The BSIA Chairman’s Awards were launched in 2001. Speaking about the Awards, (then) chairman David Cowden said: “The Awards recognise achievement both within and for the industry, identifying individuals or organisations who have not only impressed their colleagues within the industry, but have also helped to improve the standing of the sector among customers, specifiers, the police service and society at large.”
Nominations are invited from the BSIA membership. The winners are then personally selected by the chairman. Adam Wiseberg’s selections for 2008 are as follows:
Contribution To Training
This award has been won by Bob Hussey, group safety advisor at guarding specialist Wilson James, for his innovative approach to developing Health and Safety skills across the Wilson James Group. Hussey staged a competition in which teams from across the UK compete to identify, prioritise and minimise safety hazards.
Contribution To The Community
Alan Dobie – executive director of the Scottish Business Crime Centre (SBCC) – won this award for his determined commitment to reducing business crime in Scotland. Alan’s unwavering enthusiasm for this issue has engendered the significant success of the SBCC and resulted in its involvement with a number of crime prevention initiatives which are realising widespread benefits.
Services To Exporting
The BSIA’s Export Services Team (comprising Chris Pinder and Caroline Strickley) deservedly won this award for their ongoing dedication to supporting BSIA members in exporting their products overseas. Chris and Caroline have obtained significant amounts of funding for the industry, and run successful events such as Meet The Buyers at IFSEC (thereby allowing strong relationships to be formed between overseas buyers and commercial officers).
Services To The Industry
The Services To The Industry Award was bestowed upon Dermot Williams, international sales manager at CQR Security, for his long-term dedication to enhancing relationships between the British security industry and overseas buyers. An active member of the BSIA’s Export Council since its formation, Dermot is known for not only supporting BSIA-organised exhibitions but also freely giving advice to others wishing to develop their business overseas.
Contribution To Standards
This award was won by Geoff Tate, the well-known and highly respected chief executive of the Security Systems and Alarms Inspection Board. Geoff has made a significant contribution to improving standards across the electronic security sector over many years. Indeed, he has been particularly prolific in the area of standards development for the intruder alarms sector as convenor of the Working Group that’s currently developing the new suite of European Standards for intruder alarms.