Cain, Pluretti and Sarnese Named 2022 Campus Safety Directors of the Year
The Director of the Year winners were announced at the 2022 Campus Safety Conference East in Rockville, Maryland.
The 2022 Campus Safety Director of the Year winners, runner up, and finalists were honored today at the Campus Safety Conference (CSC), held at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Rockville, Maryland.
Higher Education Director of the Year Anthony Pluretti
The winner of the K-12/school district division is Allen Cain, director of safety and security for Gilbert Public Schools in Gilbert, Arizona. Paul Sarnese, assistant vice president of environmental services, security, and safety for Virtua Health in Marlton, New Jersey, came out on top in the healthcare/hospital division, while Anthony Pluretti, executive director of campus safety at Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania, is the winner of the higher education sector.
Additionally, there was a runner-up in the hospital division: Randy Kolentus, chief of police at Reid Health in Richmond, Indiana.
During the awards ceremony, Campus Safety Editor-in-Chief Robin Hattersley commented how the roles fulfilled by campus public safety, security, and emergency management executives have never been more critical in today’s world, referring to recent school shooting tragedies, workplace violence incidents, and pandemic recovery efforts.
“Your roles as security, emergency management, and law enforcement administrators are vital to campuses effectively preventing, responding to, mitigating, and recovering from these challenges,” Hattersley said. “So whether or not you participated in this year’s Director of the Year program, I want to thank all of you for all that you do. Your jobs are incredibly difficult, whether you protect a small, rural elementary school, a mid-sized, suburban hospital, or a large urban university.”
K-12 Director of the Year Allen Cain
As always, the achievements of this year’s Director of the Year winners, runner-up, and finalists were extremely impressive, creating a nearly impossible task for the judges.
For instance, at Widener University, Pluretti spearheaded a motivational leadership model that encourages employees to assess their own personal goals and career trajectories.
Cain partnered with Gilbert Public School’s operational department to construct secure entryways at six district schools.
And, not to be outdone, Sarnese and his team at Virtua Health provided medical care and additional support to more than 1,000 refugees from Afghanistan.
These are just some examples of the abundant and admirable accomplishments achieved by this year’s winners.
Healthcare Director of the Year Paul Sarnese
The Director of the Year entries were judged by a distinguished panel of healthcare, higher education and school security, public safety and emergency management experts who reviewed pages upon pages of nomination materials. The judges included Idaho Office of School Safety and Security Analyst Guy Bliesner, Safety Advisors for Educational Campuses President S. Daniel Carter, Northern Virginia Community College Chief of Police Daniel Dusseau, La Salle University Assistant Vice President of Public Safety Dr. Amanda Guthorn, Campus Safety Senior Editor Amy Rock, Safeguard Risk Solutions CEO & President Gary Sigrist Jr., hospital security consultant Tom Smith, Charles County Public Schools Director of School Safety and Security Jason Stoddard, and Allied Universal Vice President of Healthcare Lisa Terry.
Do you know someone who would be a fantastic candidate for this award program? CS will begin accepting nominations for next year’s program this fall, so keep an eye out!
Congratulations again to our winners, runner-up, finalists, and their departments!
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