Outstanding Individuals receive 2018 ACS Pacesetters Security Officer of Distinction Awards

May 25, 2018

The fifth ACS Pacesetters Achievements Awards Lunch took place on Wednesday, 23rd May, at Royal Windsor Racecourse with almost 200 members, their staff and guests in attendance.

This annual lunch, run by FM Contract Watch, is a recognised event in the security guarding calendar.  Each member company attending was presented with a 2018 ACS Pacesetters Award to recognise the fact that they have achieved an SIA ACS score in the top 15% of all accredited companies.

The highlight of the day was the Security Officer of Distinction Awards which were presented to Security Officers who have excelled in their duties and, at times, risked their own safety to save others.  We received over 60 nominations and the standard was once again exceptional, making it was a very difficult task for the judging panel to select the final winners. The Security Officers had gone above and beyond what was expected, saving lives, helping with the conviction of criminals and being injured themselves in the line of duty. All the winners are a credit to their company and the client that they are contracted to. It was an honour to be able to recognise their heroic actions.

The 2018 Security Officer of Distinction Award winners were:

Wala Asikandambo – Interr Security

Justin Attwood – Wilson James Ltd

Kathy Aymer – CIS Security Ltd

Waseem Azam – SSG Support Services Group Ltd

Robert Delaney – Land Sheriffs Ltd

Scott Forsyth & Aminul Chowdhury – Axis Security Services Ltd

Eliana Hague – Sodexo Ltd

Gordon Hewitt & James Gemmell – Ward Security Ltd

Robert Metcalfe – The Protector Group Ltd

Allan Morris – MAN Commercial Protection Ltd

Alan Parkes & Lianne Doran – Westgrove Support Services Ltd

Nicola Powell – Axis Security Services Ltd

Paulo Ribeiro & Richard Farley – Westgrove Support Services Ltd

Ryan Weeden – ABM (UK) Ltd

We were fortunate to have two guest speakers this year, Paul Barnard Mst. (Cantab) MSyl, Director of Security, Risk & Mitigation for Ward Security.  Paul has spent the last 27 years working for the City of London Police and was latterly Detective Chief Superintendent Crime Directorate where he was Head of Serious and Organised Crime. Paul gave a very informative and enlightening talk on the current terrorism threat we face in the UK.  Our second speaker was Rick Mounfield, Chief Executive of the Security Institute.  Rick completed his career in the Royal Military Police in 2011 as a Regimental Sergeant Major having served for 23 years. Between 2011-2017, Rick worked exclusively in the UHNW security arena employing Close Protection Officers and security specialists in roles across the world.  Rick’s talk concentrated on the Professional Development and Career Pathway of Security Officers. He highlighted the important roles they carry out, often with little recognition, but confirming that they should be proud and strive for training and promotion in the industry.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our generous sponsors:  Broadstone Engage, Centralus PLC, Experian, Eurotech Monitoring Services, Sutton Specialist Risks, TrackTik, The Security Institute and Security Drivers International.  First Response Group sponsored the lunchtime drinks.

We also took the opportunity to raise funds for charity and this year we chose Veterans in Action, a small organisation supporting ex forces personnel who are suffering with PTSD and other mental illness.  We were pleased to raise £1,160.00 by way of a raffle for this very worthwhile cause. Thanks go to the companies who donated the prizes; MAN Commercial Protection, Ward Security, Royal Windsor Racecourse, FM Contract Watch and Westgrove Support Services.

Once again, it was an enjoyable day for our members to be able to recognise their exceptional staff who are often the forgotten heroes of our industry.