Norris likes to hire the best and hold onto them. Our employees become a part of the Norris family and today’s Employee Spotlight showcases that principle perfectly.
Today’s employee profile is with Paul Bennett. 

What’s your title and included duties at Norris?

Service Sales Manager. 

  • Responsible for managing and assisting the service sales staff with sales, administration, and maintenance of contract sales and customers for Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
  • Norris AES Network implementation, growth, and management.  Creating strategic partnerships to best enhance our network.  Prospect new opportunities to add to and grow the network.  Daily network observation of the network health and take or direct actions as required.

How long have you been at Norris?

9½ years

What different positions have you held at Norris?

I’ve worked in Service Sales since starting here.  I began as the Service Consultant for Southern Maine and then took over all of Maine and then added New Hampshire and Vermont.  Norris added employees to cover the territories and with the addition of the AES Network, I became the Service Sales Manager.

How has your tenure at Norris prepared you to be successful in life?

The Norris culture is very family friendly and allows for flexibility and freedom to take care of family first.  My family is my life and if they are happy and well taken care of, then I consider my life a success.  Norris has given me opportunities to excel and provides coaching and guidance when needed.

What do you love most about your job?

The best part of this job is the satisfaction knowing that because of the work we do here, people and property are safer.  That is really the most satisfying aspect of my position.  But what I love most about my job is the people that I work with.  We have an amazing team both in and out of the office.  Even the most stressful days are a little easier to deal with because of my fellow associates.

What frustrates you about your job?

The most frustrating part of the job is the administrative procedures that are required.  Being an operations type person, I’d much rather be spending time doing things that result in solid steps in moving toward the goal at hand.  Many of our administrative tasks (understandably required) seem to slow things down or make you feel you’re moving sideways sometimes.

Were you/are you a first responder or military?

I served in the U.S. Navy from 1986 to 1996.  There I was a Radioman and learned a great deal about radio frequency communications.  This has helped with our success in growing our AES network which works on a UHF signal.  UHF was one of my favorite means of communicating when I was stationed at sea.

What first responder/military role(s) have you filled?/What  military rank and service have you performed?

My rate was Radioman (RM) and my rank when I left the Navy was First Class Petty Officer (RM1).  As a Radioman, I was responsible for the proper handling of military message traffic (E-mail equivalent) and maintaining various levels of classified information up to and including Cosmic Top Secret materials.  On one of my commands, I was part of a handful of sailors who were cleared and authorized to handle Nuclear Control Orders.  Later in my career, I became a Leading Petty Officer (department manager) and career counselor for my command.

How did those roles prepare you for your duties at Norris?

The training I had in RF communications directly prepared me for the success we have in building our AES Mesh Network.  Also as technology advanced in the Navy, I learned and was exposed to computer communications and concepts early on allowing me to adapt to and grasp new technology that we use daily in the office and field.

Do you have a family wife and Children?

I have been married to my wife Bethany for almost 15 years.  We have 3 children, Jillian 12, Elise 10 and Tiernan 7.

What lessons have you learned through your duties at Norris that you’d like to pass on to others/your children?

Find a career that you are truly happy in.  If you are satisfied with your job, then you will have a more fulfilled life.

Can you talk about one personal goal you have for 2019?

I never make a new year’s resolution, but I do make intentions.  My hope for 2019 is to make the time I spend with my children more meaningful.

Can you talk about one professional goal you have for 2019?

To continue to grow the Norris Mesh network to over 200 subscribers and to reach it into at least one new municipality.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare/free time?

Last summer, my family bought a travel trailer and we love taking it out and spending time with other family and friends.  I am also a runner and when I’m at my peak, I enjoy logging about 20+ miles a week and participating in various 10K road races throughout the year.

Anything else I haven’t asked about that people should know?

I like to tell everyone that Life is too short to take it too seriously.  Really, when you think about it, life is a joke because nobody gets out of it alive.  But seriously (not), take time to enjoy what we have been given.  Laugh and smile as much as you can.  We are all humans and it doesn’t matter what race, sex or any other classification someone might fall under today if you can appreciate yourself and each other, we will all be better off.

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. Want to become part of the Norris family? We’re hiring!