ED and I’ve come to depend on her immensely for the tireless effort and leadership she provides to her team, our members, and myself every day at TMA. I am particularly proud of how she has grown from a very capable administrator continued on page 7
The views, thoughts and opinions in this article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to his employer.
TMA Dispatch | Spring 2020
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