It may not be the equivalent of the NCAA tournament, but March has been an exciting month for the Loss Prevention Foundation and an industry hungry for certification. It's been clear throughout the beginning of 2011 that certification has continued to build on a groundswell of momentum. The most exciting part of this rapidly growing initiative is the difference it makes in the lives of loss prevention professionals. Consider the following examples.

Scholarship Winners

The LP professionals shown in the box below have made a commitment to advancing their careers through obtaining certification and have been awarded scholarships by Vector Security.

The Foundation is very fortunate to have such a valuable partner in Vector Security. They administer and promote one of the most popular scholarship programs in the industry, all for the continued education of individual loss prevention practitioners.

We applaud the Vector team for having the vision to help provide quality education to our profession through supporting the LPQualified and LPCertified certification programs.

FMI Promotes Certification

The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) asset protection conference held in Orlando in March was the best FMI conference we have attended. Congratulations to Rhett Asher and his team for raising the bar in terms of quality education and valuable networking opportunities.

For anyone in attendance, there was no doubt of FMI's commitment for providing educational offerings through certification. FMI provided an LPC scholarship with fellow Foundation partners Stanley Security, eBay, InstaKey, and LexisNexis. The following individuals received scholarships at the conference:

• Maureen Fuller, Big Y Foods
• Ron Holliday, Giant Eagle
• Tim Hopson, Hy-Vee
• Lloyd Fry, Sobeys
• Tim Bartkowiak, Spartan Stores
• Betty Kraus, Schnucks

It's been clear throughout the beginning of 2011 that certification has continued to build on a groundswell of momentum.

Staples National LP Meeting

Staples led the industry last year in becoming the first retailer to have the LPQ and LPC certifications approved under their tuition-assistance program. This year they piloted a day of education in conjunction with their national LP meeting held in Orlando by blending the LPC content into two sessions. The first session was dedicated to personal development while the second session discussed building and leveraging partnerships.

These sessions, supported by the Foundation, as well as their conference counted toward CEUs for LPC-certified professionals. Foundation partners Bass Security, eBay, Security Resources, and LexisNexis also supported the Staples meeting by providing LPC scholarships.

Vector Security Scholarship Winners

LPC Scholarships

Ken Parsons, Dick's Sporting Goods

Keith Weiner

Thaddeus Hugues, Fred Meyer

Kathy Wood, Kohl's

John Watson, Lowe's Companies

Marcus Collins, Lowe's Companies

Martha Skokowski, Luxottica Retail

Amy Stephens, Macy's

John Reid, Michaels Stores

Brian Clark, Sears

Tiffany O'Brien, Staples

Louis Senecal, The Zellman Group

Monty Whitlow

Sal D'Amico, Walgreens

Laura Guerry, Walmart

LPQ Scholarships

Brad Johnson, Cabela's

Lucio Botello, CVS/pharmacy

Casey Alexander, Gordman's

Neil Jones, Lowe's Companies

Tyson Robertson, Marshalls

Jose Mendoza, Michaels Stores

Mike Otten, Panera Bread

Deborah Giordano, Pep Boys

Andrew Diamond, Publix

Renaldo Johnson

Tom Chason

Kenneth Williams, Walmart

Patrick Foy, J.D. Maurer & Associates

Brandon Mathews, Sears

Cameron Hess, Belk