Wednesday May 6 General Meeting at BROADWAY PIZZA

Our meeting location has changed! After more than a decade, the MN chapter of ALOA is returning to: 

Broadway Pizza, 2025 West River Rd N, Minneapolis, MN 55411

Social Hour from 5:30 pm until 7:00 pm
General Meeting from 7:00 pm - 7:40 pm (approximately - meetings run +/- 15 minutes depending on material that needs to be covered)

Education immediately following the meeting; our speaker will be Susan Biggers of Napco Security Technologies

Dinner will be available in the meeting rooms, terms tbd (I bet it will be pizza). 

Come early, come late, leave early - you do not have to be a member to attend up to 2 meetings a year.

April General Meeting Highlights, Board Meeting Wednesday April 15th

First and foremost thanks to Mark Schrantz for a great presentation on Detex products. Detex has a great commitment to tried and true exit alarms and they are also no strangers to innovation. In addition to the workhorses you know and love they also have: exit hardware in several architectural finishes and lever styles, multipoint (more than 3 with a la carte hinge-side bolts!) latching devices for hard-to-secure openings, electronic access-control and plastic templates with every product for a perfect installation every time. (Plus a lot more, go to their website and look at all their products.)

New business of note:

Grumpy's is a great space, but their minimum is something like $300 (or more) and that's just a bit outside what the chapter spends every month. Even with the quarterly meeting proposal on the table, there are up to 6 more meetings scheduled for 2015 and it may well be worth moving to another, more affordable, location.  Broadway Pizza in Minneapolis and the Roasted Pear in Brooklyn Park are proposed locations which have a lower minimum purchase than Grumpy's.

In treasury news, kudos to Phil Babcock: the accounts have finally been transferred and the backlog of checks received over the past couple of months has been deposited. If you have any questions about your membership status or if you sent a check that hasn't cleared yet, contact Phil (phil@babcockandson.com).

Board meeting Wednesday April 15, 6:00 pm at the Roasted Pear, 

9690 Colorado Lane, Brooklyn Park, MN.

The agenda will feature but not be limited to:

-Quarterly meetings details

-Communication improvements made plus future targets

-New location for remaining 2015 general meetings? 

The board meeting is open for paid members in good standing to attend and observe. This is a dinner meeting (the meeting proper probably won't be convened until about 6:30 pm after folks have a chance to order).

Our next general meeting will be May 6 at Grumpy's.  If the location change somehow goes through before then, it will be published here, to the mailing list, they'll probably call everyone...

Board Meeting recap and April General Meeting reminder

March 18, 2015 Board meeting summary:

It was discussed that chapter meetings would become quarterly starting in 2016 and that the meetings would be the first weekends of February, May, August, and November. Board meetings could be held once or twice between general meetings, dependant upon the Board's ability to improve communication. The Board voted to procede with the intention to have a proposal for a member vote at the May meeting. 

The details are a work in progress. There was a suggestion to make the meetings weekend based was so that there could be more thorough classes. IDN Hoffman’s Tim Mathewson has offered to host at their warehouse, and Molly from Doyle will check in to whether they can host also.

Dana proposed that the February meeting would be the education weekend event also. There will be extra emphasis placed on securing instructors, and raising awareness. Input for class requests can be brought to the board, or Dana Lee.

Phil intends to complete a full treasurers report before the next meeting. Any inquiry of dues or memberships renewal can be addressed to Phil Babcock or Jim Elmwood.

Thanks to Molly, who attended the board meeting, for providing the recap info.

The next general meeting is Wednesday, April 1st at Grumpy's Roseville. Dinner and social hour in the meeting room from 5:30 until 7, meeting at 7 pm and education following the meeting.

Our speaker will be Mark Schrantz from Detex

April 1, 2015 Meeting, No Fooling!

April 2015 Meeting

Our next regular meeting is Wednesday, April 1 at Grumpy's Roseville, 2801 Snelling Avenue, 

Roseville, MN 55113, (651) 379-1180.

Dinner/social hour in the meeting room from 6:00 - 7:00 pm, with the general meeting at 7 and education following the meeting - come for all or part, everyone welcome.

Our speaker will be Mark Schrantz.

Are quarterly meetings right for the Minnesota Chapter of ALOA?

The question has been raised whether the membership of MNALOA would be better served by fewer meetings.

The quarterly, weekend meeting has clear merit for members outside the metro area who would prefer not to be driving two, three or more hours home after a Wednesday meeting that routinely gets out at 9 pm.

Neighboring chapter Fox Valley has quarterly, Saturday meetings and Iowa is on a less-set schedule than that, frequently incorporating their meetings into education events. It works well for them: the meetings are longer, often on weekends, and the education programming is generally more substantial than we are able to offer in the monthly, mid-week meeting format.

In favor of the monthly meeting: it's great to have a regular pattern that everyone remembers.  First Wednesday of the month? Synonymous with MN locksmiths (except in July and August). High frequency mid-week meetings offer a natural bookend on a work day and a casual, consistent networking opportunity.

