Three hundred fifty member attendees representing 88 member companies took advantage of the educational and networking opportunities available during the conference held May 10-13 at the Pheasant Run Resort and Spa in St. Charles, Illinois. In addition to members, 95 vendors exhibited in the trade show. Vendor staff, conference instructors, consultants, and other industry professionals brought PSA's overall attendance to record highs-over 800 participants!
The response to the educational programs was overwhelmingly positive. PSA offered training tracks for Owners and Senior Managers, Sales and Project Managers, Purchasing Agents, and Technicians. Educational offerings included Cisco's "CCNA Certification," "Security Project Management," "Networking 101 for Technicians," "Selling to the Government," "10 Reasons Your Business May Fail and How to Prevent Them," and "Megapixel Technology and IP." In addition, attendees had access to various vendor certification programs, including AMAG Enterprise, Pelco Endura, and Dedicated Micros DVIP. AMAG Technology even opted to release its new Business Edition System during PSA-TEC and offered the first certification class to PSA members.
"Security systems integrators attended our conference in record numbers and discovered that PSA®-TEC was the place to get the most in-depth training at the most economical price in a security-focused setting," said Bill Bozeman, CPP, president and CEO of PSA Security Network. "We were thrilled with the attendance, which served to validate our decision to make the changes we did to our conference."
Attendees agreed. "I think that PSA-TEC was extremely valuable for me and my staff and was a terrific value!" said Dan Budinoff, president of Security Specialists in Stamford, Connecticut. "Between the training and the networking, all of us came away with information beneficial for our roles within the company."
On Thursday, May 11, three-star sponsoring vendors hosted a hospitality event. During this networking event, vendors had their own space in a large ballroom where they were able to show products and meet with PSA members. The theme of the night was "The Roaring '20s" with PSA staff dressing the part of gangsters and many vendors getting into the act. In keeping with the theme, attendees had the opportunity to play "Bank Robbers' Bingo," a game designed to get attendees to visit each sponsor.
Among the other networking opportunities at the 2006 PSA-TEC were the opening mixer and the Vendor Appreciation Awards Banquet. During the banquet, PSA presented Star Awards to the vendors who had provided exceptional service to PSA members in 2005. In addition to the awards, vendors and PSA members were wowed by mentalist Tim Conover who performed amazing feats of mind-to-mind communication by correctly revealing birthdates, thoughts, and personal messages from members of the audience.
The 2007 PSA-TEC will once again be held at the Pheasant Run Resort & Spa, May 9-12 with pre-sessions beginning May 7. PSA will continue with the successful format of 2006, but with even more courses and additional networking opportunities.