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2026 Officer Appreciation Luncheon - WrapUp

25th Annual Mike York Memorial Officer Appreciation Luncheon

On October 15th we held our 25th Annual Mike York Memorial Officer Appreciation Luncheon, and as always, it was a great success. We had 11 corporate sponsor tables this year and 90 registered for the luncheon, with 47 law enforcement officers from the Central Ohio area representing 23 agencies and 18 different private sector security companies represented.

Committee Chairman Tim Beverly said a few words about Mike York and all he had done in his career as well as his 40-year membership with the Columbus Chapter.  Tim also recognized long-time member Bill Taylor who passed away last summer.  Bill like Mike had a long history in law enforcement and private security as well as being very active in the Columbus Chapter.  Both Mike and Bill will be remembered and missed.

Dee Holcomb was the emcee at the luncheon.  Dee introduced our speaker, recognized several Sheriff’s as well as State and Federal partners in attendance.  Although we had no line of duty deaths in central Ohio since our last luncheon Dee did recognize several law enforcement officers who passed away in the line of duty in Ohio.

Our speaker Stan Partlow gave an informative presentation outlining “myths” (summarized below) encountered when transitioning from a law enforcement position to one in the private security field. 

We raffled off four of Stan’s books “Leading Relentlessly”.

A big thank you to Lynda Buel and Dee Holcomb for being committee members and helping put this event together as well as Bernie Pack and Steve Friday who handled the registration desk.  A special thank you goes out to Michelle Merkel, Founder and President of Merkel Wealth Management who is our host sponsor and makes it possible for us to hold this event at the Scioto Country Club every year.

I want to especially thank the following corporate sponsors who, without their financial support, this annual luncheon would not be possible.

 
Tim Beverly
Officer Appreciation Luncheon Committee Chairman

ASE 2026 - Recap

ASE May 14 2026.

Columbus Chapter 27 of ASIS conducted another successful ASE at the Hollywood Casino on May 14, 2026. Brandon Wilson the Chapter Vice Chair began the event by welcoming all participants and thanking the ASE planning committee. There were 28 exhibitors and numerous attendees. 

There were four speakers, each preceded by four Diamond Elite Sponsors who were:

·      Axis Communications represented by Ken Minard

·      Hanwha Vision America represented by Kyle Finefrock

·      Convergint represented by Kari Chadd

·      ASSA ABLOY represented by Jammie Taylor

 The first speaker was an Intelligence Analyst with Homeland Security who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of their work. This presentation covered the threat of A.I., the dark web and “How to do videos” which are being used by foreign actors or criminals to enhance their abilities to contact attacks, bombings, swatting, counterfeiting, hijackings, and promoting suicide. The speaker stressed the need to watch for and adapt to changing threats, and that private sector and government law enforcement need to work together to ensure security.

 The next speaker was Jonathan Richeson, a Protective Security Analyst with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) of Homeland Security. He spoke about physical security and gave examples of numerous attacks and how to protect against them. For example, how driveway routing, in-road obstacles and bollards can be used to prevent cars from ramming into buildings – which is happening with increasing frequency. His second topic was the threat of drones, crashing into people, dropping explosives or delivering drugs and weapons into prisons. He mentioned the FAA developed a new regulation this month (May 2026) to better manage drone activity.

 The keynote luncheon speaker was Mark Porter, the Executive Director of Ohio Homeland Security. His topic was the state’s new A.I. Chat Bot (application) known as “Safeguard Ohio” used to report tips to law enforcement from members of the public who may have witnessed a crime. Mark gave a complete live demonstration of the software which asks numerous questions in numerous languages in order to obtain a comprehensive view of a situation so it can be stored and analyzed. He noted that it should not be used for cyber related tips or events. This advanced tool manages “See something / say something” information.

 The final speaker was “Colonel” John DiPietro, President of the Ohio Crime Prevention Association (OCPA). John’s topic was “House of Worship Security”. It covered threats and attacks on churches and synagogues including take-overs of religious services in progress. John gave numerous examples of this increasing threat going back 90 years. He mentioned shootings, burnings, assaults and car ramming. John mentioned the need to develop Emergency Operation Plans, conducting Risk Management Assessments and forming Safety and Security teams with appropriate policies and procedures. These are necessary to save lives and prevent litigation. He also mentioned to mark the 50^th anniversary of OCPA (1977-2027), there would be a joint conference with Crime Stoppers next year in Dublin.

 The Casino did an excellent job of providing breakfast, afternoon snacks, and a lunch which included Roast Beef, Chicken and a variety of sides, salads and pastas.

 Brandon and Chad Parris concluded the meeting by thanking all Speakers, Sponsors, Exhibitors and Attendees for coming, and announced the recipients of the door prizes and contributed gifts from the Vendors. (article by Ed Sachs)