HERE WE GROW AGAIN! [more...]

ST. MORITZ COORDINATES STORMIN' NORMAN'S KEYNOTE ADDRESS [more...]

ASIS COMPLETES WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION GUIDELINES [more...]

YES, THE BOSS IS...WATCHING [more...]

FIVE-COUNTY TERRORIST DRILL CONDUCTED IN PENNSYLVANIA [more...]

REROUTING OF REGION'S AIR TRAFFIC IS URGED [more...]

St. Moritz is pleased to announce the acquisition of the Florida security accounts of Norred & Associates. This acquisition has expanded our foot print in the Florida market to now include Tampa and Orlando as well as our existing operation, which we have relocated to the Ft. Lauderdale area. In addition to the acquisition of the Norred accounts, we are pleased to welcome Israel Otero Jr., Don Cannella and Hiram Hernandez to our growing St. Moritz family.

Israel Otero Jr. is a former marine having served for 9 years and has been in the security industry for over 17 years. He brings with him a strong background in Nuclear, Aviation, Maritime and Homeland Security. Israel was the regional Manager for Norred and was responsible for overseeing the Orlando, Tampa and Miami accounts. He will be continuing in this capacity for us as well.

Don Cannella has over 14 years of Law Enforcement and Private Security experience. He was previously an Explosive Ordinance Disposal, K-9 Officer assigned to the Smithsonian Institute as well as an Enforcement Officer for the Port of San Diego. Don will be continuing in his capacity as the Branch Manager for our Tampa region.

Hiram Hernandez will be joining us shortly from the Starwood Hotel chain were he has been responsible for the security operations of several of their class A hotel properties, in the Ft. Lauderdale area. Hiram will be assuming the day to day operations of our newly relocated Ft. Lauderdale office as Branch Manger.

We also would like to announce that Mr. Tony Luzzi will now be acting as an independent consultant for business development for St. Moritz. We would like to thank Tony for his help in establishing St. Moritz in the Florida market, and we look forward to working with Tony in his new capacity.

On June 18, 2005, the Woolrich Clothing Manufacturer celebrated their 125th anniversary in a private celebration. St. Moritz, along with many other companies, submitted proposals to provide service for General Norman Schwarzkopf's key note address.

Upon being awarded the bid, St. Moritz coordinated the entire event with cooperation from the state and local police, fire and emergencies services departments, as well as the members of the US Military War College Anti-Terrorist Team based out of Carlisle, Pa.  St. Moritz also had the responsibility to arrange and provide all the necessary transportation, as well as routing for the motorcade from the Williamsport Airport to Woolrich.  This included securing and the airport during the General's arrival and departure via private plane.

    St. Moritz had total control of everything that transpired for this event, including direction over the additional agencies that were on hand.  St. Moritz had complete cooperation from the Pennsylvania State Police, which included two bomb dogs, one of the state police helicopters, S.E.R.T members, Pine Twp Police department and the local Fire and EMS teams.  The motorcade included four marked PSP units, two unmarked units to escort the 20 miles from the airport to the Woolrich site.

     This was all made possible through numerous meetings, with Woolrich officials and other agencies and included pre-security checks for two days prior to the event; pre-checks at all locations the General would be; as well as immediate coverage of the General at all times while he was on the ground and in our immediate care. Several state officials including the Governor and his security team, (who also assisted on the project) attended the event.

     St. Moritz is extremely thankful to The Pennsylvania State Police, Pine Twp police, the fire and EMS departments and everyone who assisted in the successful completion of this service. We would also like to thank Rick Payton (State College) and Al Palatucci (Philadelphia) for their time and effort in seeing that this detail was a success.

Fact of the Month: In the United States, it's customary to wear green on St. Patrick's Day. But in Ireland the color was long considered to be unlucky. Irish folklore holds that green is the favorite color of the Good People (the proper name for faeries). They are likely to steal people, especially children, who wear too much of the color.

ASIS International (ASIS) has published the final version of its Workplace Violence Prevention and Response Guideline. The guideline is designed to help organizations understand the scope and far-reaching consequences of the problem that affects an estimated 1.7 million employees directly and millions more indirectly each year and to serve as a practical tool in helping employers develop a proactive and reasoned approach to dealing with workplace violence issues.

