A Secure Holiday

With Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror, we have the end-of-year holidays coming up, including Christmas and New Year’s. Many families travel during that time. Many businesses shut their doors to give employees extra vacation.

That brings up the question of who’s minding the store while you’re away. Which brings up H&S Protection and the security we offer your home or business.

To secure your holiday, you want peace of mind that if something goes wrong, you’ll be alerted. You also want assurance that your property is effectively protected to deter a potential break-in or other mischievous activity.

Our technology and customer support give you that peace of mind. With H&S, you know you are getting a family-run company that has been in business for close to 65 years, serving all of Wisconsin. People know us locally. Our employees are involved in the community. You’ll find useful information on our website to get a fuller sense of the benefits we provide every customer.

So, if you’re traveling this winter and have any concerns about protecting your home or business, please reach out and we will send a representative to meet with you and address your concerns.

In central Wisconsin, call 715.344.0727. In southeast Wisconsin, call 262.574.7777.

Telecomm Experience Proves Useful for Shan Gao at H&S

Before joining H&S Protection, Shan Gao accumulated 15 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, excelling in data management, project management, and related functions. Currently, at H&S, Shan is responsible for operations data analysis and audit-related tasks.

Shan initially started as an intern at H&S during her MBA program. After graduating, she seamlessly transitioned to be an employee of H&S. As someone with an international background, Shan deeply appreciates the inclusivity and the family-like atmosphere at H&S.

“This is a company with a long reputable history, where every employee feels respected, and the company genuinely cares about each individual’s needs and growth,” Shan emphasized. She believes employee satisfaction directly impacts customer satisfaction, which she sees as the key to H&S’s years of success and industry leadership.

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Shan resides in Stevens Point with her husband, a sociology associate professor at UWSP, and their five-year-old daughter. They have a strong affinity for this beautiful and friendly community.

Shan’s passion for continuous learning is evident in her commitment to expanding her knowledge and skill base. In her spare time, Shan’s family enjoys hiking and camping in the forests and takes pride in the natural beauty of the region.

Your Home

Many of our posts cover our security offerings for business settings. H&S provides the technology, service and support for all your business needs. We would be remiss though if we didn’t remind current and potential customers that we also serve the homeowner market with the same focus, energy and products.

Given our history of service throughout central and southeast Wisconsin over the past 64 years, we have grown and developed to meet the demands of today’s home customers. Initially, in 1959, we started selling fire extinguishers, then moved into providing fire suppression equipment to restaurants.

By the mid-1990s, we began focusing exclusively on security, both residential and commercial. Entry/exit alarms, door sensors and glass breaks, along with 24/7 monitoring of homes were offered to meet the needs of homeowners. But we didn’t stop there.

As the market has evolved for electronic security and home services, we too have evolved. Connectivity is key. The smart phone is crucial to packages for homeowners today, as they appreciate running systems from their handheld devices.

That led us to partner with Alarm.com, which expanded the features we could offer to homes (and businesses). Setting an alarm remotely, turning the temperature in your home up or down when you are away on vacation or making sure a light comes on when you come home late from work are all functions you can use from your fingertips on your smart phone. That’s delivering what today’s homeowners seek from a full-service security company.

We’re proud to serve all your home security needs, as well as business. If you would like to speak to a member of our sales staff please reach us in central Wisconsin at 715.344.0727 or southeast Wisconsin at 262.574.7777.

Ally Horgan Continues Family Tradition at H&S

Ally Horgan followed in multiple family footsteps when she joined H&S Protection earlier this year. Her father, Mike, is the owner, and her brother David works in our Stevens Point office. Beyond that, the Horgan family has deeper roots, which include her grandpa Ed and great grandpa Dave. Ally joined the H&S team in our Pewaukee office this past June.

Before working at H&S, Ally was completing her undergraduate degree– receiving her bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in December 2022. For the majority of her undergraduate days, she waitressed at a few restaurants throughout the Milwaukee area, and worked as a Marketing and Events Coordinator through an internship and in her acapella group on campus.

“After graduating, I became a home improvement client representative for a local marketing agency. I was looking for more of a marketing role — this was more of a sales role. At the time, sales was not something I saw myself pursuing, but once the nerves subsided, I started to grow fond of it. I always enjoyed talking to new people and being a problem solver for them. Every day was different in the field and I loved it,” Ally observed.

