CHAPTER NEWS & BUSINESS

These news items were first published on the Chapter’s homepage.

Roanoke County Communications Accredited by CALEA

Please join the Virginia Chapter of APCO in congratulating the Roanoke County (VA) Communications Center which joins a very elite group of 63 public safety communications centers (from a total of more then 6,100) in the United States that have successfully met the 218 CALEA accreditation standards specific to public safety communication centers. They are the 6th public safety communications center in Virginia to be accredited by CALEA, making Virginia the state with the second largest number of communications centers accredited; Florida has the most with 8.

Articles of Incorporation and Revised Bylaws Adopted

The RESOLUTIONS AND BY-LAWS COMMITTEE submitted resolutions for consideration at the Chapter’s annual business meeting on October 30, 2009, in Roanoke, to approve a new Articles of Incorporation as drafted by an attorney assisting the Chapter with incorporation and to revise the Chapter By-Laws. These changes came from the many meetings of the Resolution and By-Laws Committee, the attorney, and from the recent changes to the APCO International By-Laws. These changes, as amended and adopted by the Chapter, allow the Chapter bylaws and the International by-laws to better conform to each other. The new set of bylaws replaces the previous Constitution and Bylaws of the Virginia Chapter.  Visit Governance (Bylaws) to view the updated documents.

Erin Elrod Named Outstanding Telecommunications Dispatcher

Erin D. Elrod was awarded the 2009 Governor’s Emergency Medical Services Award for Outstanding Telecommunications Dispatcher award at the 2009 Virginia EMS Symposium held in Norfolk November 12-15. Erin has been employed by the Winchester Emergency Communications Center for more than 13 years and has served in the Director’s position since May 2005. During that period she has proven to be a tremendous asset to both the EMS community and her staff. Her leadership and management skills were put to the test when her workforce was at an all time low due to staffing shortages, but she was able to increase her team from five to twelve full-time members.

She also set up an extensive and cohesive training program for telecommunications specialists. Erin kept team morale strong by establishing programs like “Dress Up Day”, where employees would donate $5 to dress in their favorite funky socks or funny hat. Then, the money collected would go toward community outreach projects like the Salvation Army Angel Tree, breast cancer research, gifts for residents at nursing homes and other worthwhile causes. Erin’s dedication and significant contributions to Virginia’s local, regional and state EMS system are exceptional and greatly appreciated by the Commonwealth of Virginia.

2009 Award Winners

2009 APCO/NENA/Interoperability Conference Huge Success

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 50^th 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 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.

The Virginia Communications Cache, hosted by the Harrisonburg-Rockingham ECC, was among the exhibits garnering high interest from attendees. Here the cache hosts a visit from Virginia Tech Football Coach Frank Beamer and members of the football team. The football team stayed at the Hotel Roanoke prior to its Thursday night game. Members of the cache team later paid a visit to Blacksburg for the game.

President’s Address – 2009 Annual Meeting

Incoming President Karen B. Johnson (New Kent County) offered the following comments upon her installation as President during the Chapter’s annual meeting held in Roanoke on October 30:

Good morning International President Dick Mirgon, International Second Vice President Terry Hall, APCO members, NENA members, SIEC members, and all guests. I would like to thank all of you for giving me this opportunity to come before you as the 2010 Virginia Chapter President.

I am one of the lucky ones who have their PSAP to support them. I would like to thank Sheriff Farrar “Wakie” Howard, Lt. Gardner and our administrative staff April Davidson & Deborah Rindahl for their support and encouragement today. Everyone that I have just mentioned to you knows something about dispatching including the sheriff.

I am honored to stand before my professional colleagues today. I have sat where you are now for seven years and used to wonder if I would or could ever be up here doing this job. Thanks to our Past President Linda Goodridge who believed in my ability to hold the Secretary position, here I am living my dream. This has made me have to step up and learn to face new challenges. I am ready for the challenges. I am here to serve the members of this the Virginia APCO Chapter without any hesitation.

My goals are to promote the education of public safety communication officers in the commonwealth, encourage adequate and continual training, while also encouraging education in our communities. We need to believe in sufficient pay with the huge responsibility that we have as telecommunicators. We need to encourage the use of EMD in every jurisdiction in the Commonwealth to implement Emergency Medical Dispatching. Opportunities should be garnered and taken to recognize our profession and for the positive contributions we make to our communities, not just the negatives. Let’s try and make sure that we give ourselves a little pat on the back for what we do for the citizens of Virginia.

Again, I’m here to represent you, looking forward to an exciting year. Stay tuned. Please do not ever hesitate to reach to me as your representative throughout the coming year.

Karen B. Johnson

E-911 Coordinator/Communications Assistant

New Kent Sheriff's Office

Chapter Officers Elected and Installed for 2009-2010

The Election of Officers of the Virginia Chapter of APCO was held at the annual meeting in Roanoke, Virginia, on October 30, 2009.

Karen Johnson (New Kent County) assumed the office of President and Steve Souder (Fairfax County) was selected to fill the office of President-Elect. Julie McKercher (James City County) was elected as Vice-President. The Chapter aligned a number of acting positions so that these officers will serve in their full capacity of designated officership for the 2009-2010 year.

Carol Adams (Stafford County) became the Immediate Past President and was recognized for her outstanding leadership as president over the past year.

Emily Totten (Roanoke County) was elected as Secretary for the 2009-2010 year. Melinda Bramley (Virginia Beach ECC) will serve the second of a two-year term as Treasurer.

