The APCO Institute has expanded the eligibility requirements for individuals interested in applying for its Certified Public-Safety Executive (CPE) Program. Now, you are eligible to apply for the program if you possess a high school diploma and have at least 10 years’ experience in public safety communications at the supervisor, manager or director level. Registered Public-Safety Leaders (RPLs) and those with at least an associate’s degree are eligible to apply as well. The CPE application deadline is April 15. Scholarships are available and must be applied for before March 31. For more information

There is still time to register for APCO's Emerging Technology Forum taking place Feburary 28 - March 1 in Raleigh, N.C. Space for the Forum is limited so don't wait too long to register!

What Can You Expect if You Attend?
Must-Hear Presentations on NG9-1-1, Cybersecurity, FirstNet and Public Safety Apps
Tech Talks
Continuing Education
Tabletop Displays
Networking

Social Media and Public Safety Communications: The Positive and the Negative
Tuesday, March 14, 2017 | 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET

This 60-minute webinar will examine the use of social media in public safety and the relationship between its use and the effects upon the communications center. Learn more.

Carol DiCaro, AFC Processor
Carol joined APCO in February 2006 as the licensing assistant for AFC, APCO’s Spectrum Management Division, preparing FCC radio license applications for public safety agencies and guiding applicants through the licensing process. By September 2007, she progressed to processor for AFC, reviewing applications for FCC compliance and resolving application and licensing issues. In addition, she has also become involved with frequency coordination and now routinely coordinates 800 MHz applications. Carol is originally from Chicago. In her spare time, she enjoys arts and crafts, watching sci-fi/action movies and spending time with her husband and pets.

Gene Thaxton has been Oklahoma's APCO frequency advisor since 1987. He is the director of Oklahoma's Law Enforcement Telecommunications System and is responsible for obtaining the first forty 800 MHz channels to be issued by the Federal Communications Commission for Oklahoma's 800 MHz Trunked System.

WeldGov.com Tina Powell, the Weld County Regional Communications Center (Colo.) Manager, was recently one of 22 graduates of the Certified Public-Safety Executives (CPE) Program, earning her the prestigious professional designation of Certified Public-Safety Executive. "We are very proud of Tina and thank her for her dedication to public safety and her service to the residents of Weld County," said Commissioner Chair Julie Cozad.

The Frederick News-Post "I was really going to jump. That girl on the phone stopped me." Despite those efforts on my part to save that woman's life, according to the Office of Management and Budget — I'm just a secretary. The OMB believe we want reclassification in order to receive better benefits, which in turn would cost them more money. Wrong. More than anything we want respect. We want to know our jobs are protected. We want people to understand that we literally save lives.

Just because a 9-1-1 telecommunicator is not on-scene doesn't mean they're not considered first responders. They are the people who someone in a crisis speaks to first, the lifeline supplying firefighters, paramedics and police officers with information, the saving grace for some people in the midst of the worst moments of their lives. But there are a lot of things these dispatchers wish callers knew about their jobs, including what's required during a call.

The First Responders Friday series is a weekly feature at JDNews.com, focusing on the men and women in law enforcement, emergency services and fire services who serve in their community every day. Meet telecommunicator Marsha Mason, who says, "This career takes a special person, not everyone can handle this kind of stress. We are 9-1-1, and we are the strength behind our responders."

Urgent Communications Wednesday marked the five-year anniversary of President Barack Obama signing into law the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. A generally overlooked feature of the bill finally is on the verge of becoming reality: FirstNet’s nationwide public safety broadband network. Depending on the outcome of a lawsuit being heard by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, FirstNet could name its nationwide contractor within the next few weeks.