Fox River Graphics, LLC Announces Transfer and Sale of Chicago Area Audio Visual Business to S&P Integrated Solutions

Fox River Graphics, LLC (FRG) today announced the transfer and sale of its Chicago area audio visual business to S&P Integrated Solutions. S&P Integrated Solutions (SPIS) is a commercial, professional audio visual, security access and camera business operating in the Chicago area. SPIS is co-owned by Jose Perez, long-time co-worker and contractor of FRG, and Brett Stangeland. This transaction does not include business related to FRG’s federal GSA schedules, its trade names nor its offices located in Minnesota.

“I first met Jose back in 2008, prior to acquiring Fox River Graphics,” noted FRG President, Ryan Heining. “Jose quickly became our go-to, high-end install technician working with multiple Fortune 100 clients around the country. It was on an overseas project this spring that Jose and I began to discuss SPIS, FRG and our future prospects.”

Listening to Perez’ stories as a young “looper” (that’s a golf caddie), working hard six days a week with his brother to pay for their education, Heining became convinced that this was more than just the sale of a business: “Jose and his partner Brett reminded me of my early days as an entrepreneur and I knew that they were going to hit it out of the park. I have a high level of confidence that our Chicago area clients will continue to benefit from class-leading service and support. They believe in taking care of the customer, first, last and always.”

FRG has counted on Perez for years in some of its most challenging projects. Perez’ and Stangeland’s have built a solid reputation as owners, installers, technicians and consultants on security solutions and collaboration systems. Heining looks forward to introducing SPIS to its customers and has every confidence they will experience a level of service that meets or exceeds what FRG has delivered in the past. Ron Cannon and Geoff Heimer, FRG technology specialists and long-time co-workers with Perez, will join the SPIS team moving forward.

Heining reached out to extend personal messages to clients about the transfer: “You have made this partnership one based on trust and commitment. Thank you for your continued business and your support of this veteran-owned small business. Please let us know if you have any questions.”

FRG is a CVE-approved, veteran-owned small business. Read more about our government contracts HERE.

Tee It Up for the Troops Celebrates 16 Years of Events

Join us for a fun day of golf to support Tee It Up for the Troops—serving injured veterans through golf! This is our President, Ryan Heining‘s, 16th year as a founding sponsor, volunteer, participant, and ambassador.

To help our veterans heal, transition, grow, and thrive.

Yes, sir! That time of year again to play golf in the annual Tee It Up For The Troops golf event.  16 years ago, I was asked to help share the cost of golf shirts for this event, which lead to becoming one of many founding member sponsors for this great organization. 

We met each September, on the Friday closest to 9/11, to remember the sacrifices made, lives lost, and lives saved.  I’ve had the incredible good fortune to continue sponsoring and being involved with this great organization. 

Back then, a sponsor was asked “what VIP we would like to have on your team, Pro Athlete or Injured Warrior?”…it was an easy choice because it was the stories shared by those injured and recovering warriors that I remember to this day. 

I have a Tee It Up flag, signed by over 15 of those injured heroes, that still hangs on the wall of my office. It’s a reminder of why this time of year and the great game of golf means so much to all those involved. 

What started as an idea from a men’s bible study 16 years ago, into this national organization is simply amazing. 

Touching the lives of thousands, near and far. I have seen the best of the best during these golf outings and look forward, once again, to meeting a few more heroes this Monday, August 31st for TeeItUpForTheTroops.  

 

If you can and are willing, please visit www.teeitupforthetroops.org today and make a donation. 

I thank you for your service in advance of supporting this great effort through the game of golf, love of country, and commitment to our injured and recovering warriors.

 

For more information & to register for this event click HERE.

 

FRG is a CVE-approved, veteran-owned small business. Read more about our government contracts HERE.

Assessing Your Organization’s Cyber Security Risk with S2ORG

You’ve likely checked your personal FICO® credit score recently. Did you know there’s a similar way to assess your organization’s cyber security risk? It’s called S2ORG by SecurityStudio.

