A Night for Heroes

Durant-isce — “Black Hawk Down” pilot Michael Durant recounts his exploits and lessons learned as a master pilot, POW, and throughout his life after being rescued. PHOTO BY *SDM* STAFF

Stroia-isce — John Stroia accepts the 2017 George R. Lippert Memorial Award.
PHOTO BY *SDM* STAFF

van till-isce — Steve Van Till accepts the 2017 Jay Hauhn Excellence in Partnerships Award.
PHOTO BY *SDM* STAFF

mcgowan-isce — David McGowan of Tiffany & Co. received the 2017 SIA Insightful Practitioner Award
PHOTO BY *SDM* STAFF

siahonorswomen-isce — Shown left to right, Kimberly Del Greco, Stephanie Schuckers and Frances Zelazny are honored for their work in biometrics. Also honored but not present were Isabelle Moeller and Liane Moriyama.

PHOTO BY *SDM* STAFF

The SIA Honors night, held at Chelsea Pier November 15 and coinciding with ISC East, brought together many industry leaders and was an entertaining and meaningful evening for all in attendance.

The keynote speaker was Michael Durant, master pilot, best-selling author, and Inspiration for the Movie Black Hawk Down.

Durant was the pilot of Black Hawk helicopter Super Six Four that was fired upon and subsequently brought down during a combat operation in Mogadishu, Somalia on October 3, 1993. After a horrific street battle, he was overrun by a crazed mob, captured and held prisoner for 11 days. He was badly injured, suffering from gunshot wounds and a broken back, leg and face. Today, Durant is the New York Times best-selling author of In the Company of Heroes and The Night Stalkers and the president and CEO of Pinnacle Solutions.

Throughout the evening, the comedy-based musical duo NY NY Dueling Pianos performed. The dueling pianists sang and played everything from Jimmy Buffet, Garth Brooks, Billy Joel, to Petty, Jerry Lee Lewis, Disney, Lady Gaga, Elvis, Kate Perry, Metallica and just about anything else requested.

After a cocktail reception, the gala dinner reception was served as the entertainment performed. The dinner benefitted Mission 500, and an awards ceremony recognized industry leaders.

At SIA Honors Night, SIA honored industry leaders with the following awards for achievements in and contributions to the security industry:

The George R. Lippert Memorial Award was presented to John Stroia, president of Hamilton Safe.
The Jay Hauhn Excellence in Partnerships Award was presented to Steve Van Till, CEO of Brivo.
The SIA Insightful Practitioner Award was presented to David McGowan, Tiffany & Co.’s vice president-global protection services.
The 2017 Women in Biometrics Awards were presented to Kimberly Del Greco, deputy assistant director, Criminal Justice Information Services Division, FBI; Isabelle Moeller, chief executive, Biometrics Institute; Liane Moriyama, administrator, Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center; Stephanie Schuckers, Paynter-Krigman endowed professor in engineering science, Clarkson University; and Frances Zelazny, vice president, BioCatch. (Moeller and Moriyama were unable to be present.)

The Security A portion of this year’s proceeds will benefit Mission 500, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping children and communities in crisis. Mission 500 has raised money and school supplies for thousands of children in need thanks in large part to the generosity and volunteering of many in the security industry.