PRESIDENTIAL PERSPECTIVE A New World professionally. And for those of us whose health requires us to be extra cautious, I hope you are finding ways to stay busy! Maybe now is a great time to organize those pin kits and extra inventory. Hopefully, the economy and our day- I to-day lives can get back to normal sooner rather than later, but of course the timing is still up in the air with all of the unknowns. Some of your cities, states and nations have instituted clos- ings and shelter-in-place orders to various degrees, and it’s so important to follow those at this time. The more we adhere to all the precautions, the sooner we can get back to our regularly scheduled lives. So, keep yourself informed about all the mandates that apply to you. Wash your hands like your lives depend on it. (Be- cause it’s true!) Of course, security professionals are deemed “essential” most everywhere, and a lot of you are still on the job and staying busy at work. If you’re taking extra mea- sures for the health and safety of yourself, your employees and customers, feel free to share that information on the ALOA Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ ALOA.org. Maybe that way our members can learn from each other. WWW.ALOA.ORG hope everyone has been handling this crazy pandemic time as best they can. It’s certainly been a challenge for most people, both personally and ALOA Events and Programs We’ve all experienced professional and social events being canceled due to COVID-19. It’s sad to miss out on things you were looking forward to, and it’s the same for us here regarding the SAFETECH cancellation. That was necessary, of course, and we are going to come back bigger and better than ever next year in Reno. Please save the dates of April 11-16, 2021, and plan to attend. As for the ALOA Convention & Secu- rity Expo in Kansas City, we are still a go as of press time. We are keeping a close eye on things, and the board and staff are in constant discussions with local health officials. Our first priority is the health and well being of our members, their families and our exhibitors, but we will do all that we can to still hold this event if it’s feasible and advisable. I look forward to catching up with everyone at the convention each year, and I certain- ly hope that will still be possible. But I and the rest of the ALOA board and staff would never want that to come at the ex- pense of anyone’s health. Life is precious. As everyone has been adapting to this new temporary way of life, ALOA has as well. We have the new online Fundamen- tals class to offer now, and we’re giving you 20% off right now (see the article in What’s New). We’re also looking to hold more webinars to help you keep learning during this time. Stay tuned for updates. We’re still here for you in all other ways that we assist you as members, and you will continue receiving your regular communications from ALOA, including email newsletters and the magazine. If you have ideas about how we can help you, please drop us a line at member- [email protected] or feel free to contact me directly at [email protected]. We will continue to monitor the situ- ation and keep you informed of any up- dates. Until then, stay healthy, stay safe and stay at home! Respectfully, Jim Wiedman, CML President ALOA Security Professionals Association, Inc. [email protected] MAY 2020 KEYNOTES 5
