NENA NEWS
Housing is now open for the NENA 2014 Conference & Expo, June 14-19, 2014, in Nashville, TN! Click here to make your reservations today. With a wide variety of options just steps from the Music City Convention Center and all that downtown Nashville has to offer, be sure to book early to get the best possible rate at your hotel of choice!
More Details Coming Soon! Stay tuned for lots more about NENA 2014 in the coming weeks! You can expect a preliminary conference agenda, pre-con course info, special event announcements, and, most importantly, registration information!
By now, you should have received an email from NENA with a link to your 2014 NENA dues notice. Help NENA go green and save a stamp by choosing to pay online by check or credit card. If this is not an option for you or your agency, the email also contained a link allowing you to print out a copy of your invoice for local processing.
Instantly renew your membership online in just a few easy steps:
1) Simply log in to the NENA website.
2) Go to your Manage Profile page.
3) Click on Membership under the "Account History" header to view your renewal options.
4) Pay online by check or credit card.
5) Print out a receipt for your records.
In appreciation of your continued support, when you renew online by credit card before December 31, 2013, you will receive free access to an upcoming NENA webinar of your choice - a $50 value!
We look forward to sharing many new and exciting member benefits with you in the coming year!
NENA is pleased to announce the selections of Chris Carver, ENP from the NYFD, Jim Lake, ENP from the Charleston County Consolidated 9-1-1 Center, and John Ferraro, ENP from the West Suburban Consolidated Dispatch Center to serve on the association's Education Advisory Board (EAB).
The EAB's ongoing goals are to: 1) Act as an advisory body and information filter for the Executive Board, committees, and staff; 2) Identify and advocate what types of products and educational offerings should be developed and offered for the education of the NENA membership; 3) Facilitate the development, review, and production of books, texts, video, Internet-based resources, and/or any other materials or systems that support NENA's educational initiatives and mission; 4) Participate in the marketing of educational offerings, materials, and other related NENA resources; 5) And develop and engage in activities and initiatives that further the EAB's mission and support the larger work of the Association.
Congratulations to Chris, Jim, and John on their appointments!
NENA members can receive member-only pricing on all personal PCs from Dell, including:
- Up to 30% off list prices for select configurations
- Low price guarantee for all our consumer PCs and laptops as compared to dell.com/home
- Additional savings on select electronics and accessories
- Monthly coupons/promos for members only
Learn more about this new member benefit by visiting www.nena.org/dell.
NENA is pleased to open the nominations process for our 2014-2015 Executive Board election! This election will be for the following positions: Second Vice President, Southeastern Regional Director, Western Regional Director, and Private Sector Director. All nominees must be current members in good standing and current Emergency Number Professionals (ENPs). Nominees for the position of Regional Director must reside in the region they wish to represent.
Nomination / Election Documents:
- Nomination Form - PDF
- Executive Board Statement of Responsibilities - PDF
- Request for Paper Ballot - PDF
The nomination deadline is March 14, 2014. Contact Bri Robinson with any questions about the nomination process, eligibility requirements, or general election details.
NENA's Center Manager Certification Program (CMCP) is designed to equip recently hired, newly promoted, and aspiring PSAP and 9-1-1 Authority managers and supervisors with the tools needed to effectively manage their agency through a rigorous 40-hour course of lecture and lab-based education. For more seasoned 9-1-1 professionals, the CMCP may serve to fill in some of the gaps and strengthen core competencies required in emergency communications center management.
The CMCP, unlike many other upper-level emergency communications training programs, utilizes a real-world, hands-on approach that is focused on topics encountered daily by managerial and supervisory level personnel: Business Writing, Financial Management, Human Resources, Legal Issues, and Communications Skills. With a curriculum built by current and former 9-1-1 center managers with decades of combined supervisory and training experience, the program will provide you with knowledge and skills that can immediately and drastically improve your on-the-job effectiveness and enhance your agency's everyday operations.
Register for the upcoming CMCP:
NENA members can save up to 32% off UPS Express air and international shipments. That's a significant savings over FedEx published rates!* All this with the peace of mind that comes from using the carrier that delivers outstanding reliability, greater speed, more service, and innovative technology. UPS guarantees delivery of more packages around the world than anyone, and delivers more packages overnight on time in the U.S. than any other carrier, including FedEx.
Simple shipping! Special savings! It's that easy! For complete details or to sign up, click here.
We are excited to announce the launch of a new rewards program - available exclusively to you as a member of NENA! To join, log in to nena.org and click on the Member Rewards link from your member profile menu.
Designed to provide exclusive money-saving offers to our members, the new Member Rewards program gives you immediate access to THOUSANDS of discounts from a wide variety of exciting companies like AMC Theatres, Sprint, Walt Disney World, Red Lobster, 1-800-Flowers, Macy's and many more. There is an annual fee of $19.95* to join.
Join now, browse great deals, and start saving today! PLUS, a small portion of the proceeds will go to support NENA initiatives and help keep your membership dues low. Thank you for your support ... and happy savings.
Make sure the addresses (email and postal) that we have on file for you are current! Please log in to your online member account to verify or update your information, or send an email to Bri Robinson.
UPCOMING DEADLINES
Add your name to the list of more than 1,200 ENPs! If you are eligible to sit for the ENP examination, now is the time to consider preparing for the next examination period to be held early next year. The Winter 2014 window for the ENP Examination is from January 18 – February 1, 2014, but the deadline to Register is December 16, 2013. Please go to www.nena.org/enp to learn more about how to become an ENP and to sign up.
