A major challenge with many companies is preparing the younger generation for their future – including career development and preparing for leadership and ownership succession. Speaker Richard Voreis will prepare the attendees for their future careers at their companies as well as assist company owners and CEO’s in preparing for leadership and/or ownership transition by providing guidelines for the development of potential leaders.

In this session, Voreis will:

• Address how the top performing companies operate – along with the most essential attributes of effective leadership
• Offer balanced perspective on both sales and profitability
• Discuss a strategic planning process to develop company goals and employee accountability that supports them
• Cover the importance of internal communications

The 4-Day Workweek: Opening Doors in the Industry

Bill Butler, President, Butler Door

Abby Butler, Butler Door

Can a longtime small business produce more and make more money while their employees work less?! Join Butler Doors, Inc., as they share their journey of transitioning to a 4-day workweek in their manufacturing and production operations. In this session, they will discuss the challenges and successes of implementing a 4-day workweek for industrial workers of their small business. Learn how this innovative approach has boosted productivity, improved employee morale, and maintained their commitment to exceptional service… all without negative impacts to Butler Doors’ financial goals. Discover practical insights and strategies that can help other businesses in the industry unlock similar benefits for their company’s profit goals and employees.

Attendees will walk away:

• Understanding the rationale for implementing a 4-day workweek:  Participants will learn about the factors that influenced Butler Doors to consider a 4-day workweek and explore the benefits of this type of schedule
• Knowing how to identify/explore practical strategies for implementation: Attendees will gain practical knowledge on the logistical and operational considerations for transitioning to a 4-day workweek in an industrial setting
• Having an evaluation of the results of the 4-day workweek experiment: The session will provide an overview of the outcomes observed by Butler Doors, including maintaining profits, improved recruitment strategies, and overall benefits to the company and employees

The Evolving State of School Security

Christin Kinman, End User Consultant, Allegion

Randy Jump, ACH, FDAI; End User Consultant; Allegion

Schools are facing growing security challenges with limited budgets and a sea of solutions—some outdated or ineffective. This session offers a concise, actionable framework to navigate these obstacles and implement smarter, evidence-based practices that deliver high impact without high costs.

Key Focus Areas:

1. Layered Security Planning: Step-by-step guidance aligned with best practices like those from the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools
2. Access Control: Proven mechanical and electronic methods for managing and securing openings effectively
3. Integrated Systems: Maximize efficiency and ROI by combining multiple systems for comprehensive solutions
4. Case Study: Real-world insights into how one school overcame major security challenges with grant funding and strategic upgrades

What You’ll Learn:

• Assess your school’s security needs, build actionable plans, and implement effective solutions
• Grasp the basics of electronic access control and learn best practices for monitoring premises
• Understand the benefits and challenges of integrating multiple systems
• Discover funding mechanisms and resources for physical security improvements

This session will empower you to make smart, informed decisions that enhance safety and build resilience. Walk away with strategies that are practical, cost-effective, and ready for immediate action.

This session will cover the current and upcoming codes and requirements covering low energy operators as well as discuss particular applications. Participants will also discover the potential of install and service agreements and how the CHD channel can benefit from providing installation and service. Participants of this session will also leave with a better grasp on the basics of prevailing building codes and how they affect operator usage. Finally, you will gain an understanding of typical operator features and benefits as well as explore specific operator applications and solutions.

Is it easier or more difficult for companies today to be successful?

For most owners and leaders the answer to this question is unfortunately… “it’s much more difficult to be successful today.” Yet, for many organizations this potential reality is only a few strategic efforts away from moving to the affirmative and speaker Brad Humphrey is here to help.

In this session, Brad will offer 10 proven ways to acquire more business through strategic planning and initiatives that stem from the top. No matter if you are a small and thriving business or a large and dominating organization, you need to make strategic planning part of your company’s continuous efforts.

Brad will teach attendees:

• Where most businesses stall and how to overcome stale business growth
• The roadmap to finding the right people and projects that can propel your company forward
• How to continue a growth trajectory for your business based on his proven strategies

In the door and hardware space, the key to protecting your profits and staying competitive, is mastering smart estimating.

In this session, you’ll learn the keys to striking the right balance between competitive pricing and profitability by managing the following:

• Knowing Your True Costs: Do you really know how much it costs to run your business? Beyond materials and labor, you need to factor in overhead expenses like equipment maintenance, insurance, office costs, and marketing
• Labor: Labor is one of the trickiest parts of estimating because people aren’t machines and estimates need to consider productivity, training, and overtime costs
• Risk: Learn how to analyze and manage risks around projects to ensure that bids are competitive and profitable, while minimizing the potential for unforeseen challenges that could arise during the project delivery

Whether you need experienced DFH talent or want trainable individuals, your company can have greater success in attracting and securing the right talent. As a national search firm dedicated to recruitment for architectural openings clients, Bunner-Parrott is uniquely positioned to advise you on how to win the talent war and get the right people on your team.

