During ESX 2025, John Loud, long-time industry professional and ESA volunteer, accepted ESA’s Morris F. Weinstock Person of the Year Award — the association’s most prestigious honor. Here’s what he had to say…

[Full Video Of Speech Available Below]

Thank you all very much. I certainly have several things I’d like to share, but before I share that, have you guys all had the opportunity to tell Kevin Stone, Happy birthday yet? Please, before, don’t let the day go by before we don’t get the time to say, Happy birthday, Kevin Stone, Mr. Chairman. Happy birthday, Kevin.  

It’s such an honor to serve. When I’ve had the opportunity to get my business going right at 30 years ago now, June 27th of 1995 is when I started the business and never could imagine that we would have the team that we’ve been able to build, to build the community we have here locally, to build a community on a national level. It’s with absolute utmost gratitude to create the partnerships that started to bring me in the industry and adopted me and allowed me to have the opportunities to serve and give back to an industry that has done so much for me, my team and my community along the way. I was 10 years in when the first alert folks in Resideo knocked on my door and said, hey, we have this program when you can listen and learn and hear from each other’s and develop. It’s pretty amazing of what my first 10 years in the business versus the next 10 and continued there on. With partnerships like that, with DMP and executive round tables, it is remarkable to see what we can do where we listen and learn. 

But it’s organizations like our state associations and like an ESA. For ESA to have programs like the executive management professionals where we get to volunteer our time but be able to listen and learn from so many remarkable folks. But to watch the leadership of what each and every one of you guys done before me, We realized some folks are in the audience just like I was, John Knox, while you were President, while Marshall, you were President for a while, to watch the leadership that each one of you did that allowed companies like mine to come together for an ESX. George DeMarco, huge thank you for the years you’ve served to be able to put things like this together. I was just at D&P’s 50th anniversary gathering the other day, and Rick Britten said this, and it just resonated so well.

You don’t have to be wealthy to be generous. You don’t to be wealthy to be generous. When it’s that time that so many of those behind me and so many of you in this audience have generously have given of your time, your insights, your thoughts, it just empowers me in ways to listen, learn, and try different things. 

We know we’re a unique industry, and even the folks that are gathering this room to take the time away from your business to come and share some of the best practices. Look, we’ve listened and learned and tried things, and certainly they’ve failed, but we’ve had a lot of tremendous successes, which where we continue to go and grow. We realize that 30 years, we’re as small as we’re ever going to be right now. But another term that I learned years ago, it’s called civic rent. As much as we invest in ESA, and some of us take time to volunteer on the committees and are engaged different ways, but that civic rent that all the members that contribute to organizations like TMA and ESA for the last 75 years to TMA, congratulations.

The last 77 years of ESA is incredible because the folks that are not even on the stage with us today that paved the path for us all to have the steps from the involvement on a national level, a federal level, to be able to guide our industry to the best. I’m just honored and so appreciative of the opportunities to get seats at those tables, to have a say, to listen and learn and help us together navigate.

I will never forget reaching out to ACOM and others in our state when we had some state legislative challenges that may be not just about my neighborhood, but affect us on a national level, which is where partnership with Stan and Seat becomes so important. Scott said it so very well that together we’re all stronger. To get a recognition like this, I certainly have got to recognize my team, Brad and Eric and Diane and others with loud security systems, would you guys please stand. I know sometimes you guys are so glad that they let me volunteer. To give you an example, at this year, 30 years, Eric has been with us 23 of the 30 years. Brad came out of high school as an apprentice. He’s been running our operations team for many years, celebrating 19 years. Diane, our controller, has been there 22 years.

We have such a great team, but it’s because of that that I get to seize the opportunities to be involved in our communities and then ultimately be recognized for something like this incredible award in such an honor. So, thank you to the Weinstock families, those leaders that together put an organization like NBFAA and ESA together, because for all of us, we certainly benefit the richness and the benefits of not only what they did, but these leaders on our current board and what the future will be like. 

But thank you so very much for this honor. It’s incredibly humbling. Without the support of my son, my daughter, Holly, right there. I do want to shine the light on one last person here, Darryl, a buddy of mine from high school, is the only person in the room that knew me before loud security systems ever even was involved. Darryl came down from New Hampshire, heard about this, and Darryl was one of my installers. He and I were installing together doing circuit city stores until 3: 00 in the morning and figuring all this out. But an honor to have you guys here. Thank you all so very much.