Standards like FICO® Scores allow lenders to assess risk before issuing credit. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to automate the complex task of evaluating a company’s overall cyber security and its risk of an information security incident. Our security partner SecurityStudio has developed an assessment tool called S2ORG that measures a company’s information security program on a scale from 300 (not secure) to 850 (excellent) and identifies your company’s level of vulnerabilities, gaps and deficiencies in your security program. Get an S2ORG assessment now.

1) An S2ORG Assessment is easy to understand.
Information security is a complex discipline with many moving parts, but SecurityStudio’s S2ORG process simplifies the communication about how your information security program is performing. You don’t need to be an information security expert with years of experience to understand what S2ORG is telling you. One simple number represents your overall risk, and additional indicators show where your most significant risks are.

2) S2ORG can tell you what everyone else is doing.
Hundreds of organizations have received their S2ORG score and this allows for solid, fact-based comparisons. One of the common questions we receive about information security is, “What is everybody else doing?” This question comes from the responsibility for due care/due diligence, liability, and knowing that there’s “protection in the herd.”

Once your full S2ORG assessment is complete, you’ll receive a risk measurement, from 300 (not secure) to 850 (excellent).

3) With S2ORG, you can track progress.
S2ORG is a point of reference that should be used to track progress and to determine whether risk is maintained within your tolerance. Your information security program and risks are always getting better or worse; they never stay the same. Questions about progress, regular reporting, and support for maintaining your information security program are all answered.

4) An S2ORG Assessment is objective.
S2ORG is maintained by an independent organization that doesn’t do consulting work, and has no other purpose but to provide accurate measurements of information security risk. In addition to organizational objectivity, the score is also objective. FISASCORE is calculated through the measurement of thousands of objective characteristics that take much of the guesswork and opinion out of the equation.

5) An S2ORG Assessment is credible.
S2ORG was developed over the course of more than 15 years through the work of seasoned information security practitioners and is now on its fifth major release. S2ORG is based on generally well-accepted information security standards. The criteria for measurement are all reference-able to the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF), and its supporting standards: NIST SP 800-53, COBIT, ISO 27001:2013, and CIS CSC.

FRG offers the SecurityStudio S2Vendor module as a solution for organizations to determine how secure their vendors and partners are.

6) S2ORG represents risk.
Risk is the combination of vulnerabilities and applicable threats that manifest themselves into the likelihood of something bad happening and the impact if it did. If there is no vulnerability (or weakness) in a control, there is no risk. If there is a vulnerability in a control without an applicable threat, there is also no risk. An S2ORG measurement represents the analysis of hundreds of controls, thousands of vulnerabilities and thousands of threats, resulting in likelihoods and impacts of bad events.

7) S2ORG is comprehensive.
Fundamental to the S2ORG measurement is our definition of information security: The application of administrative, physical, and technical controls to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information. There are four Phases:

Phase 1 – Administrative Controls
Phase 2 – Physical Controls
Phase 3 – Internal Technical Controls
Phase 4 – External Technical Controls

All four parts of the information security program must work well together. A weakness in one control can lead to a collapse of all others. The phases are further segmented into sections, and the sections are further segmented into controls. The final report is presented both high level and then digs deep in the details.

8) There is fast-growing community support for S2 Scores.
The partner community behind the S2 system is critical to its success. Partners work to generate S2ORG, S2VENDOR or S2TEAM scores for their clients, but the partner community is also vital to future improvements and considerations. The partner community participates in further improvements of the methodology, shares critical information, and evangelizes the need for a common information security language. Our partners include IT service companies, CPA firms, insurance brokers and security consulting companies.

9) S2ORG Scores are an indicator of future losses.
As S2ORG continues to evolve, we get closer to understanding the true losses behind information security incidents and breaches. S2ORG provides the framework for predicting future information security losses accurately, using the best information available. Today S2ORG is tied to research conducted by the Ponemon Institute for loss data.

10) Utilizing S2ORG is a competitive advantage.
Information security as a competitive advantage? Yes, absolutely! An S2ORG Assessment is a representation of the efforts you’ve put into information security and it’s a demonstration that you know where your most significant information security risks are. Armed with this information, you can make an objective case to your customers that you take information security seriously, backed by experienced information security experts, a community of partners, and a clean methodology. Don’t forget the fact that you can now invest your information security dollars where they will have the greatest benefit.

