Bates Security - Experts & Thought Leaders

Members of the Electronic Security Association (ESA) recently approved several competency director and officer positions. After voting for recent director positions concluded on May 24th, Chair-elect Kevin Stone recommended two Competency Directors and requested Board approval on June 2nd. These director positions are selected based on their subject matter expertise and must be an owner, officer, or employee of an ESA Member in Good Standing. Each Competency Director shall serve for a two-year term beginning July 1st, 2024. Competency director positions Kirk MacDowell, the 2023 Weinstock Person of the Year Award winner, is the founder and CEO of MacGuard Security Advisors. Bringing insight from his time at industry innovator Alarm.com, top Fortune 100 manufacturers General Electric and United Technologies, a top 50 SDM integrator, and his own electronic security firm, Kirk now offers guidance on how to innovate, transform, and compete in the ever-changing electronic security landscape. Kirk also remains active in many corps serving on multiple industry and private firm boards A sought-after industry speaker, Kirk also remains active in many associations serving on numerous industry and private company boards. He was the Past Board of Director of the Security Industry Association (SIA) and The Monitoring Association (TMA), past Chairman of AIREF (Alarm Industry Research & Education Foundation), past Chairman of the Security Industry Alarm Collation (SIAC) and past president of the Los Angeles County Burglar and Fire Alarm Association (LABFAA). Kirk currently serves as the Chairman of ESA’s Leadership Identification and Nominating Committee (LINC). Kirk was recently inducted into the SSI Industry Hall of Fame. “I am honoured to join ESA’s board of directors as a competency director and proud to serve the industry that has given me so much. Looking forward to working alongside ESA’s elected board and officers.” Michael Barnes, who recently served as a Competency Director from 2022-2024 under Chairman John Loud, founded Barnes Associates in 1986 and directs the firm’s Mergers and Acquisitions activities. He is based in St. Louis, Missouri. Since founding Barnes Associates, Michael has been involved in more than 280 security alarm acquisitions and financings, with an aggregate transaction value in excess of $29 billion. He has lectured at numerous events within the security alarm industry on matters relating to acquisitions, the availability of capital and the operating dynamics and performance of alarm companies. Michael was the 13th person to be inducted into the SSI Industry Hall of Fame, an honor he received in 2004. Barnes Associates co-sponsors the annual Barnes-Buchanan Conference. “Overall, I feel honoured to once again be invited to serve on ESA’s Board. The organization does such great work in supporting and advocating for the industry, and the Board has a large responsibility for setting direction. I feel the weight of that responsibility and hope I can rise to the occasion.” Officer Positions In addition to the approval of the Competency Directors, the Board approved three officer positions to serve from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025. Integrator Director Jeremy Bates, of Bates Security, will serve as Vice Chairman. The Vice Chairman reports to the Chairman and the Board of Directors, serves as liaison to at least one of the standing committees of the Association, promotes all the objectives of the Association, and performs such duties as may be assigned to him or her by the Chairman and the Board of Directors. Competency Director Michael Barnes, of Barnes Associates, will continue in his role as Treasurer. The Treasurer has general supervision of the fiscal affairs of the Association. Integrator Director Melissa Brinkman, of Custom Alarm, will serve as Secretary to the Board. The Secretary is responsible for the preparation of accurate minutes of the proceedings at all membership and board meetings.

