Legacy
The founder’s story · from the public recordTony Marquis started Homeland Safety Systems in Shreveport in 2003 after years in the security industry, having watched larger companies install 'piecemeal technology' without understanding what the customer needed. His answer was a company that would design, build and install every system itself, from start to finish, and then support it with its own people. The company's own About page puts the founding idea more bluntly: technology had progressed to the point that 'if you can dream it, we can do it.' Cobalt company page: Founding Story · HSS: About
The customers HSS chose were public ones: school districts, jails and sheriffs' offices, municipalities and state agencies across Louisiana and into Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi. That meant camera systems for campuses, access control and door locks, detention locking and jail control platforms, intrusion alarms and metal detectors, sold through the contract vehicles public buyers need: a GSA schedule, a Louisiana brand-name contract, the TIPS cooperative and state contracts in three other states. The company holds contractor, fire-marshal and alarm licences in all four. HSS: About (licences and contracts) · Cobalt: Cobalt Continues Momentum (Apr 2024)
From Shreveport the company added offices in Monroe, New Iberia and St. Rose, and says it now protects more than 2,000 facilities. It describes its clientele as 'a small, but dedicated group of clients' who know it will do what it says, and its staff as a mixed crew of telephone-and-data, IT, circuit-design, mechanical and electrical backgrounds. Marquis also built HSS to stay ahead of the technology curve, and its blog from 2023 and 2024 is about school safety, school cyber-attacks, GSA and TIPS purchasing and the case for access control in schools. HSS: About · HSS: Blog · Cobalt company page: Founding Story
Marquis wrote that choosing a partner mattered because the decision had consequences for 'my work family,' loyal customers and products developed over years of hard work. He chose Cobalt because its young team asked the right questions, took a genuine interest in what set HSS apart, and wanted to 'supercharge' what the company did well rather than strip it for parts; he also credited a shared commitment to honesty and owning up to mistakes. His sign-off was that after getting it wrong a few times, Cobalt's Tyler Hoffman 'eventually learned how to spell Geaux Tigers.' The deal closed in April 2024 and was announced on April 9 with three other companies; Marquis was described as continuing with the business, and Cobalt has since installed Ann Day as CEO. Cobalt company page: Why Cobalt? · Cobalt: Cobalt Continues Momentum (Apr 2024) · Cobalt: Our Team
The team
The people who built itRead the detail
HSS's site names no staff. The people named publicly are founder Tony Marquis and, on Cobalt's team page, CEO Ann Day.
In the community
What they gave back · on the record- SafetyHSS publishes school-safety guidance for Louisiana districts: how safe schools are, whether a school can survive being hacked, video surveillance and access control for education (2023 blog series).
- CommunityThe company offers free security assessments and demos to education and government facilities in its four states.
- AwardHSS is an awarded vendor of the TIPS purchasing cooperative and holds a GSA schedule so that public bodies can buy without separate bids.
In their words
3 public statements · founder first- 2024Tony Marquis · cobaltsp.com (Our Companies)
What it says
Founder's own account: why he started HSS in 2003, the custom start-to-finish model, staying ahead of technology including AI, and a five-point list of why he chose Cobalt (right questions, genuine interest, 'supercharging' not stripping, honesty, follow-through), ending with the Geaux Tigers joke.
- 2023-12-18Homeland Safety Systems · homelandsafetysystems.com (Blog)
What it says
Company post on school violence and the case for integrated security; part of a six-post series from May 2023 to Feb 2024 (access control in schools, video surveillance for education, school hacking, GSA contracts, TIPS vendors).
- 2024-04-09Tyler Hoffman; Anthony Gonzalez · cobaltsp.com; also Business Wire, Alpine newsroom, SDM, SSI
What it says
Buyer's announcement: HSS founded 2003 by Tony Marquis, Shreveport, security systems across the Southeast with a focus on school districts and correctional facilities. Quotes are Hoffman and Gonzalez only.
Founder Q&A
In their own words · by email · published with permissionWe’d like Tony Marquis (Anthony Marquis) to tell this story in their own words. Ran this company, or built it alongside the founder? Ten questions by email, answered at your pace, published only with your OK.
The sale
As both sides told it · on the public recordCobalt announced HSS on April 9, 2024 as one of four add-ons that extended the platform into access control and video surveillance, describing it as founded in 2003 by Tony Marquis and focused on school districts and correctional facilities across the Southeast. Hoffman said the four founders had 'trusted us as the long-term home for their businesses'; Gonzalez said Cobalt's focus is removing roadblocks to scale, especially technician recruiting. Cobalt's company page dates the close to April 2024.
Marquis said the choice of partner had consequences for his 'work family,' customers and products, and that he chose Cobalt because its team showed alignment with his and HSS's values: a young, energetic team asking the right questions, genuine interest in what sets HSS apart, a philosophy of supercharging rather than stripping the company for parts, and a shared commitment to honesty and doing what they say. He said he felt 'totally comfortable that the legacy of HSS would be honored and expanded.'
What happened after
Public signals since the sale · dated3 dated public signals in the 2.4 years since the sale: other 1 · operations 1 · leadership 1. The record, not our opinion.
- Apr 2024The dealClosesource
Detail
Close (Cobalt company page: 'Acquisition Date: April 2024'); announced April 9, 2024 with ADW, Toepfer and IDC.
- Feb 5, 2024SignalLast dated blog postsource
Detail
Last dated blog post (TIPS awarded vendors); no company news published since the sale.
- 2025OperationsSite footer shows 'Copyright 2025'source
Detail
Site footer shows 'Copyright 2025'; the About page now carries two sets of Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi licence and contract numbers side by side, and a TIPS vendor listing appears under 'Homeland Safety Systems LLC' as well as 'Inc.', consistent with a new post-sale entity. The site does not mention Cobalt.
- Sep 28, 2026LeadershipCobalt's team page lists Ann Day as 'CEO, Homeland Safety Systems'source
Detail
Cobalt's team page lists Ann Day as 'CEO, Homeland Safety Systems' (nearly 20 years in strategic, operational and business-development leadership). No announcement of her appointment or of Marquis's current role was found.
Then and now
Founder and leadershipCompanies Cobalt Service Partners also bought
20 on the public recordSources
Everything above, dated Sept 28, 202610 sources · open the list
- Cobalt: Our Companies, Homeland Safety Systems
- Cobalt: Cobalt Continues Momentum With Four More Acquisitions (Apr 9, 2024)
- Alpine Investors: Cobalt Service Partners Acquires Four New Companies
- Business Wire: same release
- Cobalt: Our Team
- HSS: Home
- HSS: About (licences, contracts, offices)
- HSS: Blog
- HSS: Contact
- TIPS vendor profile: Homeland Safety Systems LLC (blocked; title only)
Unverified at publish
Whether Tony Marquis still has a role (announced as continuing in April 2024; an installed CEO now listed; nothing public either way); no founder photo or company logo URL on any permitted source (the site's logo is inlined as a data URI); employee count (never published); whether the 'LLC' entity and second licence set date from the sale; the three branch offices' addresses (only Shreveport's is printed); Google, BBB and Facebook ratings (not fetchable).