In this session, we will encourage you to adjust your view on recruitment to make it a core part of your business. We’ll help you evaluate your current “offering” to potential DFH candidates and illustrate adjustments you can make to attract the talent you want. We’ll share details of a groundbreaking compensation survey we conducted with insight into the money that Project Managers, Estimators, Detailers and Salespeople are being paid, both before and after changing jobs. We’ll also illustrate the things candidates tell us they don’t like about the companies they leave, as well as the things that attract them to new positions.

Healthcare facilities present unique challenges in door hardware specification due to competing requirements for fire safety, security, accessibility, and infection control. This session navigates the complex regulatory landscape including NFPA 101, ADA, HIPAA security provisions, and specialized healthcare accreditation standards. Attendees will learn methodologies for resolving code conflicts while maintaining compliance across all requirements.

After this session, attendees will be able to:

• Interpret the critical code requirements from NFPA, ADA, and healthcare-specific standards that impact door assembly specifications
• Identify potential conflicts between infection control, security, and life safety requirements in different healthcare spaces
• Apply decision-making frameworks to resolve competing code requirements while maintaining compliance

In this session, we will explore the mechanism of damaging blast characteristics, sources, levels and protection requirements as it relates to door assembly. This session is designed to explain mechanics of blast phenomena and its parameters that create damaging loads on buildings, components and cladding, and human life – and how you can sell this as a competitive advantage.

The speaker will address various types and levels of blasts, and some regulatory requirements that can be specified for blast-resistant openings.

Attendees will learn how to:

• Recognize the increasing threat of blast devastation
• Understand blast wave damaging mechanisms
• Review door openings as functional building component and blast-resistant performance requirements for doors

Research shows that when students and staff can quickly get out of sight, behind a closed, locked door, their chance of surviving an active assailant incident, without physical harm, is nearly 100%. This session explores the critical role door hardware plays in school safety while examining real-life incidents where hardware either supported or failed protection efforts.

Attendees will gain insights into how the door hardware industry has responded with research-driven design and innovation, and why aftermarket barricade devices may increase risk rather than reduce it. Learn how thoughtful, code-compliant hardware solutions can strengthen school safety without compromising life safety.

In this session, attendees will:

• Analyze real-world case studies to assess how door hardware impacted safety outcomes during active assailant events
• Evaluate modern door hardware innovations and their role in addressing evolving school security threats
• Explain the risks associated with aftermarket door barricade devices and advocate for compliant, life-safety-oriented solutions

This workshop offers a hands-on, interactive environment focused on what truly matters in life, along with practical approaches and methods to apply personally. Attendees will leave with thought-provoking questions and actionable frameworks to help ensure they’re spending their time wisely and living in alignment with what they value most.

Objective #1: Big picture approach and methods to time management
Objective #2: Methods to evaluate your current state of using your time for what matters
Objective #3: Best practice tips and methods for adapting and changing to get the most out of your time

Code Update: Recent and Upcoming Model Code Changes

Lori Greene, Manager, Codes and Resources, Allegion

Mark Kuhn, Architectural Services Consultant – Account Manager, Allegion, PLC

The model codes adopted in most US states are updated every 3 years. The 2027 code development cycle is in progress, the 2024 model codes have been published, and many states have recently adopted the 2021 editions. It is crucial for anyone involved with doors and hardware to understand the current code requirements and upcoming changes that affect door openings.

Brad Humphrey has always preached about the close relationship between leadership and coaching skills, and in this new session he ties the two directly together. In this session, Humphrey teaches that “effective coaches are those who learn that their influence is based on their ability to gain the trust and respect of their team, even when the decisions are not always popular,” and the session will outline how to make that happen.

Humphrey will teach attendees:

• How is leadership different from management
• What critical coaching skills leaders need to motivate performance
• How managers can you use leadership and coaching skills to improve morale and promote growth within their own companies

Discover how commercial locking systems are evolving  from mechanical keys and bitting lists to dynamic, intelligent data points and credentials. This seminar offers a deep dive into how today’s locks harness smartphones, IoT connectivity, encrypted data exchange, and multi-credential authentication to meet the complex security needs of modern facilities. Attendees will explore how these advancements address identity and access management challenges, monitoring real time door and lock status, enhancing operational efficiency, and raising the bar for commercial security. Real-world examples will illustrate how digital locking systems are transforming the way buildings are secured and managed and resolving end users concerns and challenges.

