Jason and his wife, Stephanie, with their daughter Gwynn after completing the 2018 Mission 500 rebuild of the home of a mother of three small children, one with special needs, in Puerto Rico. (Photo courtesy of Jason Lutz)
From Security Dealer to Security Industry Advocate: How Passion for Community Drives Purpose
5 Questions with Jason Lutz, Strategic National Account Manager at Resideo and a Board Member for the Nonprofit Organization Mission 500
By: Bruce Eric Anderson, director, external communications, Resideo
Jason Lutz is a strategic national account manager for professional security at Resideo. He also leads industry relations for the business. In June, he was elected to the board of Mission 500, a nonprofit organization that advocates for underserved children and families in North America.
He sat down recently to answer questions about his contributions with them, his career and some upcoming industry work he’s doing on behalf of Resideo.
1. You recently were elected to the board of directors for Mission 500. Can you tell us a little more about their mission and your role with them?
Mission 500 is a nonprofit organization that advocates for underserved children and families in North America. With the support of manufacturers and dealers in the security industry, Mission 500 organizes meaningful experiences enabling businesses to give back within their community and across the continent.
The organization’s core advocacy and industry camaraderie aligned with my passion for giving back and construction, which are some reasons why I got involved. I’ll be traveling back to Puerto Rico this fall with Mission 500 to participate in another building project on behalf of Resideo.
While Resideo is providing financial support for the trip, we’re also raising funds to help with the work we’re doing down there, and I’d love to have others be part of Team Resideo. I have been fortunate to participate in other Mission 500 trips to Mexico and Puerto Rico that directly improved the living conditions for families in need. Together we’ve rebuilt homes, brought compostable latrines to communities lacking proper graywater disposal, packed meals, and raised funds for future projects. Earlier this year, I was elected to their board to help continue their mission.
2. What is your role at Resideo, and how did you develop your passion for security?
I’ve been in the security industry since 1991. For about 10 years, I owned my own security dealership called HomeSafe Security based out of Nashville, Tennessee. I built that business from the ground up, and when I sold it in 2001, I’d established a portfolio of several thousand residential accounts.
In those days, it was really all about intrusion protection: Keeping the bad guys out. I primarily sold alarm products from Ademco, part of Pittway, which was acquired by Honeywell in 2000. About a year later, I got a call from Ben Cornett asking me if I was interested in the local district manager role, and I joined the company (then Honeywell) a couple of weeks later.
During the last 17 years, I’ve held several positions that have allowed me to grow within the company and build relationships with many of our premier partners. Today, I am a part of the national accounts team within the pro security business working with some of our largest privately held partners.
3. Outside of work, tell us a little about yourself.
I live in a small town just south of Nashville. My wife, Stephanie, and I have four children. Our youngest daughter is a senior in high school and our adult children will all be out of college this spring.
With us nearly being empty-nesters, Stephanie and I volunteer a lot in our community and travel as much as we can (our most recent trip was to Havana, Cuba). In fact, we’re looking forward to doing additional community work while we travel in the near future with Mission 500.
Jason and his wife, Stephanie, visited Cuba recently for a vacation. "With us nearly being empty-nesters, Stephanie and I volunteer a lot in our community and travel as much as we can," Jason said. (Photo courtesy of Jason Lutz)
4. Part of your Resideo role involves industry relations. Explain why it’s important in the security space.
With the security industry changing rapidly from offering just intrusion protection to now fully connected home solutions, and the continued rise of self-installed solutions, it’s never been more critical for the industry to have one voice with law enforcement and to influence and shape legislation.
Resideo is committed to supporting our professional installation community and is involved in more than 50 different trade associations that support the security industry. Most of those are state associations that are supported by Resideo’s local area managers, but a few are national associations like The Monitoring Association (TMA), Security Industry Association (SIA) and the Electronic Security Association (ESA).
I represent Resideo’s interest in those groups and work within the associations to support legislation and advocacy that benefit our dealers and the industry. I’m particularly proud of the fact that in 2017, I was elected by all the professional security manufacturers to represent our interest on the ESA Board of Directors.
5. What’s the most interesting thing that people at the office don’t know about you?
Most people at the office don’t know that I am a wood craftsman. In my free time, I turn pens, create specialty cutting boards and build furniture. When I travel for work, I pick up local wood and use it to make pens and gifts for the customers I visit.
Being creative in my woodshop is an outlet to relax and decompress. If you’re interested in seeing some of my work, check out my Instagram or www.lutzshop.com.
The Mission 500 team poses in front of a house they rebuilt in Puerto Rico in 2018. (Photo courtesy of Jason Lutz)
