2018 HGCAA April Newsletter


 


Our Sponsor in April for our Monthly Meeting



HGCAA Board of Directors

2017 – 2018

President
Vice
President

John C Helweg
713-467-6666
President@HGCAA.org

Van Mayorga|
281-932-2270
VicePres@HGCAA.org

Secretary
Treasurer

Mary Edmonson
713-799-3022
Secretary@HGCAA.org

Penny Mayorga
979-478-6432 x103
Treasurer@HGCAA.org

Sergant-at-Arms
Parliamentarian

Amanda Jackson
713-861-9418
SGT@HGCAA.org

Calvin Stewart
832-642-3702
PARL@HGCAA.org

Editor
Membership
Director

Steven Carr
713-553-6212
Editor@HGCAA.org

Dennis White
713-870-3702
Membership@HGCAA.org

Education
Director

Van Mayorga|
281-932-2270

Education@HGCAA.org

Past
President

Brian McKinney
713-9830182
PastPres@HGCAA.org

 

 


April 2018 Message from the HGCAA President – John Helweg

Did everyone survive the Houston rodeo? I made it out to a couple concerts and took my girls to the carnival. I hope everyone had a safe and fun St Patrick’s day as well as a nice Easter with their loved ones. This was the first time I’ve had my girls in several years for Easter. Even my teenager gets into it. It’s been a busy month so I’m looking forward to slowing down on my Caribbean cruise next week. I’ll be thinking of you guys. Lol

We had a great meeting in March. I’d like to thank ADI (Pinemont) for hosting us and providing great food. It was nice seeing Vincent Lasota before he moves. Please remember, our associate members support us, so please support them.

How many of you guys made it to the Anixter West official opening party? I got their at the tail end of it, but I got to see a bunch of familiar faces and my kids enjoyed the good food. They have a new manager, Willow Lindgren, so stop in and congratulate her. We’ll be having a future meeting in their new training room. 

Our guest speaker was Mitch Reitman with Reitman Consulting Group. He spoke with us about the new tax code changes and how they will affect us. He also spoke about choosing the right type of corporation for your business and what the pros & cons are of each. He has a wealth of knowledge about this stuff, so if you missed the meeting, you missed a lot. 

Our upcoming meeting is April 5th at Electronic Custom Distributors. Please don’t forget to RSVP. Our guest speaker is RenEarl Bowie from DPS. He specifically asked me if he could come speak to us when I was at the last Private Security Board meeting, so please plan to attend and let’s back the house. 

See y’all soon, 

John C. Helweg






Great article on selling against the DIY Alarm Products!

Click HERE


Employee Retention – TBFAA Insurance Program

In a recent survey conducted the Top 10 risks to a business have changed dramatically from just a few short years ago. In prior surveys risks such as regulations, taxes and economy ruled the top concerns to business owners. In today’s market Employee Retention is #1. Finding and retaining top talent is key to a businesses’ financial success. As a Risk Advisor to clients we provide tools and processes to identify, quantify and manage risks just like Employee Retention. Attached is a Scorecard and a flyer discussing Employee Retention. Hope it helps your business in 2018.

Keep me in mind to discuss our Risk Retention Program and how different we are from your current broker.

Best,

Brian J. Villari, CIC, CLCS, CAWC

Risk Advisor

Direct: 443.738.2784 0 Fax: 443.738.0936


APRIL 2018 TBFAA UPDATE BY PRESIDENT – KELLY RYAN

Most everyone has heard the term “Net Neutrality”, and opinions widely vary as to the need (or how much need) for government oversite on Internet communications.  It somewhat reminds me of many years ago when VoIP started replacing POTS lines and how our industry reacted to the changes.  Manufacturers started offering more Internet-ready communicators, training opportunities increased with technicians, and efforts were put into place to alert consumers to the issues that could arise when POTS lines were changed to VoIP.

The TBFAA is paying close attention to the changes in Net Neutrality as we want to make sure that alarm signals sent & received over the Internet are not hampered.  While our primary focus involves signals that originate and/or terminate in Texas, we realize that the intentional slowing or blocking of signals could present a problem for alarm companies, monitoring stations, and alarm users across the country.

