BOMA Southern Connecticut has had a busy year so far with many informative and educational meetings as well as a few social events. With the August lull over and school systems now in full session, I hope that everyone had an enjoyable summer. As building owners and property managers, we now have pre-planning stages for the coming fall season and our always unpredictable northeast winter.
As September is National Preparedness Month, BOMA SoCT in partnership with NAIOP, The Business Council of Fairfield County, Business Network of Emergency Recources, Stamford Chamber of Commerce, Stamford Downtown, and the Stamford Police Department, held a breakfast meeting on September 10th regarding the Corporate Emergency Access System (CEAS). Sponsored by and held at the Purdue Pharma Auditorium, Stamford mayor David Martin along with several other speakers gave us an informative overview including case scenarios on how the CEAS program works. As stated on their website, "CEAS is a pre-event credentialing program, which authenticates critical business employees for access to restricted areas following a disaster or serious emergency using a secure identification card recognized by the police." The program is well underway but the key factor is that municipalities need to adopt the program since the public and private sectors must all be educated on the same procedures related to safety and security. Once a local or regional emergency occurs, the individual local authorities activate the system. For the specific cities and areas already using the system or for any other information, please visit www.CEAS.com.
Coming up on October 23rd is the always very well attended, TOBY Awards Dinner which is being held at the Stamford Marriott this year. This event not only showcases local properties, owners, and manager teams that have outstanding performance as seen through the quality of their real estate, but it honors key individuals who shine in the eyes of their employers and in our organization.
BOMA Southern Connecticut is an organization of real estate excellence. As we are always looking to expand, we are calling on all the newer professionals in the business to come see what the chapter is all about through the emerging leaders committee. For more information, feel free to contact Sharon Moran or myself and check us out at www.soctboma.org.

Victor DeCicco is the president of BOMA Southern Connecticut, and is with HB Nitkin Group, Greenwich, Conn.