First, allow me to say I am honored to be chair of the Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC). We typically meet four times a year in Washington, D.C. For years I have resisted having AICC go online, even in a hybrid form.

What do termites, diamonds and security have in common? All three are components of the history of this year’s SDM Dealer of the Year. Sonitrol began when Al Cronk, a police officer, was interested in verifying alarms using audio; Bob Baxter invented microphones to detect termites in trees.

As of February 2020, American Defense Systems will be rebranding to ONIT Home Service, encompassing multiple services under one group.

Eagle Eye Networks and DMP announced the integration of DMP’s Virtual Keypad app with Eagle Eye Network’s Cloud VMS. The secure integration between these two products serves as a unified platform that provides access to Eagle Eye Camera feeds from the same Virtual Keypad environment that DMP users are already utilizing to control their security, access, and home automation systems. 

When every second counts, medical supplies need to be highly visible and easily accessible.

At the California Alarm Association meeting, held in San Francisco last December, a callout by Kirk MacDowell of MacGuard netted $9,100 in SIAC contributions. MacDowell’s idea was to put forward a personal pledge of $1,500, as a 10 percent match up to the $15,000 goal in contributions from others. While his goal from other security industry contributions wasn’t met, it was a tremendous success, according to SIAC, which thanked MacDowell for the unique idea, his contribution, and his effort in invigorating others to think about how donations can be raised.