The International Foundation for Protection Officers and Security Magazine announce the 2018 award recipients of the Bill Zalud Memorial Award for Professional Excellence. In 2017, the International Foundation for Protection Officers, in conjunction with Security Magazine, announced the inaugural Bill Zalud Memorial Award for Professional Excellence, an award that recognizes one security professional or an organization for professional excellence or outstanding service in the security profession.

After serving in the US Army for many years, in 1987, Bill became the editor of Security Magazine and SDM Magazine. He spent over three decades covering and shaping the security industry. His knowledge of the industry, his readers, the advertisers of the publications and their products and services brought great value to his contributions. In 2009, Bill became the Editor Emeritus, working with Editor Diane Ritchey.  He continued to do research, writing insightful articles, columns and blogs. He wrote the Zalud Report, a popular column about technology and industry trends, up until a few years ago. The archives of his column are available online at securitymagazine.com.

Grant Lecky, MSc., CSyP, CBCP, CMCP, CORP – Security Partner’s Forum and the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

Grant Lecky is the Co-Founder of the Security Partners' Forum (SPF), the first-of-its-kind agile network of the global security community, with the purpose of building security and resilience capacity globally. Initiated in 2011, the SPF facilitates and enables enhanced communication and collaborative opportunities amongst its networked associations, across state jurisdictions, all levels of government, bridges the public sector and private sector, and crosses the multitude of security and resilience domains and disciplines. Grant is also the Business Continuity and Strategic Planning Officer at the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Grant oversees the business continuity and crisis management programs, and the strategic departmental security plan. Grant is also part of the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network in Risk and Resilience.

Grant’s contribution to the global security community has resulted in numerous awards, honors and accolades including being named as a recipient of the “Leader of the Decade Award” by the Women Economic Forum and being named to the Canadian Who’s Who. Grant also currently sits on the Editorial Boards for both the Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning and the Cybersecurity Journal (Henry Stuart publications) and has professional certifications in security management, business continuity, crisis management, risk management, organizational resilience and critical infrastructure protection. Grant has an extensive educational background, which includes a Master of Science Degree in Security and Risk Management from the University of Leicester UK, a diploma in Security Management from Algonquin College, and a series of executive level certificates from the Burrill Green Corporate Security Business School (UK), and the International Security Management Association (ISMA).

In 2011, the International Foundation for Protection Officers (IFPO) factored heavily into Grant Lecky’s Master’s Thesis on organizations that were vital to the further professionalization of security across Canada and worldwide. Over the years since, the IFPO has continued to evolve in terms of training, education, service delivery and contributions to the global body of knowledge in the security disciplines such as the inclusion of cybersecurity into the IFPO training and dialogue among its Board and members. In many cases, the Security Partners’ Forum has worked alongside the IFPO on these initiatives to various degrees.

Award Honorable Mention Recipient: Gary Kuty - Kuty Associates, LLC

Gary H. Kuty, President & CEO of Kuty & Associates, LLC is a 40-year veteran of the law enforcement and private security profession. Gary is a graduate of Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio with a Bachelor of Science in Law Enforcement Administration. Gary’s past is a well-balanced mix of public and private law enforcement and security. After a 12-year career in public law enforcement in northeastern Ohio, Gary spent the next twenty years in the private security industry holding a variety of positions across the country up to owning a security company in Columbus, Ohio. In 2002 Gary fulfilled his lifelong dream and formed Kuty and Associates, LLC, a professional security consulting agency in Dayton, Ohio. Gary has provided high level management, marketing and sales expertise to the industry over the years. Highly regarded by his peers on a national basis, he is Past President and Chairman of both the Ohio Association of Security and Investigation Services (OASIS) and the National Council of Investigation and Security Services (NCISS). After 20 years as a Council chair, vice chair and member, Gary serves on the prestigious Security Services Council and ASIS International as a lifetime member. Currently winding down his career as a consultant, Gary is an active mentor to young security professionals and believes in giving back to the profession which has been so rewarding to him throughout his career. Gary has had numerous security and sales related articles published in several trade association journals and has lectured on a variety of topics to several professional security organizations. 

Both individuals will be featured in an upcoming issue of Security Magazine. Additionally, the IFPO will host a very special place for them on the IFPO website. Achievement plaques will be presented as well as complimentary three-year annual IFPO Corporate Memberships.

Plans are already underway for the 3rd annual award. Nomination applications will be available on the IFPO website by March 1, 2019. The deadline will be October 31, 2019.

In conclusion, Ms. Davies said “We are very proud to have had Bill serve on the IFPO Board of Directors for more than a decade. His long and outstanding service to our organization made a significant difference. Bill gave strategic direction and vision to the Foundation. As an industry insider, his leadership was instrumental in making the Foundation the success it is today.”