The Security Industry Association (SIA) has named Wayne Esser, director of the National Capital Region Security Forum (NCRSF), and Dhira Gregory, director of marketing and communications for NCRSF, as the 2019 recipients of the SIA Statesman Award. The awardees will be honored at the upcoming SIA GovSummit, taking place June 26-27 in Washington D.C.

“Through their work at NCRSF and participation in SIA, Wayne and Dhira have been instrumental in guiding the association, connecting with key federal agencies and personnel and assisting with program development and participation growth for the annual SIA GovSummit,” said Jake Parker, director of government relations at SIA. “We congratulate these leaders on their outstanding achievements and look forward to continuing to partner in addressing issues that matter to our members and to safety and security as a whole.”

Established in 2006, the Statesman Award is an annual award presented to SIA member volunteers who have made an extraordinary contribution of professional time, leadership and resources to position SIA to address the public policy challenges impacting the security industry. 

“It’s been a privilege working on the alliance between the NCRSF and SIA over the past several years,” Esser said. “To receive this award is an amazing honor.”

The NCRSF (formerly the Northern Virginia Security Forum) was created to bring security professionals throughout the D.C. metro area and those associated with the industry together monthly to share ideas and network. The organization collaborates with SIA and other organizations, helping security professionals offer leading security services and products.

“Recognition by SIA, our industry’s preeminent organization, is an honor,” Gregory said. “I look forward to continuing to provide an atmosphere of even greater cooperation between industry, agencies and affiliations.”

SIA GovSummit — the annual government security conference hosted by SIA — brings together government security leaders and private industry technologists for information sharing and education on security topics affecting federal, state and local agencies. Attendees will find specialized sessions on topics such as modernizing federal physical access control systems, the U.S. Department of Defense’s unified facilities criteria for security systems, facial recognition technology use for public safety and homeland security missions and helping communities protect religious institutions, crowded spaces and other soft targets.

SIA GovSummit is free for all government employees, including federal, state, county and municipal-level staff (both domestic and international), plus all military, law enforcement and public safety representatives. To learn more and register, visit govsummit.securityindustry.org.