School Safety Wins: Recognizing Scott Lord and Chuck Wilson

We could not be more gratified to announce special recognition of two of our most dedicated volunteer leaders: Partnership Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) founding members Scott Lord, our 2025 Volunteer of the Year, and Chuck Wilson, SSI magazine’s 2025 Industry Hall of Fame inductee.

Ask either man about his own recognition, and he’ll proceed to glow about the other. While neither craves the spotlight, both are happy to shine a light on the mission of school safety and the incredible work of all those invested in advancing the cause. And that’s why it’s so important for us to document and share this recognition – not for them, but for all the kids and families they work tirelessly to keep safe. 

Scott Lord Receives 2025 PASS Volunteer of the Year Award

We surprised our own Scott Lord with the 2025 PASS Volunteer of the Year Award during our Town Hall at the International Security Conference & Exposition (ISC) West. 

Scott has been in the safety industry for over 25 years. Currently a solutions consultant for Electronic Contracting Company (ECC), Scott helped found PASS in 2014 and has continued to contribute actively ever since. He currently serves on the Advisory Council as co-chair of the Technical Committee. He’s dedicated his life to using his expertise to keep people safe, and this award is a testament to Scott’s hard work in enhancing school safety. 

PASS introduced the Volunteer Award at the 2024 Town Hall, in honor of the organization’s 10-year anniversary, to recognize the volunteer who exemplifies what all volunteers do. The 2024 Award went to Mark Williams, a past PASS chair, who retired from his career to volunteer with PASS full time. Recognizing the relentless efforts of our volunteers and their leadership through service is essential because without them, PASS wouldn’t exist. There are no full-time employees. It’s all volunteer work done with immense dedication, commitment, and passion to promote our mission and vision of school safety. 

“The fact that Scott was absolutely surprised to receive the award tells you everything about why he deserves it,” shared Chuck Wilson. “He was convinced that it was one of the others at his table, and it could have been. But Scott has been right here with us since the beginning, over a decade, figuring out how to get things done and make things happen to develop a culture and practice of school safety. Scott likes to talk about volunteers having an ‘attitude of servitude’ and he models that daily.”

On receiving the recognition, Scott replied simply, “It’s the highlight of my career, but it’s a little embarrassing. It’s not about me. To work with such amazing people who have the same vision — being able to recognize all volunteers — that’s really what it’s all about. We don’t do this to pin a badge – we do it because it’s important. This is what we all believe in our hearts. I just want to try to help in any way I can to keep our kids safe in schools.”

Chuck Wilson Named to SSI 2025 Industry Hall of Fame 

We are also thrilled to celebrate the great news that Security Sales & Integration (SSI) magazine named Chuck Wilson, our co-founder and vice chair, and National Systems Contractors Association (NSCA) CEO emeritus, to the publication’s Industry Hall of Fame Class of 2025. If you know Chuck at all, this news should come as no surprise. 

Chuck has led PASS for over a decade as an outstanding advocate for secure schools, applying his influential leadership and dedication to enhancing school safety. No stranger to recognition, he is a published author and recipient of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) Technical Commendation Award, as well as other industry awards for his volunteer work.

SSI instituted the Industry Hall of Fame in 2004 “to celebrate the highest achievers and the legends … to spotlight those whose imprint on the security industry is indelible and will never be forgotten. Over the years, [they] have inducted 125-plus remarkable individuals into this esteemed group.” Along with Chuck, SSI honored Christine Lanning, Tracy Larson, Pierre Racz, and Donna Soloway as 2025 honorees. Congratulations and thanks to Chuck and the rest of this year’s honorees for your incredible contributions.

The SSI publication cited an impressive list of reasons for naming Chuck to the 2025 Industry Hall of Fame Class. From his extensive work in systems integration planning, hundreds of presentations, and dozens of publications, to his service on code-making panels, previous industry recognition, and a decade with PASS, Chuck has made an incredible impact on the security industry and school safety. 

“Chuck’s recognition is well-deserved. He’s been a mentor of mine since I started in the industry, and PASS wouldn’t exist without him,” Scott Lord emphasizes. “There are hundreds of people out there who have a story about how Chuck changed their life, career, and/or industry. In his first year of retirement, he has worked harder than ever, doing it the right way for the right reasons and bringing a unique approach to ensuring that the industry is educated. He’s on the Mt. Rushmore of the security industry!” 

Among other nuggets of wisdom, impressive contributions, and fun facts, Chuck shared his “Hall of Fame Legacy” in his recent profile on SSI, offering, “I hope that I can make a positive difference in school safety by having the PASS guidelines and resources be used in every school district in America. The dream is to have the technology roadmap we created used as the baseline standard for how schools are built, policies are developed, and training is conducted. I’d like to see every state adopt this layered security concept and ensure that all students and faculty can feel safe at school again.”

The Award Is Not the Reward: Being Part of the Safer Schools Solution Is

It’s easy to see why these two champions are receiving recognition and why they have worked so well together for the good of the cause over many years. Congratulations to Chuck, Scott, and all of the phenomenal PASS volunteers working to make schools and kids safer through improved security, preparation, and best practices.

If you’re interested in learning more and/or joining our school safety mission, contact us, and we’ll find the right way for you to get involved. 

About PASS

The Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) bringing together expertise from the education, public safety, and industry communities to develop and support a coordinated approach to making effective and appropriate decisions with respect to safety and security investments. You can download the complete PASS Guidelines here, or check out our PASS Safety and Security Checklist for quick tips on how to get started.  These resources—as well as white papers on various topics including barricade devices, lockdown drills, and more—are available at no cost.