This session presents a comprehensive approach to school security design, focusing on how doors, entryways, and fenestration systems contribute to safer educational environments. Attendees will gain in-depth insight into the rationale, methods, and strategic application of access solutions within school settings. The session will cover best practices and design principles that enhance both safety and security. Participants will also learn to identify various ballistic and forced entry testing standards, and evaluate the differences among ballistic-resistant solutions currently available in the security marketplace.

Do you want to learn how to approach your clients and customers in a more creative way? This session will show you how asking questions first can help you achieve better goals for you and your customers. By asking the right questions, you will be able to see faster results with the same amount of effort – all it takes is truly understanding what the client actually wants and needs.

Door and Hardware professionals can (and should) leverage LinkedIn as a powerful tool for researching prospects, connecting with key decision-makers, representing their company, and building & maintaining relationships.

This engaging presentation will have participants excited to leverage the power of LinkedIn for the betterment of their company and their professional relationships.

This session will show participants how to:

• Optimize your personal profile into a client-attracting asset
• Position your company page as the authoritative voice in the door and hardware space
• Build a strategic network that generates warm leads and referrals

Not all leadership development is created equal and this workshop for leadership development will help you create meaningful and sustainable results. Attendees will learn everything that is required to become an effective leader or what is needed to become a better leader. At the end of the workshop, a copy of the book written by speaker Richard Voreis, titled 16 Most Essential Attributes of Effective Leadership, can be ordered and provided at no charge.

This session will:

• Validate what you know and deliver what you need to know so you can focus on both developing seasoned leaders
• Learn how internal communications, employee recognition, and healthy leadership habits will contribute to your success
• Learn the do’s and don’ts of effective leadership

Do you want to get ahead of your competition? In this session from Ian Wagner, attendees will learn both sides of the business: AP and AR. At the beginning of the session, attendees will learn how they can use AI and tools alike, to expedite and process Purchase Orders and Bill Reconciliation(s) during the procurement process. This portion of the session will also cover best practices on itemizing purchasing records and the importance/impact the details can provide from both an operational and accounting perspective.

During the second portion of the session, Wagner will cover topics related to Accounts Receivable and discuss methods of revenue recognition with regards to Down Payments as well as AIA style billing.

The Partner Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS), just released Revision 7 Guidelines. In this session, Ken Cook will provide an overview of PASS and changes recently made to the PASS guidelines. The session provides attendees with information they can use to help schools adopt best practices around school safety and security.

The session will:

• Introduce PASS and discuss how the checklist is structured and changes to the layers in Revision 7 (the Perimeter and Parking Lot layers have been combined into “Campus Exterior Perimeter Layer” and added a level to address cyber threats)
• Discuss the PASS guidelines and other resources available
• Summarize changes and resources so attendees can use this resource to improve the safety of the schools they work with

This educational seminar highlights how innovative locking solutions are solving challenges that traditional locks never could—particularly for sliding doors in healthcare, higher education, and multi-tenant environments. Attendees will explore how new development enhance safety for healthcare workers, ensuring privacy for patients and residents. Learn about a variety of real-world applications, and how the latest technology is redefining what’s possible for commercial sliding door security.

Best Practices for Code Compliance Workshop

Lori Greene, Manager, Codes and Resources, Allegion

Mark Kuhn, Architectural Services Consultant – Account Manager, Allegion, PLC

If you’re looking for a deeper dive on code compliance, then this brand new extended 2-hour workshop is for you. Industry experts, including Lori Greene from Allegion, will help you gain a deeper understanding of the codes impacting your jobs and will equip you with updates and insights on key technology, policy, and business trends influencing the market of commercial access control.

Success in our industry—and in life—isn’t about luck, talent, or circumstances. It’s about competition. Not against others, but against yourself. Every. Single. Day.

To grow, you must compete. To win, you must focus on what you control. And to thrive, you must build the right team around you.

This session will challenge you to shift your mindset, embrace a healthy daily competition, and take ownership of your success with a proven gameplan for building winning sales habits and routines. You’ll walk away with a proven formula for leveling up—personally and professionally.

Key Learning Objectives:

• Own Your Competition: Understand why competing against yourself is the key to unlocking your full potential
• Master the Controllables: Identify the factors within your control—attitude, effort, habits, and process—and learn how to leverage them for maximum success
• Build Your Gameplan: Discover how a ‘boring’ routine is what builds exciting results
• Execute Daily: Develop a personal game plan for winning each day, no matter the challenges ahead

This isn’t just another keynote—it’s your playbook for competing every day and winning the long game.