Against the backdrop of the Hudson River, the 2016 SIA Honors Night was held on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016, at Current at Chelsea Piers in New York City. The evening was marked by a theme of coming together, from raising funds for Mission 500 to celebrating those who have devoted themselves to the industry.

Magician Bill Herz served as Master of Cer​​emonies for the evening. Herz, who has performed at many corporate events, including functions hosted by Apple, Canon, Cisco, Ericsson, Honeywell, Microsoft, Nortel, UL and more, kept the audience entertained with his jokes and antics in between dinner and awards.

​First, the 2016 Women in Biometrics Awards, which are dedicated to recognizing innovative women creating a more secure world by guiding the biometrics technology market, were presented to JoAnn Buscaglia, FBI Laboratory; Tovah LaDier, International Biometrics & Identity Association; Elham Tabassi, National Institute of Standards and Technology; and Teresa Wu, MorphoTrak.

​Next, Dr. Lou Marciani, director of the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4) at The University of Southern Mississippi, received the SIA Insightful Practitioner award for his support in providing SIA member companies with insight into securing sporting events, critical mass gatherings that could be vulnerable to disaster.

As NCS4 Director, Marciani is the principal investigator in research funded grants through the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of Education. His work at the center focuses on the development and implementation of risk management, incident management and evacuation training.

Previous SIA Chairman of the Board Jay Hauhn then presented the Jay Hauhn Excellence in Partnerships Award to Allegion Senior Vice President and President of the Americas Tim Eckersley, who was unable to attend but accepted the award in a prepared video.

Eckersley received this year’s award as a consistent advocate for SIA’s school security initiatives, including the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) and the efforts of SIA Government Relations to secure federal legislation and funding for K-12 school security enhancements.

Eckersley is a 25-year veteran in high-growth technology industries. In this role, he is responsible for leading Allegion’s Americas-based business. The Americ​as organization is responsible for several of Allegion’s core brands, including Schlage, LCN and Von Duprin.

Finally, Mission 500 Board Member George Fletcher presented the George R. Lippert Memorial Award to Fredrik Nilsson, vice president, Americas, Axis Communications Inc., for his active support of many security industry initiatives. He formerly served on the SIA board of directors and the SIA executive committee, and he has continued to be a strong contributor to SIA education initiatives.

Nilsson has worked for Axis Communications since 1996 and has been in his current role since 2003. During that time, he has been instrumental in leading the industry shift from analog CCTV to network video surveillance.

The Lippert Award, founded in 1989, is named in honor of George R. Lippert, who dedicated more than 20 years of his life to the security industry and SIA. When evaluating candidates nominated for the award, the SIA Lippert Award Committee considered their long-term service to SIA and the security industry, the impact of their efforts on behalf of SIA and the industry, and their integrity, leadership and diplomacy as demonstrated in industry dealings.