Secured Cities 2016 Registration is Now Open

The 8th edition of the Secured Cities conference will be held November 15 – 17, 2016 in Houston, TX.

Recognized as the largest and only conference dedicated to the public/private partnership initiatives in the Public Safety and emergency management sectors, Secured Cities delivers a unique blend of peer-to-peer learning on hands-on experience.

Coordinating efforts among public and private municipal stakeholders allows for a cohesive security and risk mitigation plan. That is the mantra of Secured Cities, the only content-driven national conference providing an interactive forum for public safety, law enforcement and management-level security personnel – both public and private – to address trending topics relevant to securing municipal, educational, and healthcare and transportation sectors.

Funding and rapid technology advancement are two issues both public safety and security personnel are challenged with when it comes to today’s strategic planning. As public and private partnerships emerge across the country, having a venue where law enforcement, emergency management, security and government officials can meet in a collaborative environment is essential. Secured Cities is that venue.

Whether you are accountable for understanding and implementing government funding and grant initiatives, emerging technologies, security and emergency management policy and operations, best practices and peer-led applications, Secured Cities provides the educational and networking opportunities to help you establish the programs and build the relationships to address today’s security and emergency management challenges.

The one-of-a-kind event showcases the wireless capabilities of our nation’s cities and suburbs, featuring three days of classroom sessions/panel discussions, a two-day sponsors’ hall featuring the latest in new products and technologies, and several interactive venue security tours including, NASA Kennedy Space Center, Reliant Stadium complex, and the City of Houston’s Office of Emergency Management Operations Center and HEC.

Also, Security Technology Executive magazine, in coordination with Secured Cities, are again honoring the most innovative integrated deployments the security industry has to offer. For the 10th consecutive year, security, risk, emergency management and law enforcement professionals, along with systems integrators and PE firms are invited to showcase their unique projects. The winning projects in the highly competitive Security Innovation Awards program will receive some well-deserved recognition at the Secured Cities Awards Reception at the Crowne Plaza Reliant Park hotel on November 16, 2016.

The Security Innovation Awards are open to all vendors, solution providers, integrators, PE firms, consultants and end-users. This coveted accolade recognizes the most impressive collaborative project highlighting the lead vendors, systems integrator (or consultant, or engineer) and the end-user client. When you submit your collaborative project in the highly competitive Security Innovation Awards program, you will receive some well-deserved recognition at the Secured Cities Awards Evening Cocktail Reception at the Crowne Plaza Reliant Hotel in Houston on November 16, 2016.  

In keeping with the Secured Cities theme, project submissions are being sought from the following five public/private partnership sectors:

•  Municipal/Urban Business Districts/Policing Districts

• Campus – K-12 and Colleges & Universities

• Healthcare Facilities & Campuses

• Transportation Authorities

• General Corporate Enterprises

Our panel of security and public safety industry experts will select and honor Gold Medal award winners in these five category sectors. The committee will also select an overall Grand Platinum Champion from among the project submissions finalists, who will be featured on the cover of the November/December 2016 issue of Security Technology Executive magazine and will play host to an exclusive webinar presentation featuring its top project some time in 2017. All winners will be invited to accept their awards at the Secured Cities Evening Cocktail and Awards Reception in Houston this November. Tables for purchase will be available to vendors who would like to honor their integration partners and end user clients.

BENEFITS OF ENTRY:

• For vendors and solution providers, this contest gives you the opportunity to recognize your most important end-user clients, your talented integrator partners who got the job done, and of course the innovative technologies that made it happen.  

• For integrators, consultants and systems engineers, this contest gives you the opportunity to honor your most important end-user clients, as well as your trusted vendor partners who supplied innovative technologies.

• For end-users, it provides an opportunity to showcase your organization and how it places innovative security as a top priority, as well as demonstrate the alignment of your security department with the rest of your organization and collaboration with outside sources.

