Virginia Chapter

National Emergency Number Association

Virginia Chapter Officers

President

Denise Johnson

(Prince George County)

(804) 733-6449 - office

djohnson@princegeorgeva.org

6600 Courthouse Rd.

Prince George, VA 23875

First Vice President

Hershel Kreis

(James City County)

hkreis@james-city.va.us

(757) 564-2190 - office

3131 Forge Road

Toano, VA 23168

Second Vice President

Bernard J. “Buster” Brown

911 Operations Manager

494 West Rosewood Drive

Barboursville, VA 22923

(434) 985-2222

bbrown@gcvasheriff.us

Secretary

Susan Rorrer

(Nelson County)

(434) 263-7120
SRorrer@nelsoncounty.org

84 Courthouse Square

Lovingston, VA 22949

Treasurer

Chris Knights

(Intrado Inc.)
264 Autumn Oaks Lane
Barboursville, VA 22923
(434) 985-6161 - office
chris.knights@intrado.com

Immediate Past President

Rodney Gentry, ENP

(Hanover County)

(804) 365-6162 - office

rlgentry@co.hanover.va.us

PO Box 470

Hanover, VA 23069-0470

Officer Biographies

President: Denise P. Johnson began her career with the Hopewell Bureau of Police in 1989 as communications officer. In 2002 she was hired as the Communications Manager for Dinwiddie County. In 2004 she was hired with L. Robert Kimball & Associates as a telecommunications specialist. In October of 2005 she was hired as the PSAP Manager for Prince George County where she is currently employed. She has been active on various NENA conference committees. Throughout her career she has been a communications officer, training officer, instructor with the Department of Criminal Justice, EMD instructor and is also an EMT. While with local government she has been involved with two PSAP construction projects. Both of these projects have included building a new PSAP, complete radio replacement, new CAD, phone equipment and managing up to 19 employees. While with Kimball and Associates she worked on a number of different building projects, staffing studies and assessments. She has enjoyed working with the PSAP’s across the state and hopes to continue that relationship as a NENA officer. She is married to Kevin Johnson who is a police officer for the City of Hopewell. She has 5 children, Ariel 15, Stepsons Kevin Jr. 20, and Brian 11 and two stepdaughters Lindsay 18 and Katie 15.

First Vice President: Hershel Kreis began working for James City County in September of 1990 after serving 9 years in the Navy. He started working in the Communications Center in February of 1993. In 1999, he was promoted to Supervisor. He has served on two national NENA working groups. The first developed the Minimum Standards for Emergency Telephone Notification Systems Operating Standard. The second was the Wide Area/Statewide Emergency Notification Systems Operating Document. He is a member of both APCO and NENA, and has DCJS General Instructor, VCIN instructor and EMD instructor certifications. He is a peer member of the Peninsulas EMS Council CISM team. He has been married to his wife Allyson for 6 years and is the proud father of Justin 16, John 12, and Emma 4. Hershel is involved in amateur radio and is the current President of the Williamsburg Area Amateur Radio Club and a member of the Potomac Valley Radio Club which specializes in radiosports. He is also involved with his church and is a member of the Gideons.

Second Vice President: Bernard J. Brown is currently the 911 Operations Manager of Greene County. His 20+ years in Emergency Services began in 1984 as a driver for a private ambulance company just outside of Buffalo, New York where he was born and raised. “Buster” as he is known by friends and colleagues came up through the ranks – so to speak. A list of job titles includes EMT, dispatcher, shift supervisor, and Operations Manager. Since working as Manager in Greene, Buster has implemented EMD and Reverse 911 in the county, and has brought a higher-level of state and national training certifications to the agency staff. Buster is involved with both NENA and APCO on both state and national levels. He is an APCO adjunct instructor, serving on multiple committees including the state and international membership committees, as well as chairing the Spring Virginia NENA/APCO conference programs. He is a DCJS Instructor and American Heart Association BLS Instructor. Buster has lived in Virginia for 3 years and lives in Barboursville with his wife Nancy, and four daughters: Rebecca, Laura, Michelle, and Jessica. Sons Adam and Korie live in New York and are both pursuing their own careers in Public Safety.

Secretary: Susan Rorrer was elected secretary of the Virginia Chapter of NENA in April of 2007. Susan graduated from Lynchburg College in Virginia in 1993 with a B.S. Degree in Environmental Science. She began her career in local government with Nelson County in 1992 and has been employed by the County for the past 15 years, a portion of which time was spent managing the initial implementation of the County’s E-911 system. Susan currently serves as the Information Systems Director for Nelson County and oversees E-911, GIS and IT systems operations. Susan resides in Nelson County with her husband, Scott, and their two children, Haley and Zach.

Treasurer: Chris Knights is the current Treasurer of the Virginia NENA Chapter. Chris graduated with a degree in Geography from Mary Washington College (Fredericksburg, VA) in 1995. He has since worked in the commercial sector working on Federal, State, and Local government contracts in the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) industry. More recently, Chris spent over four years at MSAG Data Consultants (Orange, VA) where he was a regional Sales Manager selling IT solutions and GIS Public Safety software to PSAPs and other local/state government agencies. Chris is currently employed at Intrado as an Account Executive selling Next Generation 9-1-1 solutions to the Public Safety industry. Chris has thorough experience in high-tech sales and consulting with Public Safety agencies on 9-1-1 technology, including Wireless, VoIP, GIS, and 9-1-1 Call-handling. In addition, Chris currently holds a Governor-appointed position on the Virginia Geographic Information Network (VGIN) Advisory Board. Chris has been a Virginia resident for 15 years and resides in Greene County with his wife, Erica, and their three children, Lindsay, Jared, and Carson.

Immediate Past President: Rodney Gentry is the Immediate pPast President of the Virginia Chapter of NENA. Born in July 1973, he has lived all his life in Virginia and currently resides in Hanover. He began is career in radio oddly enough, as a DJ for local radio stations in his late teen years. He was hired by Hanover Communications as a Dispatcher in April 1995. He was promoted to Shift Supervisor in 1998 and Senior Shift Supervisor in 1999. Rodney was then promoted to CAD/911 Manager in 2001 and currently serves in that same capacity, albeit a different title – Systems Administrator for Hanover County Communications. His responsibilities lie in the technology aspects of the 911 industry, radio, and CAD. He is currently involved with the team that is building the new 911 Center and Countywide Motorola Radio System. Rodney joined NENA because of the technology that NENA was and will be involved with, in the 911 Industry. He is a certified Emergency Number Professional (ENP). Rodney is also a current member of APCO and continues to strive to see both Chapters work together in joint projects! Rodney lives in Mechanicsville, is soon to be married (November 2007) to his fiancé Michelle. He has a son named R.J.

Committees

2007 Spring Conference Committee – Denise P. Johnson, Chair; djohnson@princegeorgeva.org, 804-733-6449 – office

Membership – Emmy Isbell, Chair; Emmy.Isbell@Embarq.com

By-Laws Review – George Thomas, Chair; ThomasGK@chesterfield.gov