For the first time ever, America’s 9-1-1 professionals will be honored as part of America’s college football bowl-game season.

The broadcasts of 11 bowl games will feature special #ThankYou911 messages of support for the first first responders in the emergency-response chain: the men and women of 9-1-1 who answer more than 240 million calls for help each year. The salute to 9-1-1 professionals – sponsored by NENA: The 9-1-1 Association in collaboration with Comtech Safety & Security Technologies, RapidDeploy, and First Team Radio – will air multiple times per game as part of the play-by-play broadcasts of the following games (all times Eastern and subject to change):

• Myrtle Beach Bowl, Dec. 21 at 2:30PM, Appalachian St. vs. North Texas
• Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Dec. 22 at 3:30PM, Tulane vs. Nevada
• Montgomery Bowl, Dec. 23 at 7PM, Memphis vs. Florida Atlantic
• Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl, Dec. 26 at 12PM, South Carolina vs. UAB
• SERVPRO First Responder Bowl, Dec. 26 at 3:30PM, Louisiana vs. UTSA
• LendingTree Bowl, Dec. 26 at 3:30PM, West. Kentucky vs. Georgia State
• FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl, Dec. 26 at 7:30PM, Liberty vs. Coastal Carolina
• Duke’s Mayo Bowl, Dec. 30 at 12PM, Wake Forest vs. Wisconsin
• Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl, Dec. 31 at 12PM, Tulsa vs. Mississippi State
• Vrbo Citrus Bowl, Jan. 1 at 1PM, Auburn vs. Northwestern
• Outback Bowl, Jan. 2 at 12:30PM, Ole Miss vs. Indiana

The games will air on more than 100 affiliated radio stations across the United States, as well as on SiriusXM, TuneIn.com, and Radio.com, reaching millions of fans with the #ThankYou911 message.

Click here to read more.

The below letter from NENA's CEO, Brian Fontes, is being issued to America's governors urging them to prioritize the vaccination of 9-1-1 professionals against coronavirus.

Throughout the COVID crisis, our nation’s 9-1-1 professionals have been there for America, 24/7.

They have selflessly prioritized our health and safety over their own by continuing to work in close quarters, many times lacking access to vital PPE. They have dealt with constantly changing emergency-response protocols and surges in calls about domestic violence, mental-health crises, and serious, at-home illnesses. They have navigated quarantine-induced staffing shortages and, in most communities, no ability to work from home. Like other first responders, they have sacrificed and persevered so that when anyone dials 9-1-1, someone is there to help them.

Sadly, while the federal government and statehouses across the country have designated 9-1-1 professionals as essential workers throughout the pandemic, many states are not recognizing these public servants as essential when it comes to the distribution of coronavirus vaccines.

On behalf America’s 9-1-1 heroes, we respectfully call upon leaders in every state and territory to prioritize the vaccination of these essential frontline workers and include them in the "public safety" category alongside their law-enforcement, fire-service, and EMS peers. 

Click here to continue reading... 

NENA's Gold Line Scholarships provide training opportunities for our nation's first first responders, 9-1-1 dispatchers. Working in 9-1-1 is difficult and getting harder every day, that's what makes your support of these scholarships so important.

Contributing to the Gold Line Fund helps empower 9-1-1 professionals to do their very best. They'll receive industry-leading training that enables them to adapt and overcome every challenge. Whether it's understanding how to use new technology, coping with the significant physical and mental stress associated with the job, or learning how to create and lead strong teams, the training scholarship recipients receive ensures their ability to perform at their peak.

Say #ThankYou911 during this season of giving by supporting NENA's Gold Line Scholarship Fund; just click here or text NENA to 71777 to donate today!

Watch a special video message from a few of our scholarship winners describing the importance of supporting the Gold Line Fund!

It’s time to renew your NENA membership! You can do it in just a few quick 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.

And don’t forget, group memberships are a great way to share all that NENA has to offer with everyone in your organization! And if you're retired (and have been a NENA member for at least 12 years), you can apply for our "Retired" member category. Click here for details.

As NENA continues to closely monitor the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, we have developed a list of resources for members, chapters, and the greater 9-1-1 community.

NENA's COVID-19 resource page contains items including PSAP-guidance documents, EMD protocols, on-demand webinars, CoOPs and planning checklists, event-planner assistance, public education graphics, health and hygiene best practices, and many more resources to support you and your work during this ever-evolving situation. This page is updated with new information as it becomes available. 

Do you have or know of other resources that should be posted? If so, you can contact NENA Communications Director Chris Nussman.

Did you know that NENA Members can access a library of our on-demand webinars for free? These hour-long webinars cover the hottest issues in 9-1-1, help you stay in front of the industry’s latest developments, and provide practical takeaways that everyone in the center can use.

