2014 Executive Chairman’s Christmas Message and Award Function Speech

Good afternoon to the Board of Directors, the Executives, Business Unit Heads, Senior and Junior Managers other Department and sector Heads, special invited Guest, junior staff, officers of Amalgamated security and our regional counterparts.
It is unfortunate that key members of the Amalgamated family are not with us this evening in particular I would like to single out Dr Jason Hernandez who passed away recently may god bless his soul and Edmund Thomas who is ailing and one of our most successful achievers at the ASIS Certification with the top three that being CPP, PSP and PCI. Joining him today with similar achievements are Kendall Alvarez and Hugh Beguesse.

Can we stand for a minute in silence in honor of Dr Jason Hernandez? And all our other fallen Heroes and during this period I would like to read something that I wished to have said at his funeral but circumstances did not prevail
“The angels looked down from heaven one night. They searched for miles afar, and deep within the distance .They could see a shining star.

They knew that very instant. That the star was theirs to gain, so they took you up to heaven
forever to remain

So Jason Look down on us from heaven Keep us free from hurt and pain, you’ll always be within our heart until we meet again.”
Words are sometimes insufficient in capturing the essence of the man who has gone before us
I would also like to say at this opportune time and indicate that ASSL will be introducing the Dr Jason Hernandez Memorial Award of Excellence in the field of training and that he will be receiving a posthumous award for his services to ASSL in promoting Training and its achievements in the field of training

Having concluded some of the protocols for this evening I would now continue with this thought
I often find myself asking a simple question that I never seem able to come up with a reasonable answer that being why with such a highly devoted and loyal staff is it that most persons are missing our vision and mission objectives
Key notes from ACCP intersession meeting 2014 that I found to be profound in its presentation as it struck a note in my head.

For your dream to work you need team work….and
When leaders have a dream without team work the dream becomes a nightmare (food for thought).

As the team leader one of my immediate missions for the organization is to ensure its continuity and safe guard those who I am responsible for and I can only do this through proper succession planning and the training and identification of those who I have come to know will carry on my vision. These would be the souls, who are the mobilizers and energizers of the company and who will ensure that the legacy of our success and brand will live on forever and guarantee security for our family, the ASSL personnel.
If I successfully achieve this then our human capital our Amalgamated family can look forward to this benefit as we grow our brand locally and regionally.
What does this word security mean? …well it covers our essential needs, the state of being secure to live and feed our families and at the same time create the platform for providing protection and giving the assurance for freedom of choice and the ability to rise above poverty or want. A state that is created for every employee of ours.

This great responsibility is so often overlooked and taken for granted that it has become necessary at this junction in our journey to speak of it and ensure that it is communicated and understood by all our people so that the unequivocal support and teaming commitment with the appropriate effort needed by all can be realized. I need for us to work as a team.

Team members need to learn how to help one another, help other team members realize their true potential, and create an environment that allows everyone to go beyond his or her limitations.
We are all linked in a common purpose. To drive Assl to be all that it could be amidst local and international competition and persons who envy and seek to destroy us at any cost.
To further drive this notion of team work and what it means I would also say that the success of each and every one of us in our jobs is inseparably bound to the success of the whole team, something that we don’t recognize and should as we forge our way forward.
I am asking each and every one present at this auspicious occasion to make the change that we are seeking, let it be you who catalyze the movement. There is no need to look to the right or left as the agent of change is you.
We are often greeted by our people at work and off work with a mindset, an awkward sense of thinking an attitude that we don’t understand something that is so far form our own value system that we start to question their loyalty, but we must rethink our approach as these persons are lost souls only there to be recaptured .

So when we get caught up in our work, and we don’t find time to interact with them, we are effectively pushing them further away and helping to feed those notions and beliefs which are not what we are about.
We must take the time to listen and discuss what our people are to us and revitalize their thinking and show them what they are to us our most valued assets and what we do to ensure that their security is guaranteed for a better future. This comes down to our internal house cleaning as I would like to label it for 2015 otherwise it’s going to stifle our progress

In closing Any mission that we undertake for 2015 can only succeed if we successfully plan for it, it does not happen on its own and it does not come without personal sacrifice and due diligence to the outcome from all the team members.
In addition we can hammer the use of technology but it does not replace our good hard work and commitment to the task at hand and most importantly the people

Thank you

Please enjoy the rest of the evening and on behalf of my wife Nicole and myself and the rest of the Aboud clan, I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year be safe for the remaining of 2014 and for the upcoming 2015, be a responsible driver and may God bless us all with a special request that he continues to protect our officers and bring peace and healing into the lives of those of us in need.

Also a special mention…. thank you for all those persons who assisted in the planning and organizing of this get together