Norris Inc. has been around for nearly 4 decades and during that time has learned a thing or two about attracting and holding on the best, most dedicated people around.


Our people genuinely care about life safety and security and bring their all to their jobs to do their part to help keep people safe.


One thing that Norris has been doing for years is the regular Thursday or Friday afternoon cookouts when Materials Manager, Bob Swartz dons his head chef hat, dusts off the grill, fires it up and starts flipping burgers and grilling dogs and pans of sausage with peppers and onions.


Chief Sales Officer Peter Reed says there’s a definite reason the company does these cookouts.

“We usually schedule these lunch cookouts once or twice a month, from Memorial Day to Labor Day

To thank employees for their hard work during long, cold winter,” Reed says. “It’s a nice way to welcome Spring and Summer once the snow melts.”
Swartz says he’s been doing this for “8 or 9 years,” and hopes to keep the tradition going for years.


Everyone takes a break and enjoys a cookout together. Our dedicated technicians return to base to grab some grub and a cold one (usually Pepsi or Mountain Dew) and shoot the breeze with colleagues and coworkers. 
Swartz said that he regularly feeds a dozen or more.


“It just depends on who is in the area. Could be 10, could be 20.”

Reed agreed that it’s usually a pretty full house out in the shipping department where the cookout spread is laid out.


“There’s the office staff (7), local sales reps (6), local ops (7), local techs (10). That’s approximately 30,” Reed says. “Plus occasional contractors who swing by for pick-ups.”


It may not sound like a very productive way to spend the afternoon, but Reed insists it works a kind of magic.


“We slow the pace a bit to break for lunch,” Reed says, “but happy and appreciative employees are always more productive when returning to the job!”


Swartz said the cookouts are funded in part by because the company encourages environmentally responsible behavior on the part of its technicians.


“The cost of the food comes out of our Recycle Fund from the Guys bringing back Wire and Batteries,” Swartz says. “The more they return, the better the Cookouts.” 


We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: There really is nothing more delicious than a green burger!

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What is Norris all about?

Norris, Inc.—a South Portland, Maine-based life-safety and security systems integrator with satellite offices in Bangor, Maine; Lee, New Hampshire; and Burlington, Vermont—was founded nearly 40 years ago by two brothers, Brad and Harty Norris. The brothers remain on the board of directors today and continue to help steer the enterprise toward its goal of advancing life-safety, security, and communications while striving to grow in its status as Northern New England’s leading systems integrator. Norris provides fully integrated life-safety and security solutions, comprising disparate systems including fire alarm, intrusion detection, access control, video surveillance, communications, and emergency notification and total systems integration via the Vigilance Systems Integration Engine and ENS.