FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 17, 2008

Contact: K.E. Schwab  

724.738.2199

 karl.schwab@sru.edu

SRU’s ‘Pittsburgh 100’ series spotlights security firm’s expansion    

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Dennis Lejeck, president of Black Knight Security, has turned his military experience into a successful western Pennsylvania company, which was honored this fall by the Pittsburgh Business Times as one of the fastest growing companies in the Pittsburgh region. He will describe his company’s growth as part of Slippery Rock University’s ongoing “Pittsburgh 100” lecture series Oct. 21.

           The 12:30 p.m. address will be delivered in the Advanced Technology and Science Hall. 

           The free series, done in conjunction with the Pittsburgh business newspaper, is designed to spotlight successful western Pennsylvania businesses as a way of inspiring entrepreneurs considering developing and expanding new businesses in the region. The series is sponsored by SRU’s College of Information, Business and Social Sciences and the SRU School of Business.

           Lejeck founded the firm that specializes in providing security for high-rise and high-occupancy buildings in 2003. His company employs more than 70 and services more than 40 clients in Pittsburgh and Chicago. Company growth shows a 216 percent increase in revenue from 2006-07, taking the top honor in the Real Estate Construction Development category in the business newspaper’s growth lists.

            Lejeck served five years in the U.S. Army during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and came to understand the importance of preparedness and security.

Prior to co-founding BKS, he served as director of security for Pittsburgh’s U.S. Steel Tower, a 2.4-million-square-foot, Class-A commercial high-rise, and Chicago’s River City Apartments, a 1.2-million-square-foot residential high-rise. While in the military, he was responsible for training stateside units deploying to Iraq. He received three Army Achievement Medals and an Army Commendation Medal.

He is a certified CPR/AED and first aid instructor with the American Red Cross and a certified fire safety director by the Chicago Bureau of Fire Prevention. Lejeck is a graduate of Moraine Valley Community College and has an associate of arts degree from the University of Illinois-Chicago, School of Business.

He is an active member of the Pittsburgh community, utilizing his business and leadership experience to contribute to such organizations as the Downtown Pittsburgh YMCA as well as the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Race to Any Place, the largest stationary bike race in western Pennsylvania.

Slippery Rock University is Pennsylvania’s premier public residential university. Slippery Rock University provides students with a comprehensive learning experience that intentionally combines academic instruction with enhanced educational and learning opportunities that make a positive difference in their lives.