How You Can Get Involved with ALOA T he 2014 ALOA Convention & Security Expo is over, and we are looking toward the end of the year and 2015. I want to thank everyone who traveled to New Orleans for educa- tion, exhibits and our annual membership meeting. The question came up about running for president of ALOA; I encourage every member who has time to consider helping our association. If you’d like to get involved with ALOA, my recommendation is that you first run for office and get your feet wet — that way, you can be a contributing member on the board, and then be a great president. There are 18 members on the ALOA board, and any one of them would make a great president — not because they are better than you, but because they took the time to learn how the board operates. Please get involved. We discussed the Security Leaders Forum that was held in Puerto Rico this past March. I stated during the meeting that ALOA is made up of all kinds of locksmiths, and there is a segment of our membership that’s concerned with growing their business. Our SLF conference is for those ALOA members who are trying to grow their company and need help in management areas. There are one-on-one meetings with manufacturers and distributors that want to help you grow your business. Next year’s SLF event will be at Rancho Bernardo Inn, just north of San Diego, CA. If you are struggling to grow your business, sign up for this conference. The ALOA Training Center in Dallas is where it’s happening right now. Construc- tion is underway, and I would like to ask each of you to make a donation to the educational building fund to keep construction going until completed. Donations are pouring in to take advantage of the Gold level sponsor, so their shop can lock in free education for life at the ATC in Dallas. I expect to reach our goal by the end of August, at which point Help ALOA Fight the Scammers The ALOA Locksmith Task Force is now leading the battle against phony locksmiths. Join us in the fight by contributing to the fund to pursue legal action against the scammers. Every dollar counts. To make a contribution, send your check made out to “ALOA Legal Fund” to ALOA, 3500 Easy St., Dallas, TX 75247. WWW.ALOA.ORG SEPTEMBER 2014 KEYNOTES 5 we will stop accepting donations. I appreciate all of the e-mails I receive with suggestions and complaints; both are important to the continued growth of ALOA. I have a pile from the show that I’m working on right now. Please keep those e- mails coming. Stay safe. Best regards, Tom Demont, AHC, CAI, CFDI, CFL, CMIL, CML, CMST, IFDI, ARL President [email protected]