The guideline -- produced by the ASIS Commission on Guidelines -- presents practical definitions of workplace violence and the continuum of acts and behavior -- from less severe to more severe -- and a classification of workplace violence incidents based on the relationship of perpetrator to victim. It outlines prevention strategies and practices for detecting, investigating, managing and following up on threats or violent incidents that occur in a workplace.

A key conclusion of the guideline is that no organization can assume that it will be immune to the wide range of conduct that falls within the rubric of workplace violence.

"Workplace violence knows no boundaries in terms of time, place and circumstances," says Michael A. Crane, CPP, the Commission member responsible for the development of the Workplace Violence Guideline. "Because this problem can surface anytime, anywhere, with little or no warning, it is one of the most constant and pressing challenges that any employer must face."

While legal liability and other tangible financial costs are the most visible concerns facing an organization in the wake of a workplace violence incident, the guideline warns of the more fundamental costs to employers unprepared to detect, manage and prevent such incidents, in the form of disrupted productivity, low employee morale and a public image that communicates a disregard for employee safety. Conversely, an organization equipped to handle the broad range of workplace violence issues is more likely to not only avoid such costly incidents, but also will benefit from feelings of confidence, security and safety that characterize a successful enterprise.

Up to five copies of the printed guideline are free to ASIS members; the non-member fee is $10. To order, please contact the ASIS Call Center at 703-519-6200 or e-mail asis@asisonline.org.

This document is also available free of charge in its entirety at www.asisonline.org/guidelines.

Employers are taking a number of steps to monitor their employees, including the use of access control technology, surveillance cameras, computer-use monitoring, and cell phones equipped with global positioning. Soon, employers will even be able to measure employees' voice patterns and biological traits like fingerprints, through the use of biometrics. These types of monitoring and surveillance help employers protect themselves against workplace accidents and lawsuits, sexual harassment, and increase the amount of production they get out of employees. Research shows that 76 percent of employers monitor some or all of their employees in terms of the Web sites they visit. In addition, 55 percent of employers store and review email messages; 53 percent use smartcard technology for access control purposes; 51 percent use video cameras to prevent theft and violence; 50 percent save and review employees' computer files; and 16 percent use video cameras to monitor employee performance.

Source: Newsday (02/19/06) P. A58 ; Kitchen, Patrici

Travel Tip: You can fly directly from New York JFK (Aer Lingus, Delta), Newark (Aer Lingus, Continental), Boston (Aer Lingus), Chicago ORD (Aer Lingus), Atlanta (Delta), Los Angeles (LAX) (Aer Lingus) and Washington DC (Aer Lingus) non-stop to Ireland.   Passport and customs formalities are rapid and minimalist in Ireland and you can clear US Customs and passport control in Ireland on your return journey before you board your return flight at Dublin or Shannon Airport.

A mock terrorist cell Monday, March 6, created a hostage situation in Crawford County, placed a bomb in a vehicle in Venango County and conducted a suicide bombing in Erie during a drill to test the of emergency operations in five Pennsylvania counties. The weapons of mass destruction counterterrorism task force, formed in 1997 to help communities plan and prepare for a terrorist attack, covers Crawford, Erie, Forest, Venango and Warren counties. "What we're trying to do is we're testing the interoperability and how they, the emergency agency centers, communicate, as well as the hospitals and their emergency operations also," said Bob Ward, training manager for the Northwestern Pennsylvania Emergency Response Group 2.

Source: www.thederrick.com

A group of regional business leaders urged the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday, March 3, to adopt a new air traffic routing system for the Philadelphia and New York areas to alleviate chronic flight delays at Philadelphia International Airport. The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce's CEO Council for Growth said building airport runways wouldn't be enough to reduce delays without the FAA adopting procedures to speed up flights once they leave the ground. Philadelphia International, which handles more takeoffs and landings than any of the New York area's three major airports, has ranked last or close to it the last four years in on time airline departures and arrivals. Philadelphia had 535,666 flights in and out in 2005, making it the ninth busiest airport in the United States and the world, according to statistics released by the Airports Council International trade group.

Source: www.philly.com

Quote of the Month: "It's not a matter of upper and lower class but of being up a while and down a while." - Irish Proverb