The William E. Stanton Award is NENA's highest honor. It is bestowed upon an individual who has not only excelled in his or her everyday job, but has gone above and beyond to further NENA's goals. Nominations for this prestigious annual award are now open.

Click here for additional information on the award, including criteria, past recipients and more. Click here to submit your nomination online. The deadline for nominations is March 31, 2021.

NENA has established a scholarship program to honor the commitment of William "Bill" McMurray, ENP, Past President, to the mission of NENA and 9-1-1 education. The scholarship will be awarded for the NENA 2021 Conference & Expo, and covers the conference registration fee and four nights of lodging at a conference hotel (to be determined by NENA upon awarding of scholarship). Travel expenses to and from the conference and meals are not included in this award.

Please visit the scholarship webpage for information about the criteria, application procedure, and responsibilities. Click here to submit your application online. The application deadline is March 31, 2021.

Join NENA's Women in 9-1-1 Alliance this Thursday at 7PM Eastern for a fun and uplifting time together discussing all things we love about the 9-1-1 profession! Click here to join the happy hour on Thursday evening.

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.

The National Police Foundation, with support from The Starbucks Foundation and The Motorola Solutions Foundation, is pleased to announce the National First Responder COVID-19 Grant Relief Program. This program will allow first responders and survivors of first responders in underserved communities an opportunity to request a grant to reimburse select COVID-19 related expenses, such as mental health and wellness costs, (i.e., counseling services, suicide prevention), unanticipated dependent care, disinfecting services, and similar costs. These micro-grants may be awarded in an amount up to $1,000. 

First responders or family members interested in applying for a grant can review eligibility and apply here.

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.

Find Your Funny: How to Use Humor to Fight Stress & Overcome Adversity
Wednesday, February 24 | 3PM Eastern (live) or On-Demand
FREE for NENA Members | Click here to register!

Humor is a great stress management tool! Unfortunately, we have so much stress in our lives, many of us have "lost our funny" — or, our ability to find humor in everyday situations. It's time to "find your funny" — so you can stress less, be more creative and productive, and live a longer, healthier, and happier life! During this webinar, you’ll learn:

• How laughing at stress at work and home can save your life and sanity;
• What scientific research has revealed about the mental and physical consequences of living life without your funny; and
• How to use resilience, optimism, and your sense of humor to survive and thrive during turbulent times! 

Can't attend on the 24th? Register now and you will receive an email after the live presentation with instructions for accessing the on-demand webinar archive.

Presenter: Dr. Jess Norris – Stress Management Scientist

CEUs: Attend this webinar and receive one-half ENP re-certification point towards the ten-point maximum for NENA courses in the Professional Development CEU/Course Credits section.

Webinar Access Info: Dial-in and web-access details provided automatically via email upon registration.

Questions? Contact Amanda Tegtmeyer with the NENA Education team.

Women in 9-1-1 Webinar Series: Helping 9-1-1 Employees Succeed
Thursday, March 11 | 1PM Eastern (live) or On-Demand
FREE! Click here to register!

Beginning a career in 9-1-1 can be exciting. With so much to learn in a short amount of time, it can also be a challenge. From rotating shifts, varying schedules, classroom training, policies and procedures, exams, intense on-the-job training, the CAD, and the callers, we can all agree PSAPs are a world of their own.

It's important for everyone who has a stake in the success of new employees to be equipped with tools to aid them in their acclimation to their new public-safety career.

Bonus! Training-resource handout: "Eight Tips for Surviving your First Year in 9-1-1" will be shared with attendees.

Who should attend this webinar?

• Telecommunicators who are new to 9-1-1 and want specific tips to adjust to PSAP culture and the job requirements; 
• Trainers (CTOs) who are directly involved in teaching new hires; and
•  PSAP supervisors and managers that are concerned with new employee development and making sure their trainees and trainers have the tools to thrive!

Can't attend on the 11th? Register now and you will receive an email after the live presentation with instructions for accessing the on-demand webinar archive.

Presenter: Deranecque Rogers – Memphis (TN) Police Department Emergency Communications Bureau

CEUs: Attend this webinar and receive one-half ENP re-certification point towards the ten-point maximum for NENA courses in the Professional Development CEU/Course Credits section.

Webinar Access Info: Dial-in and web-access details provided automatically via email upon registration.

Fulfilling a desire to serve is why 9-1-1 telecommunicators take on the challenges of working in the PSAP. That desire to serve does not automatically relieve them from the human burden of biases. Dispatchers feel an unwavering need for professional and personal improvement. Serving Equally: Removing Bias-based Inequities From 9-1-1 provides them with the opportunity for professional and personal development by helping to remove the inequities caused by biases. This one-day course provides attendees with the tools to self-assess their own human biases using an academically validated assessment, understand how to recognize their biases at work, and apply a mitigation model to increase service equality.

What attendees are saying about Serving Equally:

• "I learned quite a bit about bias, as well as how to recognize my own bias."
• "This was very eye opening in a lot of ways."
• "It was engaging and well thought out."
• "This class is important for everyone to take and I would recommend it to others in public safety."
• "The thorough explanation of the different types of implicit bias was very helpful."

This class is available as an in-person offering or in the instructor-led online format. Contact Amanda Tegtmeyer with the NENA education team if you would like to schedule it for your center or region.

 

Join NENA for this series of special webinars featuring the candidates for the NENA Board of Directors. During each webinar, the candidates will have a chance to introduce themselves and share their campaign messages. Then, Q&A sessions moderated by a NENA Past President will provide additional insights.

Don't miss this opportunity to hear from your 2021-22 board candidates before voting opens on March 15. Click the links below to register.

• North Central Director Candidates Forum | Tuesday, March 2 | 1PM Eastern (live) or on-demand
• Canadian Director Candidates Forum | Tuesday, March 2 | 2PM Eastern (live) or on-demand
• Second Vice President Candidates Forum | Tuesday, March 2 | 3PM Eastern (live) or on-demand

The NENA Standards for 9‑1‑1 Professional Education guide institutions that develop 9-1-1 professional-education programs and ensure consistency by providing the minimum essential elements of a professional telecommunicator education program. This standard is not intended to guide agencies on their internal training programs, but for the institutions that are preparing candidates for the industry. The standard, as recommended in the appendices, recommends forty hours of instruction covering roles and responsibilities of the telecommunicator, and encourages an additional forty hours in other related course work.

NENA seeks to fill a vacancy on the Education Advisory Board (EAB) with a NENA member in good standing who possesses the desire and dedication to become part of the team charged with carrying out NENA’s educational mission.

Candidates are required to be 9-1-1 professionals that are members of NENA in good standing, of good moral character, and possess the skills necessary to support and direct NENA’s educational mission and goals. Candidates holding the Emergency Number Professional (ENP) certification are preferred.

Learn more about the commitments associated with serving on the EAB at nena.org/eab-purpose.

Applications are due by Friday, February 26. Click here to apply.

Emergency Communications Manager | City of Largo | Largo, FL
9-1-1 ACOG Education Coordinator | Association of Central Oklahoma Government | Oklahoma City, OK
Executive Director | West Central Consolidated Communications | North Riverside, IL
Telecommunicator | City of Eau Claire | Eau Claire, WI

 See these jobs, and many more, here!