Awards Abound at the ASC’s Annual Dinner
The Associate of Security Consultants welcomed members and guests to the House of Lords last week to stage the presentation of a number of prestigious awards to security professionals and academics. The ASC’s Annual Dinner, hosted by Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate OBE, was the organisation's first official function to take place since 2019. Together with the Association's Chair, Joe Connell, Lord Mackenzie presented the awards to winners and finalists.
The first was to University of Glasgow graduate, Agniete Pocyte, who managed to secure the Imbert Prize 2020 for her master’s dissertation entitled, 'From Russia with Fear. Sentiment Analysis of Russian Disinformation.’ The Imbert Prize is awarded annually to the best master’s dissertation on a security-related subject and is fiercely competed by universities from across the UK. In memory of the ASC former patron, Lord Imbert, Ms Pocyte was handed a commemorative plaque along with a £500 cash prize.
This year saw two runners up additionally selected – Shawna Sinnott, a student at the University of St Andrews and Phillip Larratt from the University of Portsmouth. The late Lord Imbert was represented at the event by his son Simon Imbert who is a long-term member of the ASC. As well as the Imbert Prize two other security professionals were recognised for their expertise within the security arena. Each year the ASC awards the Mike Cahalane Award to an independent security consultant for consultancy work which differentiates them from their cohorts. Mike Cahalane was one of the consultants who originally founded the ASC and the 2020 award went to Richard Sumner of RS Security and the runner up award to Nick Johnson. Both received an ASC certificate, a year’s membership to the ASC as well as a complimentary ticket to the next Awards dinner at the House of Lords.
ASC Chair, Joe Connell, said of the event; “We’ve waited an incredibly long time to be together again in person and, whilst we will always be mindful of those who have suffered over the last 18 months, we also look to the future and recognise those who have continued to keep security front and centre to keep all of us safe. “The awards presented recognise those who have gone above and beyond in this sector to ensure that we have credible and trusted voices and individuals at a time when it has never been so imperative.”
+ Pictured is Richard Sumner of RS Security, celebrating his award at the House of Lords with fellow security professional, Steven Kenny of Axis Communications