Start Your FREE S2ORG Assessment Now

 


LEARN MORE:

FRG is a trusted partner providing information cyber security solutions to organizations large and small.

Wondering about how your partners’ and vendors’ S2 Scores might affect yours? Use S2Vendor to evaluate the risks presented by the providers you rely on.

Want to get a free S2ORG assessment? CLICK HERE.

 

 

Tee It Up for the Troops Celebrates 15 Years and 500 Events

Together We are Making a Difference!

Words can’t adequately express the pride we feel here at FRG as Tee It Up for the Troops (TIUFTT) celebrates 15 years of raising funds and awareness for those injured while serving. From the very first event at Mendakota Country Club, in Mendota Heights, MN, our President, Ryan Heining, has been there as a founding sponsor, volunteer, participant and ambassador spreading the word about the good works of TIUFTT.

15 Years | 500 Events
More than $10M Donated!

This year, alone, more than 60 TIUFTT events will take place. In the 15 years since that first event, more than $10,000,000.00 have been donated by generous people across the world. A hearty THANK YOU to all of you’ve been a part of this effort. If you’re never participated, learn more HERE.

Read more about Tee It Up for the Troops celebrations marking an incredible 15 years of events.

 

FRG is a CVE-approved, veteran-owned small business. Read more about our government contracts HERE.

Future-Ready Solutions for STEM Learning

FRG has a long history of enabling educational settings with collaboration and communication solutions. One great example is our recent involvement providing for STEM style schools built through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The USA Today highlighted these projects in a recent USACE publication.

From classroom displays, projectors and workstation solutions, to distance learning communication systems and smartboards, FRG offers a wide variety of tech-forward solutions and top-notch installation and maintenance services that enable both school and work learning environments.

FRG is a CVE-approved, veteran-owned small business provisioned with a GSA Schedule 70 Contract that allows for streamlined ordering processes. A wide variety of our products are available and competitively priced on the GSA Advantage website. Our GSA contract is #47QTCA19D007U. Read more about our government contracts HERE.

 

Our partnerships with manufacturers of display, video conferencing, audio, digital sign and other AV solutions allow us to be a turnkey provider of collaboration and communication solutions for technology-enabled educational settings. We partner with Ergotron for a host of ancillary support products that help to ensure that FRG-powered spaces are accessible, easy to use, and ergonomically sound.

We’re proud to offer Ergotron’s wide selection of sit-stand desk solutions that empower employees and students to create healthy work and learning environments. Whether you’re an educator, a builder or administrator in educational settings, our FRG team welcomes the opportunity to work with you to help ensure the success of your students and staff.

 

FRG Secures New GSA Schedule 70 Government Contract

We are proud to announce that FRG (Fox River Graphics) has been awarded a new GSA Schedule 70 contract to provide IT Products and Services to the U.S. Government. FRG has been a government contractor for more than twenty years. Securing this new contract allows FRG to continue to provide secure AV solutions vital to government and military efforts. From video conferencing and collaboration systems, to secure network solutions and system monitoring, FRG is a trusted partner for thousands of government customers across departments and branches of the military.

Our new contract is #47QTCA19D007U.

For seamless purchasing, FRG offers products on the GSA Advantage website. Other products and reliable FRG support are available through our helpful sales and service teams.

FRG is a CVE-approved, veteran-owned small business. Read more about our government contracts HERE.

FRG is the New Fox River Graphics

In 1982, founder Joe Dowdell built Fox River Graphics by selling Polaroid analog and digital film recorders out of his home office. As his client’s needs evolved, so did FRG’s business. In 1994, the company was awarded a Federal GSA contract allowing the company to expand its product offerings and services. The rest is history.

Today, the new FRG offers our clients audiovisual technology solutions aimed at enhancing room environments and user experience; on-site and cyber security; and facility logistics solutions.

We are creating a new history. One that continues to be built on customer needs and the workplace of the future.  Engage us today to learn how the new FRG can assist you in building your business.