Ballet to Security

• By Ralph C. Jensen
• May 01, 2017

I admit there is not a lot in common between ballet and a security installation. However, a few months ago, while attending my granddaughter’s ballet recital and walking through the parking lot, I came across a parked van with the I3Concepts logo. This had to be a sign. (Not that I was looking for a sign.)

As I walked into the recital hall with the 3-year-old dancer, I kept thinking about that van parked outside. Honestly, I was excited about the ballet but I didn’t want to forget about a possible story idea. I safely, or I should say, securely, tucked my granddaughter in the dance room with her teacher and other students and popped back outside to get a phone number and website address. Not that I forget stuff, but I wanted to be sure.

A few days later, I made a call to hopefully set up an appointment or interview. I quickly found out that I3Concepts is a busy group of people. It took a week or so to make contact. I met with Jeff Comeaux and took a tour of the offices and technology side of an integration farm. I don’t say farm in a mean way at all. Here’s the deal. Comeaux and his team really get into parking garage security entry and exits. They get the parts in the shop and literally build the automatic pay stations from the ground up. Once assembled, they are tested before installation.

Okay, everyone does that with their security equipment, but I found myself standing in a rather large room with numerous pay stations. This was quality at work.

Comeaux is the one that got this all started about eight or so years ago. He is also the first to admit that it is his team of professionals that make it all work so smoothly. Like he says in the cover story, “surround yourself with people that are as good as, or better than myself, and you will be great.”

I3Concepts is an interesting story about a company that opened for business smack dab in the middle of the 2008 economic recession. Comeaux is a believer in hard work and work smart, and so are his staff and team. And, oh, by the way, the ballet recital was pretty amazing as well.

This article originally appeared in the May 2017 issue of Security Today.