I recently became the official immediate Past-President of The Canadian Security Association (CANASA) having served as National President for a two year term. Serving as President has been an honour and privilege. The electronic security industry has been a major part of my life since I first entered the industry as a Central Station Operator in 1983. These past 34 years have seen many changes to our industry and I am extremely proud of the progress we have made. These last two years have been filled with tremendous opportunities to grow, develop, influence positive change and build relationships. CANASA continues to provide opportunities for members to grow and develop. This association is also filled with networking opportunities for members to build relationships.
My term as President has also seen us manage several challenges. Our National Board of Directors, CANASA Executive Committee and staff have been outstanding in their support. So have my FCi work colleagues and family. I could not have done as much without their support. We should all be proud of our achievements.
Representing CANASA at industry events continues to be a highlight. Attending our Security Canada events, golf tournaments and member meetings helped me connect with our diverse membership across the country. I also had the pleasure to represent CANASA at ISC West in Las Vegas as our United States partners, Security Industry Association (SIA) hosted another successful security showcase in April. There is a large Canadian presence at these international events and I am always impressed to see how strong our involvement is within the North-American market. Canadian firms are also well positioned as they promote their products and services. Several emerging technologies were on display with a large number of drone technologies being demonstrated. Robotic technologies were also highlighted as this sector of our industry continues to grow.
CANASA hosted our Security Canada East event in April with some of the latest technology on display for our members to explore. Security Canada shows continue to be a great opportunity to meet and network. Our Annual General Meeting was a chance for us to share some of our achievements over the past year and recognize the contribution to our industry with awards for volunteers. Volunteers form the backbone of CANASA and contribute their time, energy and expertise to our success. We also celebrated our 40th Anniversary with a special evening Gala Dinner. It was a wonderful opportunity to look back at our achievements as we look forward to the next steps in our association. CANASA continues to be strong.
On May 31st, 2017 CANASA members will gather in Ottawa to participate at our Security Canada Ottawa event. This will be an opportunity to showcase products and services. FCi will have a booth filled with information about our unique approach to customer service. We will focus on our web portal tools for clients to access information on their security systems. Our Security Asset Manager (SAM) will be on display to reinforce our commitment to customer engagement. SAM is an outstanding tool for tracking service history, inspections and lifecycle information to keep our customer base informed and connected.
Serving as National President of CANASA will continue to be something l look back at with pride. Contributing to our industry has been a remarkable experience and I look forward to serving as Past-President with much enthusiasm.