July President's Message

Dear IAF Members and industry friends,

I don’t remember if it was the flashing lights or the noise that originally caught my attention. I walked in the door and was mesmerized. I was on summer break from school and had just walked into a central station for the first time. The wall in front of me was filled with red and white lights, meters, buzzers, and something I thought was a stock ticker tape machine. Soon, I learned it was the receiving end of a McCullough circuit. I watched as someone picked up a red phone and said they had a hold up alarm at McDonalds. Later, I learned it was a false alarm from someone mopping the floor and hitting a foot rail hold up switch. Another conversation was regarding something called a foil break. I was really confused by that one. But the best part of that day was when businesses started closing and I was allowed to turn a dial to “night” and push a ring back button. That’s the day I fell in love with the central station and this industry.

Within a couple days, I had spent all my money at the local Radio Shack buying every type of black plastic box, small lights, meters, buzzers and batteries. I was determined to build something similar to the Potter Electric Signal direct wire alarm I had just learned to use. This wasn’t an unrealistic expectation. I had already reverse-engineered a bicycle siren years before and wired it to the door of my room, creating what I would later learn was an open circuit switch.

Fast forward a couple years later and I was installing alarm systems and working part time in that same central station. During my college years I continued working in the central station, often working second or third shift after class. I spent years practicing my skills, watching others, reading instruction manuals, programming guides and trade magazine articles. My father still jokes that he couldn’t wait for me to move to Florida so he could scrape all my practice foil off the windows in our family home. 

You may be asking yourself, what does this story have to do with IAF? It’s important for me to share this story because I believe there are many others out there just like me. I gravitated to electronics and technology but didn’t fully understand the possibilities of low voltage becoming a career option. I’m proud that most of what I know today was self-taught but wonder how different my learning journey would have been with the resources of today, and that’s were IAF comes in.

While I’m proud of all the accomplishments your association is making (and there are many), I’m especially proud of the progress that the Workforce Development Committee has made towards educational opportunities and our efforts to reach new talent. Under the leadership of Committee Chair, Rick Seymour, this team is officially rolling out the IAF Workforce Development site this month. Additional information regarding the site will be shared later in this issue of the Handshake. This project is groundbreaking, as is the work being done within our association as it relates to career development and establishing a pipeline of new talent.

As you explore the new site, take time to remember when you were new and just starting your career journey. I often think back to my first visit to that family-owned alarm company with its own central station and the impact it made on my life. Remember the excitement you felt when you found “your place” within our industry. I challenge you to take that energy and excitement and share it with someone else. Mentor, lead and teach the new generation the reward and success that comes from an industry built around helping and securing others.

With gratitude,

Marvin Smith
IAF President