From the military to law enforcement to private security, this ASIS board-certified member and volunteer leader boasts a career that has spanned 30 years in security management. Jim McGuffey, CPP, PCI, PSP, is the sole proprietor of A.C.E. Security Consultants, LLC, a position he has held for the past five years.
McGuffey recently founded a new ASIS chapter in his area. “We now have 33 members and my plan is to exceed 100 members by the middle of 2014.” A secondary goal for McGuffey is to establish a program through which members can provide, at no cost, risk assessments to local houses of worship. “This is good for the chapter and most of all for the community in which we live, work, and worship.”
McGuffey joined ASIS in 1981. “ASIS was instrumental in helping me transition from law enforcement into security management.” He credits the Protection of Assets Manual and Security Management with helping him gain the knowledge he needed to establish his career in the private sector.
In addition into his extensive volunteer work with churches to improve their security, McGuffey is passionate about teaching others how to avoid security risks. He had the opportunity to join a team of experienced security professionals on an assignment in the Middle East where they trained various police agencies how to protect their vital infrastructure from terrorists. “During my career working in security management, I have enjoyed many aspects of the profession, but I have most enjoyed working with and training front-line people,” he says.
McGuffey strongly believes that his ASIS board certifications have distinguished his competence and aided him in gaining security work, and he values the knowledge he acquired during the years of preparing for and obtaining all three ASIS certifications. “I had the experience and the education, but so did thousands of other professionals transitioning out of law enforcement or the military,” observed McGuffey. “I decided that obtaining all three certifications would set me apart in the profession.”
McGuffey set a goal of earning one certification a year over the course of a three-year period. He surpassed his goal, earning all three in two years, and is now one of only 70 security professionals worldwide to hold all three ASIS board certifications.
The field of security management is one that McGuffey would recommend to others without hesitation, noting, “It is a profession to be proud of and the benefits to companies, communities, our country, and the world are immense as it relates to protecting assets. We can make a real difference.”
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