Saluting those who make it all happen

Sep 1, 2000 12:00 PM, Paul Caplan

Everyone needs a champion. Oftentimes, they are hard to come by. Security professionals sometimes feel like the Rodney Dangerfields within their organizations - "No Respect." It's one reason we developed the Security Director of the Year Award.

Each month, we write volumes on real-life applications of security systems. Our case-history approach is valuable to readers as a key information source to help them do their jobs. But sometimes, we focus more on the whiz-bang gadgets that make up today's integrated security systems than on the people who make it work. Being the go-to player on security within an organization requires a number of proficiencies. You need multiple personalities - part cop, part psychiatrist, part engineer and part PR director. As the number of people and the size of the facility increases, the number of complications increases exponentially. Having bottom-line responsibility for the safety of your co-workers and protecting the value of your organization's assets means long hours and sleepless nights. It is only fitting that the industry take a moment to honor its all-stars.

Contributor Carol Carey's front-page profile of this year's Security Director of The Year, Doug Karpiloff, details this professional's total commitment to his craft. Working within a huge, high-profile facility and operating in a city where getting anything done is a monumental undertaking, Karpiloff demonstrates that flexibility and "thinking on your feet" are key ingredients for success.

Choosing the Security Director of The Year each year is like trying to award an MVP to just one member of the Gas House Gang. Therefore, we are profiling a total of nine other security professionals who made it into our Security Honor Roll for 2000.

Starting on page 50, you can get a sense for the breadth of responsibilities of our honor roll recipients and the varied environments they operate in. Each profile demonstrates how these security professionals make a difference to their organizations, the fellow employees and their communities. All of our award winners will be recognized by the Access Control & Security Systems Integration staff during the ASIS 2000 show. Stop by and say hello to us in booth 2666.

Every issue of Access Control & Security Systems Integration is chock-full of relevant information and this special issue is no different. Our regular CCTV columnist, Charlie Pierce, continues his helpful guidance with this month's column on "Choosing a system to match an application" (Page 74). Keith Henson of Lockwood Greene Technologies writes this month's Facility Systems column and details the ins and outs of integrating a new system within a facility's network (Page 18). This month's plethora of application features include what it takes to protect a World's Fair (cover); Don Garbera's coverage of a state-of-the-art hospital security system (Page 47) ; Mike Fickes' look at physical security requirements at TidePoint Corp. (page 37); and associate editor Carey Adams' trip into the colorful world of securing a heavy metal concert (Page 28). All in all, this month's issue is a complete package of stories and action-oriented information worthy of our 40,000-circulation of leading-edge security directors, every one of whom can take pride in the accomplishments of our award winners and every one of whom are winners in their own rights.

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© 2012 Penton Media Inc.

This month in Access Control

• Targeting The Customer
• Electronic Pedigrees
• One Hero Among Many
• Who? What? When? Where? Why?
• More from September's issue