APCO News

APCO Member Nominated for L'Oreal's Woman of Worth

Angelia Curran, an EMS Supervisor and Telecommunicator Instructor from EAMC EMS in Opelika, AL, was nominated for L'Oreal's Woman of Worth.  She has been chosen to represent the South Central Region.  Now the 13 regional nominees are competing for the National Woman of Worth. The voting is conducted on-line and the woman who accumulates the most votes will win $25,000 for a charity of her choice, which in this case will be the Friendship (AL) Volunteer Fire Department.  Show your support for Angelia by visiting http://www.womenofworth.com/home/home.aspx and voting for her by October 14.

APCO Launches Next Generation of Project RETAINS

This week, APCO International announced the launch of the Next Generation of Project RETAINS (Responsive Effort To Address Integral Needs in Staffing).   In 2004, as a part of Project RETAINS, APCO International conducted the first nationwide study of staffing and retention in public safety communications centers.  In the Next Generation of the RETAINS study, APCO International, in partnership with George Mason University's Center for Social Science Research (GMU), will be looking at the current state of employee retention nationally and will study the role of the radio dispatcher and how to estimate appropriate staffing levels for this position.  Visit http://www.apcoretains.org.

Is the FCC Radio Licensing Process Weighing you Down?

Every day, public safety applications are being delayed or rejected due to paperwork errors. Many public safety agencies lack the full time expertise to properly maintain their FCC licenses to operate their radio system.  Your FCC license gives your agency the rights and privileges to operate on assigned frequencies.  Don't risk losing the most important resources keeping your agency in operation.  Let APCO AFC help you obtain your FCC license, keep it and nurture it. APCO-AFC will be conducting a web seminar on various services provided by AFC on November 14 at 2:00 PM EST.  To learn more or to register please visit http://www.apcointl.com/institute/webinars.htm.

From Washington

911 Modernization and Safety Act Mark Up

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will markup H.R. 3403, the "911 Modernization and Safety Act of 2007," on October 10.  Visit http://energycommerce.house.gov/membios/schedule.shtml for more information.

Conferences and Meetings

Registration for the 5th Annual Winter Summit is Open

Register early and save!  To begin your registration and to find out more about this year's Summit please visit www.apcointl.com/wintersummit2008.

Western Regional Call for Papers

The New Mexico Chapter is looking for quality speakers to present on a variety of topics at the Western Regional Conference to be held in Albuquerque, NM in March 2008. We are looking for speakers that are of interest to dispatchers, supervisory staff, and management topics addressing training needs, motivation, officer down response, local crisis response, technical issues and other current issues.  If you are interested in participating as a speaker, please send information to theyoungs123@msn.com attention Elaine, Program Chair.  Additional information can be found at www.nmpsta.org.  The deadline for submissions is November 30.

Mid-Eastern Chapter Fall Training Conference

The Mid-Eastern Chapter of APCO will hold its Annual Fall Training Conference and Exposition October 11-13 at the Atlantic Sands Hotel in Rehoboth Beach, DE. For information on this exciting event visit us at http://www.mideasternapco.com/.

New Mexico APCO/NENA Fall Conference

The New Mexico APCO/NENA Fall Conference will be held in Albuquerque, NM October 15-17.  Visit http://www.nmpsta.org/ for more information.

Illinois Chapter 23rd Annual 9-1-1 Conference

The Illinois Chapters of APCO and NENA in cooperation with the Illinois Commerce Commission will hold their 23rd Annual 9-1-1 Conference October 21- 24 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Springfield, IL. For information on this exciting event visit us at http://www.911conference.org/.

2007 Alaska Symposium for Emergency Communications

The first ever Alaska Symposium for Emergency Communications (ASEC) brought to you by the Alaska Chapters of NENA, APCO and NLECTC-NW will be held October 22-24.  Visit http://www.alaskaapco.org/ for more information.

West Virginia Chapter Conference

The West Virginia Chapter is meeting for training and a vendor show October 22-26 at the Canaan Resort and Conference Center.  Please contact Connie Thomaschek at 304-623-6559 cthomaschek@harrco911.org for registration and more information.

Region 18 (LA) 700 MHz Public Safety Planning Committee Meeting

The Region 18 (Louisiana) 700 MHz Public Safety Planning Committee announces its next two meetings.  The meetings are scheduled as follows: October 24 at 9:00 a.m. at The Carter Plantation, 23475 Carter Trace, Springfield, Louisiana, and; November 14 at 10:00 a.m. at the at the State Claiborne Bldg, 1-155 North Dakota Room, 1201 N 3rd Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  The purpose of these meetings will be to review, discuss, and approve the latest draft of the 700 MHz Region 18 plan.  For more information contact William R. Vincent, Sr. at 337.291.5060 or eoc@lafayettegov.net.