Click here to view available webinars. Contact Amanda Tegtmeyer with the NENA Education Team with any questions or comments.

NENA HQ will be closed from Dec 24 until Jan 4. During this time, the best way to reach staff with urgent requests is via email, although responses may be delayed. Please visit the staff page for contact info. Happy holidays!

NENA is saddened to announce the passing of Past President Craig Whittington. A member of both the national NENA and North Carolina chapter halls of fame, Craig was a NENA member since1991 and participated in numerous chapter and national initiatives. He served twice on the North Carolina NENA chapter board and was a founding member of the state’s Telecommunicator Emergency Response Taskforce (TERT) program. Nationally, he served on NENA’s Education Advisory Board, developed and instructed numerous courses, and was elected to the association's Board of Directors in 2007, serving as President in 2009-10. Known for his passion and larger-than-life personality, Craig will be missed by his family, friends, and colleagues. See his obituary here.

The NENA i3 Standard for Next Generation 9-1-1 provides detailed functional and interface specifications for Next-Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) and serves as the foundation for NENA’s suite of NG9-1-1 standards. As this is a 2nd public review, only the highlighted edits are open for comment.

Version 3 includes key updates to NG9-1-1 infrastructure to ensure continued support for interoperability on a national and international scale. Version 3 changes include a move to a REST/JSON architecture for data interactions between functional elements and systems, improvements to security, major updates to the call bridging (Bridging Service), Discrepancy Reports, an Outgoing Call Interface Function, blind transfer support, updates to novel call types (including non-interactive calls and Advanced Automatic Crash Notifications [AACNs]), and more. Version 3 also incorporates a number of new IETF specifications and has made adjustments to addressing to harmonize schemes across Europe and North America.

i3 is an open standard developed with the contribution of a large community of industry, academic, and public-safety experts. NENA’s development process is always open to all.

You may both download this document for review and submit your comments here. Comments are due by January 4, 2021. Contact the NENA Committee Resource Manager with any questions.

Having adjudicated all comments, the NENA NG9-1-1 Data Flow Standard is now considered "stable." Per NENA IPR & Antitrust Policy, Section 4.5.1 "Stable Form Notice" is being issued and can be viewed here.

Having adjudicated all comments, the NENA Standard for the Implementation of the Wireless Emergency Service Protocol E2 document is now considered "stable." Per NENA IPR & Antitrust Policy, Section 4.5.1 "Stable Form Notice" is being issued and can be viewed here.

Every February, the NG911 Institute hosts the Annual 911 Honor Awards Reception to honor the heroes and leaders of the 9-1-1 community. The Co-Chairs of the Congressional NextGen 911 Caucus and other Members of Congress and federal government leaders are invited to attend and to present the awards to 9-1-1 professionals and government leaders from across the United States. 

Nominations may now be submitted for the six awards categories (Citizen in Action, Government Leader, Public Safety Professional, Industry Professional, Outstanding Call Center, NG911 Awareness). Any person or group fitting the description is eligible to be nominated and anyone can nominate (including self-nomination). You DO NOT need to be a member of the NG911 Institute to nominate or to receive an award.

Click here to learn more and submit a nomination. Nominations are due by December 31.

Two statutes being implemented by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)–Kari's Law and RAY BAUM'S Act–will make it easier for callers to reach 9-1-1, and for emergency services to locate those callers.

In collaboration with the FCC, the National 911 Program has developed user-friendly tools to help PSAP administrators, manufacturers, vendors, service providers, and others understand MLTS and dispatchable location requirements, and the consequences of non-compliance for manufacturers and users of MLTS.

Learn more about the statutes and download associated resources including:

• An overview of legislation
• Detailed lists of state laws, FCC rules and terms
• Compliance rules and deadlines
• An interactive checklist to track progress toward compliance

The National 911 Annual Report: 2019 Data reveals findings and analysis of data from the 2019 calendar year. The information is important in improving local, state, and regional emergency communications systems. It provides trends and information that state 9-1-1 leaders, legislators, and policy makers need to make informed decisions about 9-1-1 services in their jurisdictions. A few noteworthy findings from the Report include:

• Of reporting states, 69% said they have adopted a statewide NG9-1-1 plan. Statewide adoption of NG9-1-1 plans has increased from 20 states to 33 over the past five years
• Thirty-seven states reported having a total of 2,472 PSAPs that provide EMD
• About 74% of reported primary PSAPs have between one and five 9-1-1 equipment positions

Communications Supervisor | City of Redondo Beach | Redondo Beach, CA
Public Safety Dispatcher | City of Aventura | Aventura, FL
Network and System Administrator | Larimer Emergency Telephone Authority | Johnstown, CO
Chief of Public Safety | City of Albuquerque | Albuquerque, NM

See these jobs, and many more, here!