April 28, 2011, San Antonio, Texas – Stuart Forchheimer, president of Homesafe Security Systems, a division of the HS Tech Group, was honored for his exceptional contributions to FARA, his company and the community he serves. Brad Ship, executive director for FARA, provided the following context regarding the decision to award Forchheimer with the award.
Congratulations Stuart!
“Stu owns a local alarm company and never draws attention to himself but is always there for FARA, his customers, and his employees,” Ship said. “One of the nominations the FARA Awards Committee received stated, ‘If all alarm companies were as dedicated, ethical and professional as Stuart’s, we would all be looking for another line of work.’ His company has consistently low false dispatch rates in the Washington-Metropolitan region.
“Stu developed working relationships with all surrounding jurisdictions to improve the reliability of alarm systems, reduce false dispatches and to protect citizens from deceptive trade practices. He worked tirelessly with regulators in Maryland to develop brochures and flyers to alert consumers to problems associated with the “summer sales” business model. He co-hosted FARA’s webinar on summer sales scams and spent countless hours working with FARA to ensure the webinar was a success. Under Stuart’s direction, Homesafe Security repaired, at their cost, the damage caused to his customer’s property when they were taken advantage of by unethical sales representatives in summer sales campaigns.
“Stu is one of only two alarm industry representatives certified to teach FARA’s Essentials of False Alarm Reduction course. Stu serves as the treasurer of the Maryland Burglar and Fire Alarm Association. He is one of the strongest voices on their board championing FARA, the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of FARA and false alarm reduction. Stu is truly an exceptional individual, who richly deserves the W. Rex Bell Associate Member of the Year Award and FARA was very proud to honor him as such.”
The False Alarm Reduction Association
FARA, The False Alarm Reduction Association, is primarily made up of persons employed by the government and public safety agencies in charge of or working in, False Alarm Reduction Units whose goal is to assist these individuals in reducing false alarms in their jurisdictions across the country.
On the decision to award two associate members of the year, Ship commented that there had been only one other time in the award’s history when two people received it in the same year. “We felt they both deserved it equally and we also had some other nominees who deserved it and will likely receive it in coming years. In light of that, we thought it was appropriate to award both of them.”
