The Electronic Security Association held its virtual awards night on Wednesday as part of the annual ESA Leadership Summit, where it honored three of its members as winners of the annual Sara E. Jackson Award, Paul F. Baran Instructor of the Year, and the prestigious Morris F. Weinstock Person of the Year.
“We are here to celebrate the accomplishments of these passionate professionals from coast to coast, who break boundaries – going above and beyond in our shared mission of helping to keep people, places, and property safe,” said Jillian Bateman, ESA's Chief Development Officer
ESA annually gives out its highest honor – the Morris F. Weinstock Person of the Year – in recognition of outstanding achievement and ongoing efforts by an individual on behalf of the association. First presented in 1970, the award was initiated by Weinstock family of to honor the lifetime work of ESA’s co-founder and past president.
This year’s recipient is one of the pioneers of the alarm industry, longtime security business owner and former CSAA President Howard “Bud” Wulforst. “As most of you know, Bud is an industry icon with a remarkable 50-plus years in the security and life safety industry,” said George DeMarco, Managing Partner of DECO Ventures and Chairman of the Electronic Security Expo (ESX). “During that time, he has been a dedicated volunteer and advocate, but Bud’s selfless contributions and infinite wisdom are what has earned him this great recognition.”
“Whether he was big game hunting around the world, drinking wine with his friends, or running his businesses day to day, he brought passion and humor to everything,” Resideo’s Scott Harkins added. “He started his first (security) business back in the early 70s in New York, and he is a major influencer of today's modern security industry.”
Wulforst has built and sold five security companies from New York to Nevada. “I'm very proud to be receiving this wonderful award,” Wulforst said during an emotional acceptance speech. “I became a skilled alarm mechanic before I was 18 years old, and I became smitten with the technology and the purpose of protecting life and property. I have learned so much from so many over the years, and the associations are a catalyst for bringing it all together. The power of networking and participating in the associations should never be underestimated.”
Rodger Reiswig, VP of Industry Relations for Johnson Controls, was honored with the Sara Jackson Award for his tireless work as Chair of the ESA Standards Committee. Named for ESA’s president in 1951, the Sara E. Jackson Award recognizes an ESA member's work on an association committee, task force or board.
“Your leadership, experience and guidance has taken the standards and fire life safety committee to new heights,” said Jason Lutz of Resideo. “Few people understand the importance of industry representation on these technical committees, which develop the standards for virtually everything our members do on a day-to-day basis.”
Named for the long-time ESA National Training School instructor, the Paul F. Baran Award was bestowed on physical security and fire alarm training specialist Don McInnes.
McInnes began teaching for the ESA National Training School in 1987 and throughout these 33 years, he has shared his passion for learning with countless students. “Over the years that I have known Don he has demonstrated what a true professional he is in the classroom,” Bill Flesch, President of the Wisconsin Security Association, said in a statement. “Don brings in years of real-life experience while teaching and is able to help students get a better understanding of the materials than any other instructor that I have ever met.”
Paul Rothman is Editor in Chief of Security Business magazine. Look for more coverage from the ESA Leadership Summit in the November issue of Security Business.
