APCO 2026 kicked off officially Sunday with the First General Business Session as attendees heard the platform of the second vice president candidate, considered a bylaws amendment to add at-large seats to the Board of Directors, and got an update from APCO’s chief counsel on the association’s legislative and regulatory priorities.
Speaking at the Henry B. González Convention Center in San Antonio, APCO President Jack Varnado introduced the Executive Committee: First Vice President Michael O’Connor, Second Vice President Jennifer Reese and Immediate Past President Stephen P. Martini.
The assembly approved life member status for Jeryl Anderson and Grayson Gusa of the North Carolina Chapter; Cheryl Konarski of the Missouri Chapter; John Lemmon of the Northern California Chapter; and Melissa Stroh of the Idaho Chapter. Five new regional representatives will join the Board of Directors before the conference concludes Wednesday.
Nicole McGinnis, APCO chief counsel and director of the Government Relations Office, said APCO continues to press Congress and federal agencies to support Next Generation 9-1-1, including a uniform, interoperable nationwide system and a national 9-1-1 and public-safety grant program. She noted that the House fiscal 2027 spending bill, approved in April, included funding priorities that APCO is tracking on Capitol Hill. She also cited progress on reclassification of public safety telecommunicators under the protective services occupation classification.
McGinnis said the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a technology-neutral definition of NG 9-1-1 service and is seeking comment on interoperability testing standards. She said the FCC also moved to strengthen security for the Emergency Alert System and for wireless emergency alerts. She said that APCO is urging the FCC to expand multimedia alerting capabilities and to improve geographic targeting.
On spectrum issues, McGinnis said a July 21 federal appellate court rejected challenges to the FCC’s 4.9 GHz band manager framework, clearing the way for the commission to finalize technical rules.
McGinnis said APCO is also asking the FCC to open rulemaking on 5G “sidelink” technology, which would let devices communicate directly with each other when traditional networks are unavailable.
McGinnis invited members to a panel discussion on government affairs on Monday at 2 p.m. and an hour-long FCC update on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m., both featuring representatives from the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau.
First Vice President O’Connor presented a resolution to add two at-large positions to the Board of Directors, elected by the full Executive Council. They would not be required to have served on the Executive Council. O’Connor said the amendment would expand leadership pathways. The Membership Quorum at Tuesday’s Second General Business Session will vote on the resolution, which requires a two-thirds majority to pass.
Brian Lamonica, past Atlantic Chapter president who serves as communications supervisor for the combined 9-1-1 center at the Southampton Village Police Department on Long Island, New York, is the sole candidate for second vice president. He addressed the assembly and asked members for their support. Lamonica said his broad experience gave him an understanding of the challenges facing public safety telecommunicators. He cited advancing technology as requiring strong leadership, innovation and collaboration. Online voting for second vice president is open through 2:15 p.m. Central time Tuesday.