“I think the love for helping people and the use of critical thinking is what influenced my decision to start working at H&S,” she said.

As a Security Consultant with H&S, Ally sees herself as an educator, problem-solver, and a trustworthy connection. “To put it simply, I find and assist business/homeowners with their specific security needs,” she said.

Ally is the third child out of the four Horgan siblings: David, Emily, Ally, and Maya. She is the daughter of Mike and Lori Horgan, and the granddaughter of Ed and Myrna Horgan.

Ally spends her spare time with close friends and loved ones – which usually involves game nights, movie nights, or (occasionally) bar karaoke. “I also enjoy cooking, singing/playing the ukulele or piano, photography, and knitting,” she said.

Ally can be reached in our Pewaukee office at 262.574.7777, or by email at [email protected].

Loss Prevention Continues in Aaron Akey’s Career

Having worked in loss prevention in the retail arena for six years, when Aaron Akey joined H&S Protection he was able to continue down the path of helping to protect customers’ assets. Before joining H&S, Aaron’s job focused on catching shoplifters, investigating fraud and safety issues.

He found out about H&S on an Indeed job posting. After his retail position, “I was curious how the physical side of security and alarms worked,” he said. At H&S, Aaron serves as an Installation Technician, installing and servicing camera and alarm systems in businesses and residential homes.

Aaron’s fiancé is Cailey, and the two have plans to be married in October 2024. They have a six-year-old daughter, Abby.

In his spare time, “I like spending time with friends and family. I enjoy movies, video games and watching football,” he said.

“H&S is a good place to work. You learn a lot and work with good people,” Aaron observed.

“My favorite thing about H&S is the flexibility and understanding when family stuff comes up and that everyone has a life outside of work. I also really like having holidays off to spend with friends and family. I haven’t been able to enjoy that for a long time,” he said.

You may reach Aaron at [email protected] or by calling 262.574.7777.

Golf Course Destruction

When you think about destruction of golf courses, you probably usually consider bad golfers hacking huge hunks of turf with their clubs, while their ball flies into the woods. There’s another destruction though – vandals who stupidly think it’s funny to drive their cars onto the course at night and spin their wheels to churn up grass and mud. Sadly, this happens.

This past year, two courses we know of in Southeast Wisconsin were hit by these types of nincompoops. One had to close down while repairs were made. The other closed the damaged holes, but kept the rest of the course open, so golfers played 14 holes rather than 18.

These vandals damage property, the business, and, of course, the golfers themselves who don’t get the experience they were looking for when they show up to find the course limited or completely closed.

While security cameras are no guarantee in preventing these types of incidents, they are an important deterrent, and one H&S Protection recommends to golf course owners and operators. Strategically placed cameras WITH signs announcing that cameras are on the premises recording activities helps deter bad behavior.

If deterrence doesn’t stop the property destruction, you have video to go back and review to identify the car and use that information to inform and help the police find the individual(s) responsible. Golf courses cover large land masses, so properly installing and aligning the placement and angles to ensure the best possible coverage for your course is very important. H&S has the experience and knowledge to work with you to ensure high effectiveness.

We hate seeing property destruction of any kind. If we can help you protect your grounds and buildings, give us a call in Southeast Wisconsin at 262.574.7777 or Central Wisconsin at 715.344.0727.

What’s in a Trade Show?

What’s in a trade show for you – our customers – when it comes to our participation? A lot.

When you work with H&S Protection, you expect professionalism. You want the best and most up-to-date technology installed. Top-trained technicians are important to you. The Wisconsin Security Association (WISA) trade show held in Oconomowoc — which we attended in July – provides our company with all of these things and more.

We send as much of our team as possible (while still keeping the trains running on time in our Stevens Point and Pewaukee offices) so they can experience what other businesses are doing, meet with vendors, test technology and take training courses. That experience adds an edge that H&S in turn supplies to you when we visit your home and business.

