Dr. Earl R. Smith II visits Lamar Asssociates

Dr. Smith a proven entrepreneur, seasoned senior executive, political and social theorist, published author and speaker took time to stop by our office on Capitol Hill. A veteran of Wall Street, he founded two non-profit and six for-profit companies. He and Walter enjoyed a good long visit, which included discussion regarding the valuable and important governance and entrepreneurship training Dr. Smith can bring to Indian Country.

Dr. Smith's experience includes designing and organizing companies, business/technology management, team building, strategic alliances, negotiating complex arrangements, governance & compliance, resourcing & financing, mergers & acquisitions, management/team/board assessment, coaching and strategic and tactical planning and implementation.

While in Scotland, Strathclyde University Press published his scholarly papers. Since returning to the States, he has authored a regular column for a newsletter and a series of columns focusing on management issues, turnaround management, governance, advisory and coaching.

Here he presents Walter with his latest book Amazing Pace. The book's keynote centers with the creation of a board of advisors dedicated to driving the top line and resourcing/preparing the company to capitalize on the new "turbo-charged" business dynamic. The book also delves into the all important business capture and proposal processes of companies large and small.

To learn more about Dr. Smith please click on the title.

Head West Young Woman!

An emotional day. After nearly four years Cyndi, our Chief Operations Officer, spends her last day working in her DC office. Lucky for us she is not leaving the company only the DC office, but it was a difficult day nonetheless. Cyndi and her husband Keith are relocating to beautiful Oregon.

Lamar Associates has employees and contractors all over the United States and with Cyndi being our centerpoint - we communicate by telephone and computer and as we do, we picture Cyndi in our mind's eye setting at her desk on the second floor of the grand old place just behind the Capitol, pounding the letters off the keyboard with her two finger style (she has literally beat the letters off every keyboard she's had). Her chair rolls over the wooden floor as she works at a blinding pace; not allowing the petty distractions of the street noise, creaks of the old house, or some passing street person screaming in a psychotic rage, distract her from the task at hand. In our mind's eye we see her in the morning sun out sweeping the porch and sidewalk while checking the plants, greeting the FedEx man, and a pot of coffee brews.

We know the investigations we worked to locate American Indians for the Office of Special Trustee who were owed money had such joyous and happy outcomes that her tears are forever there, etched into the fabric of the place we call our office. We reconnected families and were even able to tell those adopted at birth who they were.

She has been known, while sitting at her desk, to sing along with Johnny Cash's Burning Ring of Fire - ouch!! She has been the professional face people first see when visiting our place on the Hill. She prepared the fare for our receptions and made sure everyone was tended to and made to feel welcome.

One only take time to read her Blog entry (see Nov posts) the day after the national election to know what DC has meant to her and to learn that her presence left ripples even in the most powerful city in the world.

We will adjust to the change and wish Keith and Cyndi the best in their new surroundings - good things for good people.

BIA Office of Justice Services

While visiting the National Sheriff's Association (NSA) Winter Conference in Washington, Walter had an opportunity to attend the Indian Affairs Committee and listened in as John Harte, Policy Director, Senate Committee on Indian Affairs discussed the Law and Order Bill sponsored by Senator Dorgan, and the current Stimulus Package. Both hold significant promise for Indian Country public safety, and will require us all to follow closely and offer informed input at critical junctures.

Walter is pictured here with his former colleagues from the BIA Office of Justice Services. The group pictured represent the top management of the organization. Pictured left to right, Bill McClure - Acting Special Agent in Charge, Laura Naranjo - Acting Associate Director, Danny Breuninger - Acting Associate Director, Elizabeth Hall - Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Walter Lamar - Former Deputy Director, Tom Woolworth - Chief Indian Police Academy and Elmer Four Dance - Special Agent in Charge. They are a sincere and dedicated group of law enforcement professionals faced with the critical task of ensuring the safety of tribal citizens nationwide.

DynaSec International

Tom Lafreniere is the President/CEO of DynaSec International. Walter and Tom were partners while serving the San Francisco FBI. They investigated all types of violations together and arrested countless bank robbers and fugitives. On one particular occasion the duo was looking for a robber good for 21 banks when they took an informant to an area and asked him to visit likely residences that the robber might be located. The informant was told to call a pager and submit all 1's if the robber was there, all 2's if he had been there and would be back, or all 3's if there was nothing. The informant went to the first house and immediately entered all 2's and shortly there after a bank robbery in progress was transmitted over the radio. Walter and Tom got ready and when the robber showed up in a taxi cab they waited until he walked by the van they were in. They sprung out of the van and arrested him at gunpoint. He had bank robbery bait bills in his pocket and in his shoes, 21 robberies solved. The case was only one of many Tom and Walt enjoyed working together.

Both were on the San Francisco Regional SWAT team.

Subsequent to the culmination of their FBI careers, they worked several contracts together that were equally as successful as the work they did together in the FBI. They are truly brothers of the badge and will continue to work on projects yet to come.

Click on the title to visit DynaSec's website.

Pivot3 in Albuquerque

On the heels of the announcement that Pivot3 and Lamar Associates formed an alliance, Bob Fernander, President and Adam Radford, Indian Gaming Director, visited Walter in Albuquerque. The trio visited two major gaming properties in the area. The two companies are working on several major projects together that promise to strengthen gaming integrity.

Please visit the Pivot3 website by clicking on this Blog entry title.