AWARD PROMOTION:

• Our panel of industry experts will select the top Gold Medal projects in each the five vertical market sectors that reflect the focus of the Secured Cities event. Gold Medals will be presented to the end users, key vendors and systems integrators involved in the winning projects. A special Grand Platinum Champion will be selected from among the winning submissions and will be featured as the cover story in the Nov/Dec 2016 issue of STE magazine, as well as posted on our website – SecurityInfoWatch.com. The Gold winners from the remaining four categories will be featured in this and subsequent issues.

• The Gold Medal projects, along with their primary participants, will be honored and recognized on stage at the Security Innovation Awards Evening Cocktail Reception at Secured Cities in Houston on November 17, 2016.

• The principal stakeholders of the Gold Medal project winners will have an opportunity to outline their success story during an exclusive educational roundtable session at Secured Cities in Houston.

• All winning submissions will be featured in an exclusive interactive digital edition of Security Technology Executive, featuring articles and video interviews of the project participants.

•  The Gold Medal projects will be featured on the SecurityInfoWatch.com homepage, as well as in the Security Frontline eNewsletters and in the Secured Cities eNewsletters.

HOW TO ENTER — PROJECT SUBMISSION CRITERIA

• Projects can have multiple contributors (manufacturer, integrator, consultant, engineer, and/or security professional), but it is preferred that the “author” of the final project submission be a security representative from the END-USER organization that ordered the project.

• Have more than one innovative technology deployment?
  No problem!
  We accept multiple entries (see fees and deadlines section below).

• The end-user in all submitted projects MUST be willing have the project featured (including photos) in Security Technology Executive, on stage at the Security Innovations Awards Evening Cocktail Reception at Secured Cities on November 17, 2016,  as well as during a roundtable discussion of the project at an educational session at the event. 

• Submissions shall be emailed directly to the editor as a totally digital package and shall include:

  1. a Microsoft Word document (no less than 1,600 words — no more than 2,500 words) describing in detail the integrated technology solution, how the partners on the project worked together, and why it is innovative, and be sure to include insights from the end user and systems integrator;

  2. A list of all technology and service vendors, their role and what technology each supplied;

  3. A Four-Slide PowerPoint outlining major project objectives and solutions;

  4. Captioned, high-resolution digital images of the facility project, key installations around and within the project facility, along with shots of the end user and key people involved in making the project successful (300 dpi .jpeg files please). We must have useable images to accompany your potential print layout in the magazine.

• Entry procedures:

  1. Please fill out or Print off the online form: 2016 STEC Innovations Awards Online Entry Form

  2. Please submit payment online. If your company is unable to file on line, then send a check via UPS or FedEx ground to:

Security Innovation Awards, c/o Secured Cities

1233 Janesville Ave
Fort Atkinson, WI 53538

Entries that fail to meet ALL the above criteria will not be considered!

ENTRY FEES AND DEADLINES

• July 28,  2016— early bird entry deadline - $595 ($500 for Security Industry Association members)

• August 8, 2015 — entry deadline $650 ($550 for SIA members) 
  *Additional entries: $50 each additional entry submitted from the same manufacturer or the same integrator or the same end-user.

• After August 15, 2106 – late entry deadline is $695 ($595 for SIA members. Any entries received August 16, 2016 will not be considered for judging.

• Winners will be notified in early September 2016.

• Nov. 17, 2016 — awards presented at Security Innovations Awards Cocktail Reception at Secured Cities in Houston, TX.

• If you have any questions about the guidelines or deadlines, please contact STE editorial director Steve Lasky.

As for the conference, the two-and-a-half day event offers more than 48 peer-led sessions, by nationally recognized instructors. The exhibit hall will feature 100 exhibitors showcasing the latest in the products and services you need to keep your organization prepared for all security and emergency situations.

If you are a solutions provider and want to sponsor or exhibit at Secured Cities, it is not too late. Please visit the Exhibitor Informationpage.