HOUSTON ASIS CHAPTER MINUTES

NOVEMBER 19, 2003

The Chapter held a luncheon meeting at the Renaissance Hotel. Chairman Mike Crocker CPP presided. Thirty-seven members and guests attended.

Opening Prayer: Mark Steinfort

Pledge: Mike Crocker

Committee Activities:

Newsletter: Tom Hamilton CPP announced that the newsletter is on schedule. The first quarterly edition is expected December 1. The advertising revenue exceeded the budget for printing the first five issues, so there will be no cost to the Chapter.

Certifications Committee: Darin Dillon CPP stated the review program is “at rest” for the remainder of the year. The next 7-8 week session will begin in 2004. Congratulations to Glenn Schnitzer for achieving his CPP certification. Karim Vellani CPP announced the PSP review course is under way. We have two members who have successfully passed the exam and will help us properly prepare. There are 12 participants in this group study. The next class is December 2 at the Barton Protective Services office.

Treasurer’s Report: Copies of the treasurer’s report were distributed.

Golf Tournament: We will be starting up shortly. The tentative date is May 17, the week following Mother’s Day. Please contact Mike Crocker, Darin Dillon or Bob Cascino if you would like to be on the committee.

Legislation: Bob Cascino pointed out two recent TCPS changes that are worth reviewing.

HB 28 goes into effect Feb 1. It changes the Commission to a Board and reduces the members from 9 to 7. The Executive Director will report directly to the DPS Supervisor rather than the Board.

HB 769 goes into effect September 1 which will affect corporate investigations. A Private Investigators license will be required for in-house investigators who conduct the investigation off company property (i.e.: interview a witness in their home, surveillance, etc). Registration will not be required as long as the investigation remains on company property.

Survey on Utilization of Off-duty Law Enforcement Officers in Security Positions:. If this survey applies to your organization, please support and fill out the survey, which can be found on the web page.

Miscellaneous: Mike Crocker thanked everyone for the opportunity to be the Chairman this past year and expressed appreciation to his out-going committee members for all their accomplishments, including:

230 active local memberships

A successful web page, with over 11,000 hits

A successful CPP program, which received recognition at the National Conference.

A new newsletter, which was designed and implemented in only four months.

The highest donations to UHD to support scholarships

$1800 donation to ASIS International Foundation for scholarships

An increased treasury.

The Chapter historically is made up of 70% vendors and 30% corporate members. Our goal continues to be to reach out to more corporate professionals and increase our training programs.

Nominations: Capt. Mark Curran conducted the election of the Executive Committee for 2004. Information and nomination forms were faxed/emailed to the membership last month. Several inquiries were made, but no nominations were presented. Mark offered the attending members the opportunity to nominate from the floor. There were no nominations. A motion was made and seconded to accept the proposed slate, which was unanimously affirmed by the attendees.

Chairman: Mike Crocker CPP

Vice Chairman: Darin Dillon CPP

Treasurer: Bob Cascino

Secretary: Pamela Duncan

Law Enforcement Recognition Award: Introduced by Mike Crocker. Our honoree this month is Deputy Sisto Deleon, Harris County Sheriff’s Department. The citation was read by Captain Paul Cordova.

On June 1, 2003, Deputy Sisto Deleon was working an approved extra job providing store security at HEB Grocery Store located at 2660 Fountainview. At approximately 9:30 pm, Deputy Deleon was standing just outside the store’s center exit door observing the parking lot. The manager and a cashier approached Deputy Deleon and advised him a robbery of the store had just taken place. The manager then pointed to a male walking away from the store and identified him as the person who had just robbed the store. Deputy Deleon was advised that the suspect told the cashier he had a gun and would kill him if he did not hand over the money.