It is also relatively easy to get a variety of free educational speakers for short presentations during the week. The targeted greater substance of Saturday programming would potentially come at a cost which would need to be accounted for.

It will undoubtably be a point of discussion at the next board meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, March 18th, 6pm at the Golden Gate Cafe located in the Midway Shopping Center, 1464 University Avenue West, St Paul, MN 55104. And, of course, at regular monthly meetings which will continue at Grumpy's until further notice (details under "Minnesota Chapter Meetings" tab above).

March Meeting Recap

Last night's meeting was a lively event!

Ricardo Ortizcazarin gave a very well-received marketing presentation; he described advertising in terms of identifying personal goals, morals and priorities and then using those dots to point to your customers and gain their patronage. There were many good lessons for business and life: we thank him for sharing his time and insight.

Some highlights of the general meeting:

• Renewed push to publish a newsletter on a regular schedule
• Advance scheduling and member notification of board meeting times and locations
• Updated paper and e-mail mailing lists (many members have expressed a desire receive the newsletter in digital-only format).
• Commitment to getting the financial side of things back on track by April’s general meeting.
• We have 2 vacant member at large positions as well as the vice chair open. A timeline is not yet established, but nominations and special elections are receiving some attention.
• Proposal to go to quarterly, Saturday meetings instead of monthly midweek.

The next board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 18th, 6pm at the Golden Gate Cafe located in the Midway Shopping Center, 1464 University Avenue West, St Paul, MN 55104. 

March Meeting Education - Ricardo Ortizcazarin from Cazarin Interactive

March 2015 Meeting

Our next regular meeting is Wednesday, March 4 at Grumpy's Roseville, 2801 Snelling Avenue, 

Roseville, MN 55113, (651) 379-1180.

5:30 - 7:00 pm Dinner/social hour in the meeting room 

7:00 pm Education *before the meeting* Ricardo Ortizcazarin will give a presentation on websites and internet marketing including information on what you can expect to pay to have a website built, what ongoing hosting costs to expect, and how to find a reputable service provider who is a good match for your business needs. Ricardo is the founder of Cazarin Interactive, a Maple Grove based leader in Twin Cities web design and marketing since 1988.

General meeting immediately following eduction - will start no later than 8 pm

February 2015 Meeting

Our next regular meeting is Wednesday, February 4 at Grumpy's Roseville, 2801 Snelling Avenue, 

Roseville, MN 55113, (651) 379-1180.

Dinner/social hour in the meeting room from 6:00 - 7:00 pm with the general meeting at 7 - come for all or part, everyone welcome.

Looking forward to seeing YOU there!

May 2014 meeting summary

This was our second meeting at the new location, Grumpy's Roseville, and once again almost everyone showed up! Although we still haven't seen anyone from Davis, which is kind of a bummer because we totally moved here to be close to them*.

Minutes of the May 7, 2014 meeting

Following the meeting, which started and ended on time, Tom Modec of Kaba Access presented an overview of the E-Plex Wireless Access Control System.  

Summary and Tom's contact info below the break - click "Read More"

Internet locksmith scams present major threat to security - who knew?

Dune Lawrence at Bloomberg News has written an article which I saw via Cory Doctrow's article at BoingBoing and it turns out that the widespread, spamming-fake-locksmith scams could be an even more serious security issue because the techniques used to hijack entire markets of legitimate locksmiths can also be used to hijack, say, the local Secret Service office.

We all know that these pervasive scams have been a serious security issue for almost a decade now and it's pretty sad that the same old story is still news to some - but at least it's not going unnoticed and it is being reframed and escalated via fresh channels.

That said, there's no better time to redouble our efforts to bring this issue to the forefront of the national consciousness.

REPORT scammers!  This problem is not going away unless we make it go away and there's nothing like a history of willful disregard to make future charges stick.  Make sure we've got that history.

EDUCATE the public.  Talk to your customers and your friends and your mailman and your Grandma. Bring it up at the game and at the backyard BBQ.  Think about all those folks who always want your Professional Advice for Free - have you got a deal for them!

COMMISERATE with your peers.  No matter how futile it feels, if we combine our voices we will make a cacophonous racket!  There are literally more of us than there are of them by a factor of hundreds-if-not-thousands; we need only stand together to be heard.

And what better place to commiserate and stand together with your fellow locksmith than the monthly meeting of your local association?  The MN Chapter of ALOA meets the first Wednesday of every month, September through June at Grumpy's Bar in Roseville.  Details here.

You do not have to be a member of the chapter to attend up to 2 meetings a year.

You do not have to be sponsored or RSVP to attend a meeting.

April Meeting Minutes

Click to view April Meeting Minutes 

April Meeting Summary

Spring is struggling to convince us of its honorable intentions here in Minnesota but locksmiths continue to emerge from hibernation in growing numbers in spite of being disappointed time and time again.  We had an attendance of more than 20 regular members at the April meeting - our first in the new location at Grumpy's in Roseville.

The new meeting site is very nice - the room is agreeable and quiet, we have what amounts to private restrooms and bar right down the hall, and there is an elevator so even though we are in the basement, it's not much of a liability.  Plus, the fish & chips is out of this world.