Region 14 (IN) 700 MHz Region Planning Committee Meetings

The Region 14 (Indiana) 700 MHz Region Planning Committee will hold meetings on October 24 at 1:00 p.m. (EST) in the training room of the Greensburg Police Department, 201 South Broadway, Greensburg, IN 47240, and on December 12 at 1:00 p.m. (EST) at the Indiana State Police Communications Division Training Room, 8500 East 21st Street, Indianapolis, IN.  Visit http://region14rpc.googlepages.com/ for more information.

2007 Atlantic Chapter Conference

The Atlantic Chapter announces world renowned forensic expert Dr. Henry Lee will be  presenting one of its "Supersessions" at the 2007 Atlantic Chapter Conference and Business Meeting being held at the Mystic Marriott in Mystic, Conn. October 29-31.  Visit http://www.apco-atlantic.org/ for more information.

Wyoming Chapter Announces Annual Conference

The Wyoming Chapter Annual Conference will be held November 13-14 at the Holiday Inn in Casper, Wyoming.  Contact Bill Gordon at tpdadmin@hscounty.com for more information.

Montana Chapter Conference

The Montana Chapter of APCO is holding its 2007 conference on November 15 and 16 in Great Falls, Montana at the Best Western Heritage Inn. For more information, including attendee and vendor registration forms, visit http://www.mtapco.org/. For more information contact Kimberly Burdick at kburdick@mtapco.org or President Susan Bomstad at sbomstad@mtapco.org.

Training and Certification

Continuing Education Discount

We recognize the need for continuing education and will be offering a significant discount on select titles from our "Training in a Box" series every month. The titles will be packaged to meet specific training needs for EMD, supervisors, call handling techniques, liability issues and HAZMAT and fire calls. The cost for each package will range from $99 for the three-title package and up to $125 for the five-title package. Each title contains a 1-2 hour lesson, complete with PowerPoint and student test. For additional information on the "Training in a Box" Series please visit http://www.apcointl.com/institute/products_publications.htm. The October Series - Three Titles for $99 including Shipping and Handling - includes Concepts of Legal Liability, Liability Issues for Public Safety Telecommunicators, and EMD Legal Issues.

Share Your Knowledge by Way of a Web Seminar

Do you have a subject or training topic that is of special interest and that you would like to share? The APCO Institute is seeking new areas of interest to present for our Web Seminar Series each Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. A fun and effortless way to share information without leaving your desk. All presenters are compensated for their time by the APCO Institute. If interested, please contact schatelk@apco911.org for details

New Institute Training Schedule

APCO Institute will be introducing a regional training program in the fall of 2007. All of  the Institute's certification courses will be offered in select locations throughout the country, thus allowing agencies to plan in advance for their training needs. If your agency would like to participate and has a facility that will accommodate large groups and will be available for a minimum of three weeks, please email schatelk@apco911.org.

North Central Region Training Schedule

Bolingbrook, IL - October 15-17 - CCSC
Bolingbrook, IL - October 25 - Homeland Security
Papillion, NE - November 6-8 - CTO
Westerville, OH - December 3-5 - CTO
Deerfield, IL - March 7, 2008 - Homeland Security

Receive High Quality Grant Writing Training at a Discount

Grant Writing USA provides the most highly sought after grants training in America and now,  through a partnership with APCO Institute, APCO members can receive a $25 discount upon   entering APCO when registering for any Grant Writing USA course!  Visit   http://www.grantwritingusa.com/ to register.

Web Seminars

Join the APCO Institute each Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. for quality training and fun interaction with your peers. Each web seminar is one hour long and qualifies for one continuing dispatch education (CDE) credit. For more information or to register, log onto the APCO Institute website at http://www.apcointl.com/institute/webinars.htm. The upcoming title is Effective Practices for Employee Selection and Retention on October 10.

Click here for info on the Winter Summit.

Click here for info on Project RETAINS.

Click here for info on TERT.

Click here for the Calendar of Events.

Click here for frequency coordination information.

Click here for rebanding information.

Click here for APCO publications.

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Attend one of our co-hosted classes! 

Public Safety Telecommunicator 1, 6th Edition
Greenfield, MO November 5-9

Communications Training Officer
South Winsor, CT November 6-8

Communications Training Officer Instructor
Sugar Land, TX November 5-9
  
Communications Center Supervisor 
Bolingbrook, IL October 15-17
Papillion, NE  November 6-8 

Telecommuicator's Role In Homeland Security    
Bolingbrook, IL October 22-24

Emergency Medical Dispatch Instructor
Bedford, VA  November 12-16