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The 62nd ASIS International Seminar and Exhibits will run from September 12 to September 15 in Orlando, Florida. ASIS estimates that the Seminar may attract more than 20,000 security professionals to the Orlando Convention Center, where the event is being held.
Giving back to the host community
The Seminar always has a major economic effect on the host community. This year, ASIS will inaugurate a programme called Security Week, which is designed to give something back to the Seminar’s host city in exchange for its hospitality.
“This is our first Security Week,” says Peter O’Neil, CEO of ASIS. “We were originally planning to inaugurate Security Week next year, but the tragedy at the Pulse nightclub led us to do it this year in Orlando.”
“A shooter killed 49 people and wounded 53 others at the Pulse nightclub back in June,” says Michael Gips, chief global knowledge and learning officer for ASIS. “The Orlando segment of the programme will start on Sunday with a two-hour presentation for Orlando community members at the local Hyatt Regency hotel.”
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“The programme will include an essay competition in which we award $20,000 to a school,” says Gips. “The essay topic is why your school needs security upgrades, what those upgrades are and what benefits the upgrades will provide. The award will help pay for the upgrades."
Seminars and presentations
Over the course of the week, ASIS will hold a series of seminars for local business and organisations to better prepare for current physical security threats.
The Sunday presentation will feature a moderator and three speakers. It will be open to members of all local community organisations, including schools, law enforcement, the fire department and community organisations and businesses.
“These are people and groups that don’t consider themselves targets of violence and so have never developed sophisticated security programmes,” Gips says.
Kevin Doss, CHP, CEO of Level 4 Security — a security and training firm — will serve as moderator. He is the author of the book “Active Shooter: Preparing for and Responding to a Growing Threat.”
Speakers will include Marty J. Smith, the protective security advisor for Eastern and Central Florida, DHS District 5; U.S. Air Force retired Air Force Col. Jennifer L. Hesterman, author of “Soft Target Hardening: Protecting People from Attack;” and Paul Timm, PSP, president of RETA Security and author of “School Security: How to Build and Strengthen a School Safety Programme.”
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| The importance of security was highlighted when a shooter killed 49 people and wounded 53 others at the Pulse nightclub in June (Image credit: Neville Elder / Shutterstock.com) |
Building an effective plan for preparedness
They will discuss how to build an effective plan for preparedness, hardening soft targets, fundamentals of proper safety and security planning and how to work effectively with local law enforcement.
According to Gips, ASIS will invite members of the military, first responders and law enforcement professionals to attend the seminar free of charge. “Everyone that attends our Sunday programme will receive a free pass to the show floor from Monday through Wednesday,” he says.
“They can take in the exhibits and attend the educational sessions on a wide variety of subjects,” continues Gips. “It will be an opportunity to learn about meeting security challenges by learning about security technology and talking with security professionals.”
Gips adds that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has signed on as a supporting partner for the Sunday event.
Why? “As Assistant Secretary of DHS Caitlin Durkovich says, ‘Communities are the first line of defence,’” explains Gips.
All told, the inaugural ASIS Security Week will aim to impart information about best practices to the local community in an effort to enable Orland to build this first line of defence.