Dinner is a flat $15 for anything (Juicy Lucy, Veggie Burger, Fish & Chips... there was something else, but I've forgotten it) - but there was a coupon on in the Locksmith Guild newsletter this month, so keep your eye out, they may do it again.

We were very pleased to welcome Gene and Maita Simon for the education portion of the evening.  Gene is the Hardware Specialist and represents Major Manufacturing, LAB, and JET Hardware - on this particular evening he presented the latest and greatest from Major Manufacturing.

Full education recap below the page break.

April 2 Meeting moved to Grumpy's in Roseville

The monthly meetings have been moved to 

Grumpy's in Roseville.

The reason for this move is that our previous location was a little loud and not great for meetings or presentations and due to major adjacent construction it is about to get hard to get to and much harder to park at.

Please spread the word to everyone you know who may attend - the next meeting (and all meetings for the indefinite future) will be at Grumpy's, 2801 Snelling Ave, Roseville, MN 55113.

Same meeting schedule - I think - show up between 5:30 pm and 7 pm for dinner and social, meeting at 7 and education speaker at 8.

**Edited 3-25 - corrected Grumpy's street address to 2801**

March Meeting Overview

What a great crowd we had at the March meeting!  Between the presence of daylight and the lack of freezing precipitation, the membership was out in force!

We had really nice recaps from Rosemarie on the banquet - which went fantastically well - and from Dana on the Education weekend, also a great success.  We also had elections - and here, I apologize, I don't know what came over me, but I wasn't taking notes.

So take the following with a grain of salt, but I believe it shook down thusly for the 2014-2015 terms (election results and more below the page break):

January Meeting Minutes and Summary

January Meeting Minutes

The January meeting was great!  It was above zero when we got there, and only 6 below when we left - what a delight!  It was a particular pleasure to see the Fullers from USA Central Station and also Mr Fuchs from the same, as well as Ken Stemig from ELR - plus the regular regulars and special guest speaker Brian Johnson from Security Sales Group!

Brian really delivered on the education with a fast-paced, content heavy review of the latest HES strikes, Adams Rite (two-way latches OMG!) and Securitron (wireless power transfer - not even kidding).

The next meeting will be Wednesday, February 5 when we welcome Dan Johnson from Compex.

Next Meeting January 8, 2014

Regular meetings are generally held the first Wednesday of every month - but not if it's New Year's Day!

So mark your calendars - Wednesday, January 8 at O'Gara's in St Paul.

Our education presenter will be Brian Johnson, topic yet to be determined.

December 2013 Meeting Overview

Last night's meeting was a real treat for a select few!  It was great to see Brad, Denny, Kathy, Dana, Alan, Pat, Sandy, Bob from USA Central Station, special guest Nate from Allegion and ....drum roll ... what a suprise to be joined by Gene from Lab, Major & Jet!

Which - the latter takes the prize for long-distance haul seeing as he's in from Chicago.  Wow!

The meeting was conducted at even more blinding speed than usual due to the lack of attendance - which, just to be straight - if you didn't make it (and, statistically speaking, you did not) - no one is going to judge you poorly.  It was just brutal out there.  The folks who did make it were most certainly intrepid, committed, and skilled at winter vehicle navigation, hear, hear! But we also maybe suffered a touch of poor risk assessment.

More after the break - including the education summary from Nate Spitz with ALLEGION (what?):

Meeting tonight! That's right, even with the weather!

I'm leaving now - and I've heard one other person promise to attempt.

We're in the back room this time, so if you don't see the usual suspects in the usual spot, keep looking!

*Click here for location and details*

Nate Spitz is on the schedule to present updates from Ingersoll Rand Allegion for the education portion of the meeting.  

November meeting re-cap and minutes

The November meeting was modestly attended - in particular we missed our regular Sargent at Arms as well as our Hospitality Chair - our waitress, Deb, specifically inquired after the "cookie lady" so just so you know, Rosemarie, you are a little bit famous now.

The meeting was brief but effective and, in keeping with the previously noted trend, uncontentious. 

Matters of note:

Dana only has 2 people signed up for the Education weekend. There's going to be an introductory masterkey class and an in-depth safe certification prep class - but only if we get participants. The registration forms are on the website (click the tab above for the Learning Curve).

Mike Sullivan may organize another prison tour at Oak Park Heights. There's no date yet as interest is still being guaged so if you think you would like to attend let us know (for now you can drop a line to mnaloa(at)gmail).  This is a rare opportunity to see detention hardware in the field and learn about the job of a locksmith at a supermax prison facility.  In the past the tour has been conducted on a Saturday and pre-registration is required (you must supply your name, birthdate and drivers license number).

The education presentation was very good, as usual, with Mark Lundblad delivering quite a lot of information very efficiently - summarized below the break.

Reminder! Meeting this Wednesday, November 6, 6 pm, O'Gara's Bar & Grill, St Paul, MN

*Particulars*

Come to the meeting!  Stay for the education!  Mark Lundblad is doing a slide show presentation on antique lock tools (and will probably have a few actual items on hand).  It's going to be great!