PRESIDENTIAL PERSPECTIVE Save the Date for ALOA 2019 of the oldest and best-attended locksmith conventions in the nation, so it’s a special event. It’s always nice to have another event where we security professionals can get together, learn, network, share stories and just have fun. During the awards banquet, Peter Field I was given the prestigious Philadelphia Award, and then our own Yoshio Suzuki, who recently served as our International – Asia Director on the ALOA board, was honored with the Lee Rognon Award. This award is named for the first executive di- rector of ALOA and honors its recipient for fostering cooperation between associations. Even more than that, though, the recipient is recognized for the same spirit of dedica- tion and hard work that the award’s name- sake exemplified. Mr. Suzuki was incred- ibly surprised and totally caught off guard, which made the presentation even better. Congratulations to him. Well deserved (and if you didn’t know, our own Executive Di- rector Mary May was last year’s recipient!). This issue of Keynotes focuses on automotive locksmithing. This is truly a specialty unto its own. The field has seen so many changes over the past 15 to 20 years due to advances in technology. This is really no longer a field that security professionals can just superficially stick their toes in. Because of the changing technology, it’s more important than ever to stay informed of new and advanced techniques. Receiving regular automotive education is more essential than ever. WWW.ALOA.ORG recently attended the Greater Philadelphia Locksmith Association’s (GPLA) annual convention, and it was a fan- tastic event, as usual. This is one ALOA has made a lot of efforts in recent years to revamp automotive education to make it more relevant to today’s automo- tive locksmiths. We’ve added new courses and updated existing ones to reflect the latest technology. And our instructors, such as Mannie Natal, are top-notch. Our classes at the ALOA Convention and at the Aaron M. Fish Security Training Center in Dallas are truly some of the best places you can either begin your auto education or take your skills to the next level. We’ve also revamped our Certified Automotive Locksmith (CAL) exam to focus more on today’s technology and current models of vehicles. We’ve also added the new Certified Master AutomotiveLocksmith (CMAL) exam, which covers questions that only the truly seasoned or well experienced technician would know. For those who do forensic and expert witness work, we have the Certified Forensic Locksmith (CFL) Automotive specialty credential available to earn. Save the Date for ALOA 2019 Start saving the date now for the 2019 ALOA Convention & Security Expo in Las Vegas! Mark August 11-17 on your calendars so you won’t miss out on the best week of education, networking and product access that you’ll get all year. We’ll be at the South Point Hotel and Casino, which gives you free transportation to and from the airport, and easy access via shuttle to the main strip area while get- ting a value rate of $80 per night Sunday through Thursday and $135 on Friday and Saturday nights. If you’ve never been to Las Vegas or haven’t been in some time, - tion these days. Bring the family and make a little vacation out of it at the same time. While we’re on the subject of the con- vention, ALOA truly wants your feed- back and ideas about it. Please send us your suggestions about what you’d like to see. Have ideas about new cities or ven- ues? Specific classes or instructors you’d like to see? Changes to length or format? Tell us! You can always talk to us at con- [email protected] or membership@aloa. org. Please also feel free to contact me directly as well. Finally, I’d like to wish you all a won- derful Thanksgiving and start to your holiday seasons. And thank you for being a part of ALOA. Respectfully, Jim Wiedman, CML President ALOA Security Professionals Association, Inc. [email protected] NOVEMBER 2018 KEYNOTES 5
