Shooter Stein '89

When James Stein, Jr., was born at 7 pounds, 11 ounces—numbers that are winning rolls when shooting craps—his uncle remarked, “It looks like we’ve got ourselves a shooter!” The lucky name stuck, and now more than three decades later, Shooter is the guy you call when you don’t want to take any chances. He’s the president of National Certified Alarms, which he co-founded with his dad in 1997. “We monitor, service, and sell alarm systems,” he says. “So we are people’s peace of mind.”

 

Shooter says that the company’s original business model was to offer alarm-monitoring services to residential and small commercial customers at rock-bottom prices. And after more than 10 years in the business, Shooter still feels passionate about providing people with a sense of security they can truly afford. Day to day, Shooter oversees the operations at NCA, including accounting, customer relations, and marketing, as well as the company’s participation in charity events to support local authorities and children’s organizations. But he also makes house calls—onsite visits to evaluate a potential client’s needs or to make repairs. A “qualified agent” in the industry, Shooter has a number of specialized technical certifications.

On the one hand, it’s not the career you’d expect from someone who thought of himself as something of a class clown at Harding and who went on to major in theater at the College of Charleston. On the other hand, it’s possible that his education at Harding nurtured Shooter’s entrepreneurial spirit. He notes that Harding’s teachers “really helped me to be independent. They were always there when I took a tumble and helped me get back on my feet.”

 

After graduating from Montgomery Bell Academy and then college, Shooter did a bit of marketing and advertising work before going into business with his father, who had previous experience in the home security industry. “It has been very rewarding to learn how to create and grow a company on your own,” says Shooter, noting, “My father has always been somewhat of my hero growing up, and it has been wonderful to be able to be with him every day.”

 

Outside of work, Shooter devotes his time to his family. He and wife Libby have a young daughter named Savannah and are expecting a baby in March.