That being said, the TBFAA Legislative Team (with the assistance of McWilliams Governmental Affairs Group) has communicated our thoughts to both Senator Ted Cruz and Senator John Cornyn.  Additionally, we have offered the wording used by TBFAA to all members of NESA as we feel other state associations may want to communicate any concerns as well.  We are paying close attention to the changes in Net Neutrality and hope to have a positive report once those changes have been introduced.

Be sure to follow TBFAA on social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, & Twitter), and if you have an issue or topic that you would like to present to TBFAA, please feel free to contact me directly via president@tbfaa.org.  Also mark your calendars and join us at the upcoming TBFAA 2018 Convention & Golf Tournament being held October 10th-12th in Austin!  Registration will be open soon, and we look forward to having our first convention in Austin.

Thanks,

Kelly Ryan




 Alarm Industry News

As of June 1, 2018, Verizon will no longer support the activation of new CDMA modules. To better support our Partners, Alarm.com has worked with Verizon to ensure that all existing CDMA modules in the field will continue to signal until December 31, 2022. Additionally, the Alarm.com Account Recycle feature will continue to be available for previously installed CDMA modules.

For the greatest customer life and value, we highly recommend the use of LTE modules whenever and wherever possible. Alarm.com offers LTE modules for virtually every panel we support. And with faster speeds, greater data capacity and extended network life, installing LTE modules now delivers a better customer experience and minimizes the need for future truck rolls.

Please contact your Account Executive with any questions.


 


Calendar Of Events for 2018

HGCAA meetings are held the second Thursday of each month from 11:30-1pm.

See below for the locations.

Dates and locations may change as needed.

April 2018

DATE AND LOCATION HAVE CHANGED!

4/5 – HGCAA meeting @ ECD (Electronic Custom Distributors)


May 2018
5/4 – Bass Computers – Expo & Crawfish boil

5/10 – HGCAA meeting @ Tri-Ed North

June 2018
6/14 – HGCAA meeting @ ADI Pinemont

July 2018
7/12 – HGCAA meeting @ Electronic Custom Distributors

August 2018
8/9 – HGCAA meeting @ Automated Outlet

September 2018
9/13 – HGCAA meeting & elections @ Tri-Ed North

PLEASE THANK OUR ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
FOR PROVIDING FOOD AND HOSTING OUR MEETINGS
BY PURCHASING THEIR PRODUCTS




Automated Outlet Houston has moved to:
6300 Westpark Dr., Suite 100
Houston, Texas 77057
Thank you for being a loyal Customer!


 


Houston Alarm Detail

Check with the City of Houston to make sure your company is listed on their alarm permit web site.

They have a  specific form you need to fill out and submit to them for inclusion.

You also need to be sending municipalities notice of alarm system activation.

Please make sure your customers are using the most current alarm permit form.



Harris County Alarm Detail

 Please make sure your customers are using the most current alarm permit form.


Ft Bend County Alarm Detail

 Be sure your customers are securing an alarm permit from Fort Bend County upon activation. Their alarm permit can be found here.


Montgomery County Alarm Detail

Check with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office to make sure your company is listed on their alarm permit web site.

Please make sure your customers are using the most current alarm permit form.

Alarm ordinance – Montgomery County are actively ticketing homeowners that don’t have alarm permits.


PLEASE SUPPORT OUR ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

HOUSTON GULF COAST ALARM ASSOCIATION
PO Box 19484
Houston, TX  77224-9484

Comments, questions, change of address or material for inclusion in this publication should be directed to the Editor. Other associations wishing to use material from the “Communicator” are welcome to do so as long as proper credit is given to the author and publication.


NEWSLETTER ADVERTISING

We are renewing ad spaces for 2017-2018.

The ad spots are $300/yr. The ads will move around as content dictates.

Ads are 5” wide x 7” tall and may be updated monthly.

The revenue generated by our Newsletter helps support our Association, Scholarships and our Industry.

Contact us for additional information – John C. Helweg  713-467-6666