ASIS INTERNATIONAL HOUSTON CHAPTER

MEETING MINUTES: October 29, 2004

The luncheon meeting was held at Renaissance Hotel. Chapter Chairman Mike Crocker CPP presided. 52 members and guests attended.

Opening prayer and Pledge: Mike Crocker

Committee Activities:

Nominations: The proposed slate for the 2005 Executive Committee; Chairman: Darin Dillon CPP; Vice-Chair: John Brady, Treasurer: Bob Cascino; Secretary: Pamela Duncan. No nominations were offered from the floor at this meeting. Nominations will be still accepted at the next meeting or by contacting the Nominations Chairman, Captain Mark Curran.

Newsletter: Tom Hamilton CPP presented a $1,000 check to Director Richard Gregory of the North Harris County Community College for two scholarships. Debbie Pruitt, the Program Manager for the Law Enforcement Academy, also attended. The Law Enforcement Program was started in 1991. 1500 officers have graduated, with 105 current students. The scholarships were funded from the newsletter profits.

Treasurer: the report was distributed. The invoice for local membership dues will be mailed shortly.

Certifications: Darin Dillon CPP announced the 4 week session concluded with 18 members participating.

Corporate Roundtable: Chuck Hutchinson summarized the special meeting held Sunday, September 26 at the Conference to educate and unify leadership around the State. It was a first-time format that we hope to sponsor again next year. Other Texas Chapter members attended a cocktail party sponsored by several members of our Roundtable.

Seminars: Mike Mason CPP distributed a schedule for the annual Houston-ASIS Security Seminar on November 3 & 4 at the Holiday Inn Select on 59 that will focus on Critical Infrastructure Security. The hotel will offer special rate for out-of-town attendees. To date, approximately 70 are enrolled in this program, which is co-sponsored by the Coast Guard and UHD. Some of the initial topics highlighted are Crime Stat Analysis and Risk Assessment; Emergency Planning; Investigations; Ethics.

Training Opportunity: Randy Simpson, with Tech Systems, announced a symposium on integrated Security system on November 11^th. It will be held at the Hess Club on Westheimer from 10-11:30, with lunch included. Tom Brown will be the speaker. A “Richard Petty Driving Experience” is the door prize.

Membership: Crescent Realty has generously offered to produce nametags for the local Chapter members to replace the stickers. Please be sure to sign up with Winette Fountain if you would like one.

L.E. Award: HPD Officer Breck C. McDaniel.

He was accompanied by Assistant Chief Vicky King, who is a graduate of UHD and a19 year veteran of the department.

Officer McDaniel joined the Department 9 years ago and is currently with the Homicide Division. Officer McDaniel came up with the idea to track criminals electronically. He worked diligently with the cell phone companies to legally track cell phone calls, often while the crime is in progress.

Case in point: a mother and her 8-day old child were kidnapped by a known drug dealer. Using the tracking system designed by Officer McDaniel, they were found. Unfortunately, the mother had been already killed, but the child was saved. The perpetrator is now on death row.

Officer McDaniel was awarded a plaque in recognition of his outstanding contribution to public safety.

Speaker: Malcolm Browne, Veteran’s Museum of Texas

The Veteran’s Museum of Texas is a $100 million effort to recognize the contributions of all U.S. veterans. There are over 27 million veterans in the U.S.; 1.75 million live in Texas with 219,000 in Harris County. Mr. Browne was inspired to create this museum after reading the book “Goodbye Darkness”, a compilation of veteran’s stories. He felt the need to preserve the stories and legacies of veterans and to respect the memories of those who have served.

The first goal was to develop a business plan and unite multiple veterans’ groups. The Museum’s purpose is to 1) house irreplaceable artifacts; 2) be an educational repository and 3) provide tourism to the area. The first need was to look for a land for the location. Exxon will possibly be donating 37 acres on the corner of I-45 and Scarsdale, just north of Ellington Field (a $7.5 million land grant). The second need was a building design. It will be a star-shaped structure, with each leg of the star representing a different branch of service. Once the first building is constructed, the second phase will be another 300,000 sq.ft building.

Two-thirds of the money has been raised. There is no other museum of this type in the world. Mr. Browne feels this is a magnet for Veterans’ tour groups who can visit other local museums that are dedicated to unique aspects of the military, such as the Lone Star Museum in Galveston, the San Jacinto Monument and the Battleship Texas.

Mr. Browne was awarded a plaque in appreciation for his presentation.

The next meeting will be held on November 17, one week early due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Our speaker will be Cliff Grumbles, Manager of the Texas Private Security Bureau.