Representatives from 43 security dealers nationwide have completed training to become certified Ambassadors for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). They now will serve as informational resources and educators to the local community, providing guidance on handling crisis situations and how NCMEC can help.

The security dealer representatives completed ambassador training at the annual First Alert Professional/Honeywell Authorized Dealers meeting.

Don Williams, regional general manager for Phillips-Doby Security, an Interface company in Waynesboro, Miss., has been a member of the First Alert Professional network for more than a decade.

He plans to use his new ambassador certification to present information about preventing child abduction and exploitation. He hopes to work with schools, day care centers, the local Parent Teacher Organization and the Junior Auxiliary.

“I’ve been going to the First Alert Professional conventions since 1992, and this seminar was the best one yet because of the ambassador training,” Williams said. “It wasn’t just about business, but about a true service that you can provide for your community.”

Honeywell, Syosset, N.Y., became a corporate sponsor of the NCMEC in 2003 when the two organizations developed the Got 2B Safe! Think Smart and Take Charge! Program.

This nationwide initiative educates 8- to-10-year-olds and their parents on how to prevent child abduction and exploitation. Since its inception, Got 2B Safe! has been used in 135,000 classrooms, educating 1.6 million elementary students throughout the United States.

“Providing this training with the NCMEC was extremely important to us because it gives our dealers more knowledge about child safety so they can be resources for families in times of need,” said Joe Sausa, president of First Alert Professional.

According to the NCMEC, more than 2,100 children are abducted or sexually exploited each day in the United States. That is more than 750,000 cases per year.

In 1992, the abduction recovery rate was approximately 62 percent. Today, thanks to the dedication of organizations like the NCMEC and corporate sponsors like Honeywell, the recovery rate has increased to nearly 95 percent.

To learn more about the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, visit www.missingkids.com. For more information on Honeywell’s Got 2B Safe! program, visit www.honeywell.com/ sites/hhs/got2bsafe/.