OPS UPDATE
On June 11, 2013, the FCC established the email address psapreport@fcc.gov for PSAPs to report communications failures and outages directly to the FCC. Public safety is seriously jeopardized when PSAPs lose commercial service and/or experience communications outages. The FCC already obtains information on many communications outages. However, that information does not cover how the PSAPs perceive these events and does not include events that happen at the PSAP.
The FCC is looking to collect outage information from PSAPs directly. If this information was shared among a large percentage of PSAPs, some common problems might be discovered early and corrective actions implemented.
The type information the FCC would like includes:
- Date and time of the event including duration
- What services were affected
- Description of what failed
- Generic cause of the failure, e.g., hardware failure, power failure, software failure, etc.
- Name of communication provider
- Assessment of repair process
Any additional information that the PSAP thinks is relevant to the outage the FCC greatly appreciates. So, please send outage information to psapreport@fcc.gov.
For further information, please contact John Healy, Associate Chief, Cybersecurity and Communications Reliability Division, at (202) 418-2448 or john.healy@fcc.gov. In addition to providing the FCC with outage information to psapreport@fcc.gov, PSAPs may continue to contact the FCC’s Operations Center if they need immediate assistance by calling (202) 418-1122 at any time.
In September, Colorado experienced unprecedented rainfall resulting in wide-spread flooding throughout the Front Range, eventually spreading east across the state affecting 1,533 square miles. Rainfall in amounts ranging from 10 to 20 inches sending flood waters far beyond the 100-year flood plain. This is half of a year's worth of rain in three days for a normally very arid climate. Disaster Declarations have been initiated for 24 counties.
Devastation and casualties occurred with nine lives lost; 1,882 homes destroyed; 16,101 homes damaged; 203 businesses destroyed; 765 businesses damaged. Major transportation infrastructure failure occurred including highways and railways. Mountain towns were cut off from rest of the world due to roadway washouts. 5,958 people were evacuated, 2,256 by air and others by zip lines and swift water rescue.
As conditions worsened, the CO TERT Co-State Coordinator began communicating with PSAPs in the area to determine their needs. Most reported that they were busy but able to handle the call load with their existing staff. On Friday, September 11, Jefferson County Sheriff's Department was faced with a major road washout, evacuations, and inability to staff both their communications center and mobile command post. They initiated a TERT request via their Emergency Operations Center and Incident Management Team...
Click here to continue reading this story and the rest of the November NJTI Newsletter.
Chrysler Group LLC recently announced that, as part of its new suite of connected services called Uconnect® Access, select vehicles now come equipped with a built-in data connection as well as a 9-1-1 button on the rear-view mirror. Occupants in vehicles with Uconnect Access can push the 9-1-1 button to connect to the appropriate PSAP who can dispatch responders to an accident scene, if necessary.
This bulletin does not represent an NENA endorsement of the Chrysler product. NENA’s only intent in distributing this information is in ensuring that our membership, and public safety in general, have as much information as possible regarding a new service which will impact PSAP operations and personnel.
Click here for more information and to review the FAQ.
TECH UPDATE
The Policy Routing Rules (PRR) WG focuses on the development of rules in a NG9-1-1 system that supports the diversion of calls when the target PSAP is unavailable or unable to take those calls. Version 1 of the standard was approved in August 2013. The PRR WG will now undertake the development of an operations guide for 9-1-1 Authorities. This document will provide background and recommendations on defining Policy Routing Rules for 9-1-1 Authorities at all levels that are involved in NG9-1-1 implementations.
The PRR WG will begin work on the operations guide on Friday, November 15, 2013 at 9:00 a.m. (MTN). Click here to volunteer!
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS UPDATE
NENA congratulates new FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and new Commissioner Michael O’Rielly on their unanimous confirmations by the United States Senate. "During his long career, Mr. Wheeler has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to advancing 9-1-1 and public safety issues, including the development of both standards to better locate wireless 9-1-1 callers, as well as services and technologies that better serve individuals with disabilities during emergencies," said NENA CEO, Brian Fontes. "His knowledge, experience, vision, energy, and leadership will undoubtedly make Mr. Wheeler an extremely effective Chairman."
Fontes continued, "Mr. O’Rielly’s extensive expertise in telecommunications, dedication to public service, and commitment to innovation will serve him well in his new role as FCC Commissioner. NENA looks forward to working with him, Mr. Wheeler, and a fully staffed Commission in support of actions on a broad range of 9-1-1 concerns, including the deployments of text-to-9-1-1 services and Next Generation 9-1-1 capabilities, that are vital to ensuring that all Americans have access to a 9-1-1 system prepared to meet the evolving needs of citizens and first responders alike."
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION NEWS
NENA recently launched a FREE email news service called Public Safety SmartBrief. It provides a weekly summary of news, trends, and updates on public safety issues - not just 9-1-1, but police, fire, and EMS. Knowledgeable editors handpick key articles from hundreds of publications, summarize them, and provide direct links to the original sources.
In other words, we do all the research and you get the latest news in your inbox or on your handheld device, absolutely free.
HELP WANTED
NENA's new and improved career center now offers more options and search functionality to job seekers and recruiters, including the ability to browse openings by category, subscribe to receive email notifications of new openings, and apply for openings directly online. Recruiters can now view and rate candidates applying for openings, search the resume database of available candidates (members-only feature), and manage postings online.
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