One of the biggest take-aways from attending the WISA trade show is our ability to meet suppliers and vendors face-to-face to ask questions and get to know them better. How does this benefit the customer? When our employees become stronger experts in understanding products, that translates into better installations and service for you. Fewer mistakes. Installations better tailored to your needs.

It’s easy to wave your hand and pooh-pooh attendance at an industry trade show, as if there are no benefits. We disagree, and believe it’s important for our team to attend because what we learn and the expertise we gain flows down to our customers. That makes us more customer-oriented, connected to our suppliers, and knowledgeable.  It makes us a better company.

Give us a call to learn more at 715.344.0727 in central Wisconsin or 262.574.7777 in our southeastern Wisconsin service area.

Our Drivers, Your Safety

For anyone seeking a security company to hire, you probably don’t think about the driving records of the individuals working at that company. You might look up reviews of the business on Google or talk to friends and closely examine the web site to make your decision on who you hire to service your home or business.

All those are valid and good ways to go about choosing a security company you can trust. Here at H&S Protection, one additional factor that we bring to the table for you is safe driving. Newly hired technicians must demonstrate a safe driving record before we make a hire at H&S.

That may not seem like a big deal or a differentiator for a potential customer. But, we believe it’s one more extra step that we take to ensure our team operates in ways that protect others and themselves. That benefits you on the job site, and also contributes to better driving in your community, which is a plus for everyone.

Our safe driving is important to you and your family. Obeying red lights and stop signs, staying within the speed limit and not taking undue driving risks are all ways that our safety standards affect the communities we serve in a positive way.

We believe it is important to make a good impact through how we operate our business. That’s not always a tangible outcome that people can “see.” We believe it is important for our potential and current customers to know that we take extra steps – like reinforcing safe driving – to make their community safer, not just from theft, but also from a pedestrian and car safety standpoint.

Protect Those Golf Clubs

We heard this story recently about a friend of one of our employees who had his golf clubs (probably valued at $2,000+) stolen from his garage. As you might expect, his garage door was open. Our H&S self-evident tip of the week is to keep you garage door shut if you’re not around in your yard to observe.

What happened was this: the owner left to drive his daughter to school, something he’d done the entire school year. He would only be gone for 5-6 minutes. The school was just down the street.

What likely happened: two adolescents (or perhaps someone older) had driven his block during this time period and realized the garage was left open daily for a few minutes while the father drove the daughter to school. A moment of opportunity. A brazen teenager (or more seasoned crook) seizes the moment on a dare or to steal something he can fence later.

Regardless of the motive or the type of thief, the result was a disappearing set of golf clubs that could have been prevented. Beyond our simple tip above, you also may want to consider a camera system or video doorbell to protect your home from these types of invasions. We can set a system up that not only protects your driveway, but can also cover the street and maybe even help your neighborhood as well.

We have all the technology you need to keep your home protected. You don’t know when a crime of opportunity could occur in your neighborhood. But, you can make the theft much more difficult, which is a BIG STEP towards prevention of the crime.

Give us a call if you’d like to speak with an H&S representative about your home or business. In central Wisconsin, call 715.344.0727. In southeast Wisconsin, call 262.574.7777.

Highway Cleanup 2023

We recently completed our annual highway cleanup outside Stevens Point. H&S adopted a two-mile stretch of Rt. 66 between Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids 20 years ago. It may seem like a small thing, but it’s big to us.

As a company focused on the communities we serve, we believe having roadways looking pristine and green is important, both aesthetically and in terms of keeping trash out of our waterways, trees and bushes. Those plastic bags you see flapping in the wind in trees or shrubs won’t be an issue along OUR stretch of highway. That’s important.

Each year as we work together filling bags with the discards of our society, we also get that feeling of camaraderie with our team. We catch up on each other’s lives. We hear about family issues, tell jokes and hear stories. Connecting with each other is good for us, and it also helps us be better providers because our team members know and support each other. That enhances our service to customers.

This year, 15 team members participated in our cleanup, including two who traveled from our Pewaukee office. We have to maintain staff answering phones and handling any critically timely issues, so not everyone can participate in any given year, but we work to ensure that everyone who wants to do their part in keeping Wisconsin’s roads trash-free get that opportunity. We hope our efforts inspire others to adopt a road for cleanup. Our roads and environment deserve this extra care.