Without hesitation, Deputy Deleon engaged the suspect who began running away from him with a plastic HEB bag in his hand. Deputy Deleon ordered the suspect to stop several times, but the suspect refused and continued running with Deputy Deleon close behind. An HEB store employee then assisted Deputy Deleon by offering him a ride in his vehicle and they continued following the suspect. Shortly thereafter, Deputy Deleon exited the vehicle and again continued his foot pursuit of the suspect. The suspect was eventually stopped by Deputy Deleon in a private driveway where the suspect was ordered at gunpoint to surrender. The suspect complied and was immediately handcuffed and searched. Deputy Deleon recovered the HEB bag from the suspect and it was found to contain all the US currency that had been stolen from the store. Deputy Deleon then walked the suspect back to the HEB store and waited for a transporting unit to arrive at the scene.

Deputy Deleon responded decisively and quickly after being advised of the robbery and the identity of the suspect. His effort in immediately engaging in a foot pursuit of the suspect resulted in the successful and safe apprehension of the suspect.

Deputy Deleon was presented a plaque in appreciation of his exemplary performance of his duties.

Speaker: Dr. David Mobley, M.D., FACS

Topic: The Maintenance of Good Health

Dr. Mobley is presently the Department of Urology Chairman at Memorial Hermann Memorial City Hospital in Houston, having previously served as the Chairman of the Surgery Department and as Chief-of-Staff at this same institution. Dr. Mobley has been a FDA-approved clinical investigator functioning as a Primary Investigator in more than 40 FDA-sponsored clinical trials. Dr. Mobley has presented results of his research both nationally and internationally. He is the host of “The Houston Health Hour” a daily radio show heard in Houston at 1:00 continually since 1992 on KSEV AM 700 radio.

“We live in interesting times” is a quote that aptly applies. Life expectancy has risen from the age of 40 to 80 years. In thirty years, technology has developed tools of diagnosis and treatments to enhance the quality of life. Examples include cat scans, MRIs, ultrasound, cardiovascular surgery, arthroscopic surgery of the knee, and decreased death rates from heart and stroke. The Emergency Room is set up to handle trauma and heart attacks, lessening a post-hospital stay to 3-4 days.

However, the one area that still needs improvement is survival from cancer. The only significant improvement in this arena is in leukemia and testicular cancers. But these improvements come at a financial price. Who pays for these advances? We want medical coverage at a low personal cost, with quick appointments and speedy results and no inconvenience. In Europe, with socialized medicine, if you need a MRI it is often a 6 week waiting period; an appointment with an urologist often takes three months. As technology increases, so will the costs. Another “hidden” cost factor is the under-insured or uninsured person. Of the 40 million nationwide,

Houston has the unofficial designation as the city with the highest uninsured population. However, many of those people choose not to carry coverage, not that that just can’t afford it. That’s placing a tremendous burden on the emergency rooms, who now become primary care providers, consequently resulting in long waiting times for treatment. 85% of Medicare dollars are spent during the last 30 days of life. The Memorial Hermann system absorbs one million dollars a day in non-reimbursed medical expenses. So who pays? We all pay. “We live in the best of times and the worst of times”. We have the best because of our technology and access to excellent medical facilities. We have the worst because of the financial burdens.

What is our personal responsibility for maintaining a good quality of life? We cannot do anything about the non-modifiers such as sex, racial or genetic background, or our age. However, we can modify and influence our diet, amount of exercise, consumption of alcohol and elimination of tobacco products. We can be proactive in our medical care:

If you are over 40, see your doctor once a year

Females: have a mammography

Males: have a prostate screening

Measure your cholesterol levels

Monitor your blood pressure

After age 50, have a colonoscopy

Prostate, breast and lung are the top three leading cancers (in order). Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death. All three can be cured if detected early. We DO have the ability to extend our lives at a higher quality of life by being medically responsible.

Following a question and answer period, Dr. Mobley accepted a plaque in appreciation of his time and presentation.

The next ASIS luncheon meeting is December 17, one week earlier than usual, due to the holidays. We are expecting a speaker from the NFL to discuss issues surrounding the Superbowl.