LSFMA ... a great opportunity for sharing ideas, problems and solutions with others in the school facility management profession!
To all who participated to make the Conference a success, Thank You! There was so much good information shared with everyone and so many good discussion points. This was an awesome start to discussions amongst the state of Louisiana for School Safety and Security. LSFMA has plans to host another conference that will focus on School Safety and Security again next year. We would like to continue the discussion where we left off this year and also include more people at the next Conference.
It would be wrong of us not to mention a few key people that made all of this possible. First and foremost, the LSFMA Executive Board for putting this event on and organizing everything. The Board worked diligently to make sure as many people as possible knew about the event and worked to make sure all accommodations were made to host the event. The Board was also mindful of the details that went into putting on an event of this magnitude. For example, the people who were invited. LDOE and GOSHEP showed up in full force and were able to provide funding information along with other details that was important to the groups. We are truly grateful for the participation from these State Agencies along with others like the Louisiana State Police and the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office.
Enough thanks cannot go out to Tom Czyn from Armoured One who presented all of the historical school shooting investigative statistics and facts. Everyone was captivated by Tom’s presentation and attendees have been calling me daily to express how impressed they were with Armoured One. Not only did Tom do the early morning presentation but he also led the open discussion segment with our panel and audience. All of this was done at the expense of Armoured One without any ask of money and not once was a product being pushed for sale purposes that is provided by Armoured One. Everything presented was factual information with documented back up. We look forward to a continued partnership with Armoured One as we continue to promote School Safety and Security.
The panel that was selected for the Open Discussion segment of the event provided great insight to the Topics. Jamie Romero representing Homeland Safety provided feedback as to how it related to cameras and other software’s used for safety and security. Troy Doiron representing School Resource Officers and is a current Deputy in Iberville Parish. Troy gave the perspective of Law Enforcement located in our schools. Melanie Mayeaux who represented Louisiana Department of Education was able to provide information concerning funding sources and their different uses. Brad Guerin who is an Architect and Owner of Fusion Architecture answered many questions concerning school design challenges and how they play into safety and security. John Rome and Kade Rogers represented School Facilities. They were able to share information on all of the topics because of their vast knowledge of School Safety and Security in St. Charles Parish. Travis Thompson attended on behalf of GOSHEP and was able to provide insight into the intention of the State and school standards. We value the time and participation of everyone on the panel. It was amazing to see the audience address the topics discussed and pose questions to members of the panel. This was a productive segment of the Conference!
Every conference has to have sponsors to make these events possible. A special Thanks to Signature Group who sponsored lunch for the event. Unfortunately, they were not available to participate in the full conference due to storm clean up happening from the recent events of Hurricane Ian that hit the Florida and went up the East Coast. Signature is no stranger to remediation in our school in Louisiana as they have responded to several hurricanes and other disasters that Louisiana has experienced. Thanks for all that they do for our state and the LSFMA Organization!
Our Hospitality Sessions were sponsored by Fusion Architecture on Wednesday night and our Thursday night session was sponsored by Homeland Safety. Fusion Architecture has worked on school projects in several of the Parishes in the state. They are always working to improve our school facilities and provided services that help with the efficiency of our school operations. They have been sponsors of events for LSFMA since it was restarted after COVID. Thanks for always being willing to help LSFMA grow.
Homeland Safety has been an active participant in LSFMA for many years. Every year they participate at our Spring Vendor Conference and set up all of their cameras and software they have available in their warehouse for our members to see and touch. If it wasn’t for partners like Homeland Safety LSFMA wouldn’t be as successful as we are today. Homeland provides cameras at multiple school sites in our state along with many other Government entities and businesses. They are another important company helping to keep everyone safe on a daily basis.
All of our attendee’s information who registered for the event will be shared with everyone. Again, thank you so much for everyone who participated or assisted in making this possible. We look forward to the planning and preparation of our next successful Conference.
Future Events
Our next Conference will be held in the Spring of 2023 and will be located at The Golden Nugget in Lake Charles, LA. This event will be held April 26-28,2023. The vendor exhibit will happen on Thursday April 27 and will give everyone the opportunity to see several businesses that provide products and services to our school systems. Last year was a success and this year’s event is anticipated to be even better. We will be showcasing vendors in the Ballroom for the event and we are planning on having 100 vendor booths or more available to visit. We will also have over 40 Public School Systems in attendance along with a handful of the Charter School Systems participating.
LSFMA will also be hosting a golf tournament on Wednesday April 26 at the Country Club at the Golden Nugget. This golf course was named #1 course in Louisiana in Golfweek’s Best of 2021. LSFMA is looking for teams to participate in then competition and sponsorships will be available for the event. This will be a fun time and a good way to promote your business at the conference. Even if you don’t play golf please come participate in the good time to be had by all. More information will be made available on our website for registration.
You don’t want to miss the 2023 Spring Conference so be sure to check our website at LSFMA.ORG for more information and registration as it become available. If you have any questions or if you are interested in sponsorships please contact the Executive Board. All of our contact information is available on the website. We look forward to your continued support and help to provide clean and safe learning environments for all of the students of Louisiana!