System Sensor executive honored with Triton Award for his lifetime achievements in the security industry.

Charles G. Darsch, director of corporate relations for System Sensor, was awarded this year’s Triton Award for extensive contributions to the security industry.

“It’s an honor to work with a professional who is as respected and recognized as Charlie Darsch,” says David George, director, corporate communications, System Sensor. “He is the dean, so to speak, of the security industry. His wealth of knowledge has touched all of the organizations he has served during his productive career.”

The Triton Award, established by the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA), National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association (NBFAA) and the Security Industry Association (SIA), honors a professional whose lifetime achievements have significantly contributed to the advancement of the security industry. This prestigious award is typically presented to professionals from a systems installation company. Yet, System Sensor’s Darsch was unanimously selected for his dedication to all aspects of the industry.

Ralph Wayne Sevinor, a 2004 Triton Award recipient and president of Wayne Alarm Systems in Boston, says, “Charlie has been the consistent stabilizing force that has helped the electronics, security and detection industries move forward and prosper. From the beginning, Charlie has always worked to keep the lines of communication open. Charlie is known as the go-to person where the impossible becomes possible. His efforts will benefit us all for years.”

50 Years of Experience

Darsch entered the security industry in the 1950s after losing a friend to an intruder. Putting his degree in electrical engineering from the University of Massachusetts Lowell to good use, he founded an alarm installing company, Minuteman Security. By 1972, Minuteman Security and Darsch were gaining recognition, and Aerospace Research, a Boston-based company that was developing highly sophisticated intrusion detection sensors, took notice.

Darsch sold his alarm company to Aerospace and became its Northeast Sales Manager.“It was a highly intriguing venture into the new world of electronics,” Darsch says.“As that company grew, purchased other companies, was acquired (by Aritech Corp. and later, Sentrol) and then spun off as a public company, I grew with it.” By 1989, he was promoted to vice president.

In 2001, Darsch joined System Sensor as the director of corporate relations. At System Sensor, as well as Honeywell Analytics, Darsch mentors the sales team, opening doors through his vast array of fire and security contacts.

Industry Statesman

Darsch currently sits as a nonvoting vice president and SIA representative to the NBFAA board of directors. He is also an ex-officio for the Alarm Industry Research Educational Foundation (AIREF), which is charged to receive, invest and reinvest money exclusively for charitable, scientific and educational purposes. Formerly, Darsch sat as a board member of CSAA, was the president and convention chairman of SIA and was an executive committee member of NBFAA.

Other organizational positions Darsch has held include:

• Board member of the NBFAA’s CP-01, which helped develop the first control panel standard for false alarm reduction.

• Industry liaison to the AIREF.

• Lifetime member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

• Member of the American Society for Industrial Security, which was founded to better understand the constant changes in the security industry.

• Member of the National Fire Protection Association, which provides and advocates consensus codes and standards, research, training and education.

Darsch’s industry-wide impact also earned him the distinction of being the first supplier to receive the NBFAA Weinstock Man of the Year Award in 1985, as well as being the 1998 SIA recipient of the George R. Lippert Memorial Award for industry leadership. And, along with the Triton Award, Darsch will be awarded the MSCA Award (Mass Systems Contractors Association) in May 2007, a rarity to win both awards in the same year.

Tags: Award

Posted in Winter 2006

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