Jon Sargent retired from Tyco April 14. That news saddened us at SIAC when Jon made the announcement. Not only does the electronic security industry lose an industrious, smart, insightful individual who GETS THINGS DONE repeatedly to advance the interests of our industry, but we are losing a high quality human being. We know because Jon has been intimately involved and helpful on SIAC affairs for over 15 years.
He joined our team as SIAC got started after the turn of the century, volunteering from his full-time position at ADT and going the extra distance to meet with police chiefs, state associations and city councils throughout the western part of the United States. If there was a critical alarm management issue in California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington or Utah, you would find Jon in attendance, plugged in, aware, and working hard to ensure our (and your) best interests were represented. He made (and makes) SIAC better.
On the national scene, you could see Jon stepping up at functions and on committees and large events for the Electronic Security Association (ESA), Central Station Alarm Association (now The Monitoring Association), Security Industry Association (SIA) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). He testified. He contributed on reports and standards. He provided important insights on trends. He made friends. We’re proud to count him among ours.
Jon won’t be going away completely. He will continue to shine the light (see our graphic with this post) on issues as a volunteer with SIAC. But day-to-day, he will be retired from his full-time paid job. We will miss that. We all will be weakened by his absence.
But, we support him and wish him the best as he takes on retirement. Jon served many years with the Sea Scouts as a volunteer (does “volunteer” keep coming up when we mention his name?), and his son has followed that love of the sea as a Chief inthe U.S. Navy. We expect to see Jon on a few boats and continuing to travel through that venue and others with his wife Christine.
His interests were diverse. Few readers of this blog probably know of Jon’s love of pipe organ music.
While on the road for SIAC, ADT and Tyco, Jon would detour to an old church or a small house in the middle of an old section of town to meet up with a local individual who owned an antique organ. It is a passion of his. His passion for the instrument mirrors the passion he brought to work on issues for our industry. He cared. He was interested in finding things out. And ultimately, Jon was committed to getting things done. That ability and willingness is often in short supply today, and we should all bear in mind Jon’s leadership and take a page from his manual.
Dave Simon was introduced to Jon in 2004. Early on in his job with Brink’s Home Security, Dave went to Tacoma, WA, to testify on issues before the Pierce County Council. Dave got verbally attacked by a member of the council. Jon was in attendance. Afterwards, Jon came up to Dave to tell him how well he had represented Brink’s and the industry, listening well to the concerns, answering questions fully, accepting responsibility for the issues and pledging to provide more information. That support speaks volumes about who Jon is. He stands behind you. He stands behind the electronic security industry and SIAC. He is often behind the scenes, but he always helped shine the spotlight where it needed to be.
We’re confident he will continue to shine the spotlight in the right spots in the years ahead. We will miss you, Jon!
“It’s rare to find a person like Jon who is passionate, and a knowledgeable leader who possesses the skill to successfully negotiate through trying circumstances. Jon was so much more than a valued team member — he was a wise and trusted friend. He’s earned his retirement and we all wish him the very best!,” said SIAC’s Stan Martin.
Sign up to attend ESX 2017 in Nashville and celebrate with Jon when he receives the national industry’s highest award, the Morris Weinstock “Person of the Year.” It is scheduled to be held June 13 at 6 p.m. in Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame.
ESX link to register: http://www.esxweb.com/.