Kathy Richardson (Charlottesville-UVA-Albemarle) and Pat Shumate (Roanoke County) were elected to two-year terms as Members-at-large (2009-2011). Phil Heins (Hanover County) and Steve Basnett (Culpeper County) continue to serve as Members-at-large to the Chapter’s Executive Council for the second year of their two-year term (2008-2010). The title of these positions changes as a result of the adopted bylaws revisions.

Bill Agee (Franklin County) was elected to serve as the Chapter Delegate to the APCO International Executive Council, filling the unexpired term created when Terry Hall was elected as APCO International’s Second Vice President.

Officers were installed by APCO International President Richard Mirgon.

Updated Records Retention and Disposition Schedule

There have been recent changes to the Library of Virginia Records Retention and Disposition Schedule.

Of note, the following information is highlighted:

Accreditation Documents (GS 17, Item 100813) – retention is now 15 years (previously 10 years);

Emergency Call Records – Tapes, Retained as Evidence (GS 17, Item 100750) – retention is now 10 years (previously 3 years) or until case resolved or evidence released, whichever is longer;

Emergency Call Records – 911 System Maintenance (GS 17, Item 100747) – retain as long as administratively necessary (3) years, then destroy;

Radio Transmissions (non-emergency calls) (311) – retain 2 years after last entry (previously retain 2 years after creation), then destroy.

Fairfax County Communications Honor Guard Highlighted

The Fairfax County Department of Public Safety Communications Honor Guard provided the presentation of colors at two events recently held in the DC area.  Participating in the recent APCO Policy & Leadership Awards Dinner were (L to R) Public Safety Communicator (PSC) I Shalonda Jones, PSC I Christopher Frederick, PSC III Erikk Daniels, PSC II Maronda Lockhart, PSC II Liza Nicholas, and Assistant Supervisor Alicia Dale.

The Honor Guard also presented colors at the “9-1-1 Honors Gala” held March 26, 2009, at historic Union Station in Washington D.C. Vocalist Sherrie White sang the National Anthem to open the event which was hosted by the E9-1-1 Institute, in conjunction with the Congressional E9-1-1 Caucus and the National Emergency Number Association (NENA).   Back row (L to R): PSC I Christopher Frederick, PSC III Erikk Daniels, PSC II Liza Nicholas, and Director Steve Souder. Front Row:  Assistant Supervisor Sherrie White, PSC II Maronda Lockhart, PSC I Shalonda Jones, and Assistant Supervisor Alicia Dale.

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Bill Hobgood Honored By E9-1-1 Institute

WASHINGTON--The E9-1-1 Institute, in conjunction with the Congressional E9-1-1 Caucus and the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), presented Linwood W. “Bill” Hobgood, Jr., the Systems Development Leader for Richmond, Virginia’s Department of Information Technology, with the 9-1-1 Technician Award as part of the 6^th annual “9-1-1 Honors Gala” held March 26, 2009, at historic Union Station in Washington D.C. The purpose of the 9-1-1 Technician Award is to honor the quiet leaders whose work is largely behind-the-scenes, yet essential to making 9-1-1 voice and data networks reliable and effective. Bill Hobgood leads a team of developers in the programming, implementation and enhancement of automated computer systems that support the City of Richmond’s Public Safety Answering Point, or PSAP.

Not only is Hobgood the architect of Richmond’s current computer aided dispatch, or CAD system, but has since the beginning been its primary source of technical support. Recently, his expertise and his involvement with an alarm data exchange project has resulted in 4,500 fewer calls to the PSAP, increasing efficiency of the machine to machine data transfers prevalent in emergency communications today.

“It is truly an honor for our organizations to once again recognize the everyday heroes of 9-1-1,” said Gregory L. Rohde, Executive Director of the E9-1-1 Institute. “Without the initiative and technical know-how of people like Bill, the calls simply would not go through.”

Virginia’s Region 42 700 MHz Plan is now available for your review.

Region 42 700 MHz Plan

To Download, Right Click and “Save File/Target As”

Virginia T.E.R.T. Guidelines Released

The T.E.R.T. Steering Committee has released Guidelines and Application Information for the Virginia Telecommunicator Emergency Response Team Program. Questions or comments may be directed to Committee Chair Julie P. McKercher, Director - James City County Emergency Communications.

Program Guidelines and Applications

Right Click and “Save File/Target As” to Download

Virginia Chapter Endorses Common Language Protocols

February 23, 2007

Dear Virginia APCO Members:

The Virginia Chapter of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (VA APCO) recognizes the need for clear, concise and consistent communications between all Virginia responders.  Coded communications has historically caused communications breakdowns among responders and especially between localities.  VA APCO applauds the effort of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the State Interoperability Executive Committee's initiative and best practices for Common Language Protocols.

For this reason, the Executive Board of VA APCO has unanimously voted to endorse the Virginia Common Language protocols and encourages the use of the protocols for all communications.  The Executive Board of VA APCO encourages you to affect usage of the Virginia Common Language Protocols in your employment, locality or business so as to promulgate the protocol's usage throughout the Commonwealth.

Sincerely,

Bill Agee, President

Virginia Chapter of APCO

View or Download Endorsement Letter

To Download, Right Click and “Save File/Target As”

Chapter History

Chapter Historian Butch Johnstone has been researching the Chapter’s history. He has provided an Adobe file with an early Bulletin article, page 21, and the oldest copy of Constitution and By-Laws that International can find (the first 20 pages).  Actually, this represents the entire contents of International's file on VA Chapter.  The Bulletin article includes the names of those instrumental in chapter formation (APCO President Paul Franklin, Virginians: Marshall, Lee, Anderson, Crosen and 23 others), past membership in the National Chapter, and "charter application to be filed at least 60 days before the 1960 Conference".