No one needs reminding why
M&C ran a story on security in the meetings industry
five years ago this month. People do need reminding, however, that
security deserves a major investment, says Dick Hudak, who was
featured in that article.
“For the six to eight months following
9/11, the purse strings opened and management’s attention became
focused on security,” says Hudak, director of corporate security
for Loews Corp., based in New York City. “As things quieted down,
the bean counters came back and started to scrutinize
expenses.”
Having worked in the security world for
many years, Hudak wasn’t surprised by the cuts in security spending
over the past few years. “I was preparing for cutbacks as soon as I
got the checks for improvements,” he says.
Meeting planners, he notes, are vital
to keeping security departments at their best. The more explicit
planners are in their safety and emergency requests, the better the
security team can budget to keep equipment up-to-date and plan for
appropriate staffing.