annual convention. This report is a con- densed version of some of that reporting to the board over the past year. T Education One of ALOA’s main priorities is educa- tion, resulting in a knowledgeable mem- bership that’s prepared for the future. Members receive timely updates, techni- cal assistance and access to basic, inter- mediate and advanced training, allow- ing members to become certified in the following security system specialties: 1.) Automotive 2.) Electronic Security 3.) Safes, Vaults, and Safe and Vault Servic- ing and 4.) Mechanical Security. Last year, the ALOA Continuing Ed- ucation (ACE) program conducted 112 full-day and 7 half-day ACE classes and 36 seminars at 16 locations. A majority of these full-day classes were conducted at the annual conventions and ALOA’s own Aaron M. Fish Security Training Center. The balance of classes was conducted at local tradeshows and events across the United States. This year, we enhanced the ALOA Edu- cation program with several new offer- ings. We’ve seen a need among our mem- bership to add new automotive classes, and we’re debuting several at the ALOA Convention in Rosemont. To help ALOA members keep up with new and changing technology, we’ve also added electronic classes as well. So we can continue teaching our mem- bers the most up-to-date methods and principles, ALOA Education is working on expanding and amending other class- es as well, including the Fundamentals of Locksmithing class offered in Dallas at the Aaron M. Fish Security Training WWW.ALOA.ORG he governance requires that the executive director and comp- troller submit a report to the board during the spring and fall board meetings, as well as at the “WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING AT ALOA OPERATIONS TO SEE WHERE WE CAN REDUCE EXPENSES AND INCREASE INCOME WHILE PROVIDING MEMBERSHIP VALUE.” Center. This class is so important to in- dustry newcomers, and we want to give our new professionals the best start we can. We’re also working on adding a new Intermediate Locksmithing class to take the concepts in the Fundamentals class one step further and bridge the gap be- tween Fundamentals and the more ad- vanced classes. To promote our classes and assist vet- erans entering the industry, ALOA has established an education program via GI Bill funding to train veterans for new jobs in the security industry while assist- ing our members with qualified hiring. Veterans receive free training, and our industry’s businesses get qualified new employees. For more information, please email [email protected]. Recognition The Proficiency Registration Program (PRP) provides recognition for the par- ticipants inside and outside of the lock- smithing/access control community. We’ve updated and enhanced the tests to make them more relevant, and now we also have an online practice test that you can take at home to determine if you’re ready for testing. We are also offering new credentials, including Certified Mas- ter Automotive Locksmith (CMAL) to complement our existing CAL creden- tial, and the Certified Electronics Lock- smith (CEL) and the Certified Master Electronics Locksmith (CMEL) to pre- pare our members for more electronic work. For our institutional locksmiths, we’ve created the Certified Institutional Shop Manager (CISM). We administered the PRP at 12 full sit- tings with 118 participants. There were 62 ACE classes that provided aſter-class PRP exams. Currently, there are 298 CMLs, 201 CPLs, 755 CRLS, 183 CALs, 16 CMSTs, 298 CPSs, 3 CMELs, 3 CMALs and 51 CFDI. Communication Continuing education of our members also takes place in the form of the nu- merous technical articles written by ex- perts each month in Keynotes. In 2016, we had a wide variety of technical arti- cles on topics relevant to our members’ everyday business. Keynotes showcases various categories of locksmithing in each issue, from mechanical to elec- tronic; from institutional to investi- gative; and from safes to automotive. There is information concerning busi- ness, taxes, employment, legislation and many other topics that members find useful on the job. To help our mem- bers in the field, our members have ac- cess to the ALOA TechLink app, which gives users easy-to-read information on technical topics in Keynotes going back more than six years. Sorted by topic, the articles help our members find quick information while on the go. To download the app, visit www. ALOATechLink.com. One of our ongoing methods of com- munication with members is the ALOA Weekly Update e-Newsletter, which JULY/AUGUST 2017 KEYNOTES 23
