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ASIS's new president discusses past accomplishments and future plans for growing the society.
STEVEN C. MILLWEE, CPP, ASIS'S 2002 president, wants all Society members to ask this question, "What is ASIS doing for me?" The answer for every member will be different, he says. Some may answer that educational programs like the ASIS Annual Seminar and Exhibits or specialized industry conferences keep them up to date, or that the Society's CPP designation has allowed their careers to thrive. Others may value the peers they have met who can provide expertise and support. No matter what the response, Millwee sees this exercise of personalizing the benefits of ASIS membership as a lead-in to a follow-up question, "What can I do for ASIS?"
During his presidency, Millwee says, "The goal is to get [members] involved, and keep them involved in their professional society" through rejuvenated chapters. In addition, states Millwee, "You will see an increased emphasis...on how to identify, train, and mentor our existing and future leaders."
A leader comes to life. Millwee was born in a small clinic in Fort Cobb, Oklahoma, two months premature. The closest hospital was more than 30 miles away. Millwee's father, who his son describes as a "wonderful, merciful type of man," saved Millwee's life on the day of his birth by providing the blood for a transfusion. "My father literally rolled up his sleeve to make a straight transfusion from his veins to mine because I was critically ill," Millwee explains.
Millwee had been born with a blood deficiency that lingered throughout his childhood, causing a depressed immunity to diseases. While a child, Millwee contracted polio and many other illnesses. "You name it, I had it," he says. Finally, after about the age of 15, his general health stabilized and improved.
Meanwhile, the family had moved to Mountain View-a town to the north of the Wichita mountain's, five 2,000-foot-plus peaks. Millwee's father was a farmer who later purchased a house
outside the small community from a retired FBI agent named Delf Bryce,whose nickname was "Jelly." Millwee explains that the Bureau had recruited Bryce in the 1920s gangster era. "He had a high school education; he was basically a hired gun," says Millwee of the expert marksman who was...