Virginia Chapter
National Emergency Number Association
2010 APCO/NENA Winter Session Presentations Available
The
annual Winter Session of the Virginia Chapters of APCO/NENA was held on
Thursday, January 28, 2010, at the Henrico PD Training Center. Presentations from the conference
(if provided by the presenter) are available for viewing and/or download on the
Chapter Conferences page of the Virginia
Chapter of APCO.
Announcements
Erin D. Elrod received the 2009 Governor’s Emergency Medical
Services Award for Outstanding Telecommunications Dispatcher award at the
http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/OEMS/symposium/2009AwardWinners.htm
Fall Conference - The 2009 Virginia APCO/NENA/Interoperability Conference and Exposition
drew over 540 attendees to the Hotel Roanoke October 27-30 as the Virginia Chapters
of APCO and NENA and the State Interoperability Executive Committee joined
together to package an outstanding package of educational seminars, workshops,
equipment displays, and vendor expositions focusing on public safety
communications and interoperability.
Themed “One Commonwealth – One Voice”, the conference brought together
individuals from multiple disciplines and numerous agencies; federal, state,
and local governments; and over 60 vendors for networking and education geared
to build on the Commonwealth’s leadership in 9-1-1, interoperability, and
public safety communications.
The
Virginia Chapter of APCO celebrated its 50th anniversary during the
Conference. APCO International President
Richard Mirgon and Second Vice President Terry Hall attended the
Conference.
The
Conference was dedicated to the memory of NENA’s
Virginia Chapter Past President George Kain Thomas (1964-2009) recognizing
his honor and spirit to the field of 9-1-1 and public safety communications.
The 2010
conference is tentatively scheduled for November 2-5, 2010. A special thanks to Bill Agee and Terry Hall
who co-chaired this year’s conference, and to the many individuals and
organizations who contributed to make the event a huge success.
Presentations
from the conference (if provided by the presenter) are available for viewing
and/or download on the Chapter Conferences page of the Virginia Chapter of APCO.
Save the Dates – The 2010 Virginia APCO-NENA Spring Conference will be held at the
Sheraton Oceanfront,
Officer Elections – Hershel Kreis (
Chapter Listserv – A new Chapter Listserv is now
active. All members with valid e-mail addresses
were subscribed upon activation. For
information on the VA-NENA listserv, visit Listserv.
It is with deep sorrow that we
inform the chapter of the death of our dear friend and Past President George
Thomas, Operations Support Manager of Chesterfield Emergency
Communications. Please keep his family and his colleagues in your
prayers.
George Kain Thomas, 44, of Henrico, passed away
Saturday, October 10, 2009. He is survived by his loving wife of 19 years,
Sheri S. Thomas; his two sons, Kain H. and Seth C. Thomas, who will greatly
miss their dad and best friend; his adored parents, George F. and Maureen J.
Thomas, of Henrico; his three sisters, Vicki Miller and husband, Chuck, of
Crozet, Cindy Greer and husband, Wayne, of Glen Allen, and Nancy Jernigan and
husband, Steve, of Rockville; in-laws, Arnold E. and Mary E. Smith, of Henrico;
and numerous nieces and nephews who will greatly miss their "Bubba."
George was a graduate of
Thomas Children Educational Fund
George's family has requested that any donations be made to the children's
educational fund. If you are interested in donating to the Thomas
children education fund, please make checks out to Kain and Seth Thomas and in the memo filed put "Educational Fund". Mail the
donations directly to:
Monument Heights Day School
ATTN: Lynn Cox
5716
Thank you for your support.
Obituary
– Richmond Times Dispatch
In Memoriam
Donald Lee Scott, E911 Director and Emergency Coordinator for Lee County, passed
away suddenly Saturday afternoon, November 7, 2009 at his home in Pennington
Gap. Don was very active in the
Donald Lee
Scott of
Condolences can be sent to the
family by e-mail to provincefuneralhome@earthlink.net
In The News
Iowa
9-1-1
Black
Hawk County First 9-1-1 Call Center to Participate in Landmark Effort Enabling
Speech and Hearing Impaired Citizens to Communicate Directly With 9-1-1 for
Help; Service to go live this July
The
organizations worked collaboratively to support the public safety needs of the
nation’s 31 million citizens with speech and hearing impairments who rely upon
text messaging as a primary means of communications. Currently they must
communicate with 9-1-1 operators using a relay center or a specialized
communications device.
"The
successful testing of text messaging to 9-1-1 from a wireless telephone is a tremendous emergency services advancement for individuals
who have sensory disabilities," said Richard Ray, chair of the National
Emergency Number Association's (NENA) Accessibility Committee. “I urge public
safety agencies to accelerate the deployment of this technology and to
encourage, support and celebrate efforts such as this."
“Increasingly
text is becoming the way people communicate and public safety must be able to
support 9-1-1 text messaging,” said Chief Thomas Jennings, chairman, Black Hawk
9-1-1 Board. “We are excited to have the opportunity to participate on a
solution to enable 9-1-1 texting for the Speech and Hearing impaired community
as well as set the stage for adoption by the larger texting population.”
“The
state of
The
new enhancement to 9-1-1 utilizes Short Message Service (SMS) to establish a
text conversation directly between the ‘caller’ and the 9-1-1 operator.
While SMS was not initially developed for use in public safety it has gained
widespread acceptance by the Speech and Hearing Impaired Community and is becoming
an increasingly popular form of communication. CTIA - the Wireless Association,
a wireless industry organization, estimates that the number of SMS text
messages exceeded one trillion in 2008. As part of this program techniques have
been identified that will improve the overall speed and reliability of 9-1-1
SMS to make it even better for public safety communications.
“This
effort was driven by our desire to support the public safety needs of the
speech and hearing impaired,” said George Heinrichs, Intrado president. “This
breakthrough will not only enhance their safety but the safety of others who
find themselves in special circumstances where texting is the best available
means to contact 9-1-1.”
“We
are excited to be a part of this landmark project to enable our deaf and hard
of hearing subscribers to text message to 9-1-1,” said Michael Haskins, i
wireless chief executive officer and chief operating officer. “i wireless has a strong commitment to public safety and to
bringing innovative services to our customers, and this pioneering project
creates a new method for requesting emergency services. We are proud to be the
first wireless carrier to provide this capability.”
“The
ability to reach the 9-1-1 center by text message will undoubtedly benefit millions
of Americans, especially those who are members of the Speech and Hearing
Impaired Community who rely on text messaging as their sole form of mobile
communication,” said Brian Fontes, chief executive officer, NENA. “Today’s
announcement demonstrates what can be achieved through commitment and
dedication to improving public safety and helping those who rely on 9-1-1 for
help.”
The
trial solution in
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Welcome to
the Virginia Chapter’s website. The
Executive Board has developed this site to provide key information and
resources for its members, other 9-1-1 professionals, and the general public
served by
Last Updated February 8, 2010