Pivot 3 Lamar Associates Form Alliance

President Bob Fernander

Pivot3 Announces Partnership with Lamar Associates

Alliance to Focus on Indian Gaming Video Surveillance Opportunities

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pivot3®, Inc, the market leader in High-Definition Storage™, today announced an alliance with Lamar Associates, a Washington, D.C.-based security consulting firm, to identify, pursue and secure Indian gaming video surveillance storage opportunities in the United States.

“As a 100 percent American Indian-owned firm, Lamar Associates has a long history of advising Indian nations across the country about security and technology. This alliance both broadcasts our value to the Indian community and speeds the inflow of information to Pivot3 as we look for ways to better address the needs of the dynamic Indian gaming market,” said Lee Caswell, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Pivot3. “We have already implemented a number of initiatives to communicate with Indian gaming enterprises, including our new associate member status with the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA).”

“At Lamar Associates, we are constantly on the lookout for innovative technology that will assist tribal communities protect their assets, especially in these difficult economic times,” said Walter Lamar, principal of Lamar Associates. “We have been impressed with both the tremendous economic benefits of Pivot3 video surveillance platforms, as well as the steadfast support that Pivot3 commits to make their installations successful. Both the Pivot3 product and strategy are beneficial to the Indian gaming market.”

This announcement comes on the heels of a number of successful Indian gaming wins for Pivot3, including the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, Calif., the Creek (Muscogee) Tribe in Okla., and the Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City, Ore.

About Pivot3

Pivot3 is the fastest-growing surveillance storage company, with its award-winning products widely deployed in the gaming, homeland security, public safety, education and transportation markets. The company’s innovative and patent-pending RAIGE® architecture offers advanced availability, massive bandwidth for video applications, large scaling of capacity, and an intuitive interface for ease of use. The Pivot3 core product lines are High-Definition Storage™, a clustered iSCSI SAN, and Serverless Computing™, the industry’s first combined NVR/SAN product, which consolidates NVR servers into the High-Definition Storage IP SAN platform for real savings of cost, power and cooling. To learn more about Pivot3, visit www.pivot3.com.

Nearly 600 Trained - Anti-Meth

The Lamar Associates training experts wrapped up their 10th COPS sponsored Anti-Meth training last week in
Oklahoma City (01/12-13/2009). Evaluations included statements that offered it was the "best" training yet to be received regarding Methamphetamine use and trafficking.

As it turned out the training coincided with the Oklahoma premier of the Crystal Darkness campaign. That being the case three television stations were on scene for interviews of Walter and Steve.

Lamar Associates has long realized prescription drug diversion is a problem in Indian Country and is, unfortunately, exploding in severity. During the training, participants discussed the issue and emphasized the threat posed to our communities. Several mentioned "pharm parties" being held by community youth. Pharm parties are gatherings of youth who all bring pharmasuticals that are placed in a bowl for random consumption. Lamar Associates is quickly developing training to create an awareness.

Blackfeet Department of Public Safety

For over a year Lamar Associates Vice President Steven Juneau has been working hand-in-hand with the Blackfeet Nation's Department of Public Safety. He assisted in the creation of the Police Explorer Program, help generate new funding, established positions, and implemented a recruitment strategy.

Steve offers the following:

"Policing on the Blackfeet Nation requires sensitivity to the history, culture, and protocol of the tribe and individual communities. Equally important is a transparent proactive and progressive law enforcement structure internally enabled with short and long term strategies, crime fighting methodologies, and grounded in the community policing concepts expressed through action.

Externally, a professional department must model proactive partnership with tribal justice programs and individual communities expressed through problem solving strategies."

Hats off to Steve and the Department for their accomplishments and continued effort to serve the Blackfeet people.

Joe Rosen - Lamar Associates Instructor

Joe and Walter attended the FBI Academy at the same time over 25 years ago. They were both then assigned to a violent crimes squad in the San Diego Division of the FBI and were partners working bank robberies, kidnappings and fugitive cases together. They became fast friends - to the extent that Joe was actually adopted "Indian Way" by Walter's mother Catherine.

Joe is an immigration Attorney in Atlanta, however, having taught criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country for the past seven years, is one of the foremost Indian Country jurisdiction experts in the Nation. He has worked with Lamar Associates as an Indian Country legal instructor for the past three years.

Joe transferred from the FBI to the United States Customs Service and in the years 1998 through 2000 he was a Senior Special Agent assigned to investigations of internet sexual exploitation of children. His assignment was with the FBI Innocent Images Project. For his outstanding work he was presented the 1999 National Center for Missing and Exploited Childrens' National Award for Investigative Excellence and in 2001 the Eastern District of Virginia's United States Attorney's Public Service Award.

In 1992 through 2000 Joe was the General Counsel for the National Native American Law Enforcement Officers Association.

We are extremely proud to have an opportunity to work with Joe and appreciate his sincere dedication to Native people.

Click title to see Joe's website

New Training Logo

John Horse and Matt Aller collaborated to design our new Lamar Associates training logo. Please post a comment to let us know what you think.

Training update: Our Training Division was recently selected by the National American Indian Housing Council to offer training related to methamphetamine use, abuse and sales in and around tribal housing. We will be providing five training sessions in 2009. March 10-11 Las Vegas, NV; April 7-8 Albuquerque, NM; July 14-15 Seattle, WA; September 9-10 Rapid City, SD; and October 27-28 Anchorage, AK.