Bates Security, LLC, a commercial and residential security company based in Kentucky with a branch in Jacksonville, is happy to announce the recent acquisition of Absolute Protection Team from Roger and Karen Marcil of Vero Beach, Florida. Bates Security will be maintaining that location as its second in the state and fourth company branch overall. With the acquisition, Bates will be adding over 2,000 customers to its customer base. "Roger and Karen built a nice and successful company and we are honored they selected us to continue their legacy,” said Jeremy Bates, President of Bates Security. “They have a solid team of people in place and we are excited to bring them on to ours. We plan to grow the office, building upon the Absolute Protection Team legacy.” he adds. Bates Security will proudly support the team at Absolute Protection Services and welcome them into the Bates family. The new additions will be an important part of the transition process and long-term servicing of the company. "We specifically sought out Bates Security when we decided to sell,” said Roger Marcil, Absolute Protection Team President. New markets and growing existing locations Bates has acquired five companies in two states and now manages over 14,000 accounts from its headquarters He adds: "We are excited about the new opportunities this brings to our employees as well as our customers. Bates is planning to invest in our office and community and further grow Absolute which is great for our employees. I am excited to see the things they bring to the table.” Roger Marcil will be remaining as lead commercial sales consultant for the company. With leadership from Bryan Bates, Vice President of Sales for Bates Security, the company is in position for more aggressive commercial growth in the area. “We see tremendous opportunity for growth in the Vero Beach and surrounding areas and we think Absolute is a great fit to our company and its culture,” said Bryan Bates. Bates Security received a $10M revolving line of credit in 2016 from Capital One to fuel growth, both by expanding into new markets and growing existing locations. Since 2016, Bates has acquired five companies in two states and now manages over 14,000 accounts from its headquarters in Lexington. 

3xLOGIC, Inc., a provider of integrated, intelligent security solutions, and a three-time Deloitte Technology Fast 500 winner, announced Estill County Emergency Medical Services, located in Irvine, KY, is successfully using infinias access control from 3xLOGIC to improve security and give hard-working staff needed peace of mind to focus on their important work. Bates Security, Lexington, Kentucky, designed, installed, and oversees the system. Shelia Wise, in charge of accounting and training for Estill EMS, oversaw the process to upgrade security at the County’s EMS facility. “We were looking to secure a building that is in operation 24/7/365.” Working on behalf of the County EMS’s Board of Directors, Wise and her team assembled three bids and in the process got a real education on access control, what different systems can do, and what their real security needs were. Securing the medical room Our main goals were to secure our medical room, per DEA regulations, and to make our facility safe when staff are here"“Our main goals were to secure our medical room, per DEA regulations, and to make our facility safe when staff are here, but also when they need to clear out at a moment’s notice,” explained Wise. Ultimately, the Board of Directors choose inifinias access control because it met the wide-ranging needs of the County EMS. “We chose the best system for the price and the feature set,” said Wise. Installation was completed about two years ago and the infinias system manages a total of six doors at the main EMS building, two of which are internal, including the medical room where drugs are stored. Later, two more doors were added at a sub-station location. “A top concern is the medical room,” said Wise, “I have to be notified when someone is accessing that door. Now, I get an alert anytime someone is attempting to access that secure room anywhere I am, I don’t need to be onsite. Wise and other staff manage their eight doors from a single interface, by any computer with an Internet connection—anytime, anywhere. Access management for employees “It was important that I could easily operate the system software without help from anyone else. And Sean Moberly from Bates is always available for questions and any maintenance that’s needed. It’s a great feeling to know that when we’re away doing our jobs all our worldly possessions back at the facility are protected and we don’t have to worry,” said Wise. The infinias system manages access for all employees, some outside contractors, and the Chairman of the Board of DirectorsEstill County EMS has 35-40 employees and at any given time upwards to 15 people are at the main station on a daily basis. The infinias system manages access for all employees, some outside contractors, who do radio and computer maintenance, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Ms. Wise also grants temporary access to hospital staff who use the facility for training. User-friendly access control system As the main administrator, Ms. Wise has created five different sub-groups among all employees and visitors, providing each group with the access privileges they need to do their jobs, while ensuring that only a few individuals have full access to all doors and areas. “I think the system works really well. There was a short learning curve, but it’s quite user-friendly and we’ve not had any problems. From what I was told at our original meeting with Bates through operations today, we got exactly what we were told, and we’re very satisfied,” Wise concluded.