NASCO is the voice of contract security. The association advocates your views and concerns to Congress, federal agencies, state legislators, the courts and the public. NASCO works closely with state, national and international organizations and other related industry associations, public affairs groups and agencies.

NASCO 2011 Year-End Review

It’s hard to believe that 2011 is gone and 2012 already here! We’re asking ourselves the same question you’re probably asking yourself – where did the time go? Hopefully 2011 was a productive year for you and your businesses. By all accounts, 2011 was a successful year for NASCO, as we continued to advance the goals of our organization and the private security industry among key stakeholders in and around Washington.

In February, NASCO held its annual Industry Leaders’ Roundtable in New York City. This meeting was the first time we brought together industry association presidents from across the country to discuss the most pressing issues facing the private security industry in their states. The goal, among other things, was to get a sense of the obstacles and challenges facing each state and use that information as a catalyst in determining how NASCO might be able to assist.

In May, NASCO members and security executives from across the country converged on Washington, D.C. for the NASCO Contract Security Washington Summit at the famous Occidental restaurant. This two day summit featured topics on a wide-arrange of issues including, labor and employment trends, a political briefing on the 2012 general election and legislation at it pertains to the Federal Protective Service (FPS). Congressman Jeff Denham from California also spoke on day two of the summit.

One of the larger undertakings this year was our paid media campaign aimed at educating opinion leaders and the media about the importance and role of the private security industry. For three months beginning in May, NASCO ran a series of paid print and online advertisements focused in publications inside the Beltway, such as the Washington Post, Politico and Congressional Quarterly. The campaign resulted in increased awareness of our issues, greater media coverage on issues important to NASCO and a measurable uptick in the number of visits to NASCO’s website.

In September, NASCO held its annual Private Security Breakfast at the Peabody Hotel in Orlando.  Nearly 100 people attended the breakfast, including NASCO members, executives from non-member companies and industry experts from across the United States. Without question, the highlight of the program was past NASCO Chair, Heather O’Brien, introducing her father, Larry O’Brien as the 2011 recipient of the Edgar B. Watson Award.   It was a special moment for both and equally enjoyable for those in attendance.  In acceptance of the award, Mr. O’Brien thanked all of his colleagues and friends over his career and joked at the end that usually when people have this many nice things to say about you, it’s usually a eulogy.

Also in September, we created the NASCO Government Security Contractors Caucus a subset of the general NASCO membership to provide broader representation on issues specifically as they relate to the Federal Protective Service (FPS) and other federal government use of security contractors. To date, the Caucus has welcomed Coastal International Security, SekTek and Securit.

Our work has just started. The coming year will present a whole new set of challenges that we must meet head-on in order to protect and advance our industry. With the help from our members, we are confident we can continue to do great things.

Here is to a successful 2012!