NENA NEWS
Be part of the discussion! During the focused, interactive working sessions of the NENA Development Conference (Oct. 4-7 in Austin, TX), you will explore how to address the current and future needs of public safety professionals and drive the development of standards and best practices. This is your opportunity to make your voice heard and contribute ideas on how challenges should be addressed or solutions implemented. Taking part in the process and lending your first-hand knowledge of PSAPs, communications networks, and 9-1-1 technologies ensures that the needs of public safety are met today, tomorrow, and for years to come.
This conference is unlike any other. The NDC’s unique, output-oriented program offers you the flexibility to focus on the issues that are important to you in a dynamic, cooperative atmosphere. The important, hands-on work done during the event not only yields immediate rewards for the public safety community, but also bolsters NENA’s current standards development and helps define the Association’s path forward for the next year.
Register today! Click here to make your hotel reservation and here to visit the NDC webpage to check out working sessions, pre-con courses, an event brochure, and more!
Location: It All Starts With "Where?"
Ask any dispatcher in any PSAP what is the first question they ask to a 9-1-1 caller, and it will most likely be: "What is the location of your emergency?" Ask anyone working on any NG9-1-1 related project about his or her biggest challenge, and their answer will likely involve location. Ask the FCC about the most important efforts they have undertaken in recent years, and the rule regarding cell phone location accuracy will be high on their list. Finally, if you have any doubt regarding the importance of location in 9-1-1, review the media reports from the string of recent tragedies where responders were delayed because of location-related issues.
It is apparent that location is the common recurring theme in both the operational and technical issues that face our 9-1-1 community today. With the recent FCC action, NG9-1-1 implementations, and the ever-increasing percentage of 9-1-1 calls made form cell phones and other non-landline devices, location will only grow in significance in the coming years.
Join 9-1-1 professionals and industry leaders at this Critical Issues Forum in Austin, TX, on Oct. 7-8, where this complex and dynamic issue will be the focus of nearly two days of discussion, lecture, conversation, and problem-solving.
Register today! Click here to make your hotel reservation and here to visit the CIF webpage to check out the agenda, an event brochure, and more!
Attendees of our conference are always looking for new and better ways of doing things in their professional and personal lives. Feedback from previous conferences shows that attendees expect to walk out of each breakout with key takeaways that are new and can be immediately implemented when they return to their offices.
This is where we want your help. The NENA 2016 Conference Team is looking for session proposals in the following topic areas: Accessibility; Analytics & Big Data; Applications & Technology Innovation; Call Taking & Processing; Cybersecurity; Data Management & Utilization; GIS; Hiring & Staffing; International Issues; Interpersonal Skills; Leadership & Management; Next Generation 9-1-1; Personal & Professional Development; Preparedness & Contingency Planning; PSAP Administration; Public Education & Outreach; Regulation, Policy, & Governance; Stress, Health, & Wellness; Text Messaging; Training; and Wireless Challenges.
To ensure your submission receives due consideration, please ensure that:
- Your proposal is issue-focused, not product-focused;
- Your 65-word presentation description contains a precise objective and a clear audience takeaway; and
- You use proper grammar, capitalization, and punctuation.
Submit your great ideas by October 26, 2015! The online submission form for session abstracts is available at www.nena.org/nena2016/cfp. You can email Chris Nussman with any questions you may have.
This special feature highlights individual NENA Members from various backgrounds, industry segments, experience and geographic locations. It offers members an opportunity to share their story with their colleagues and the greater NENA community.Click here to email NENA Member Services Director Bri Robinson if we should feature you or someone you know.
NENA: Why did you choose a career in public safety?
 Heather Butler: I had a police chief who I had known for some time come to me and say the local dispatch center was hiring and he believed I would be good at it. He stated they needed someone who had patience with others, good customer service skills, and could multi task. I applied on a whim and it is now not just a job I applied for but my life career.
NENA: What do you like best about your job?
HB: The unknown; you never know what the shift is going to bring when you first sit down at the beginning of your shift. As a supervisor I enjoy being able to help improve our department as a whole and acknowledge the dispatchers when they do well on a call.
NENA: If you could convey one message to the public about 9-1-1 or being a 9-1-1 professional, what would it be?
HB: We are always here to help you when you need it, be patient as we are people just like you, our job is not easy but we do it to help others and take the good with the bad.
NENA is proud to launch the new NENA Career Center, where you will find all of the best 9-1-1 industry jobs in one place. Visit www.nena.org/jobs to:
- Search for and quickly apply for great, relevant jobs.
- Set up alerts so you are immediately notified any time a job is posted that matches your skills or interests.
- Create an anonymous job seeker profile or upload your anonymous resume so employers can find you.
- Access job search tools and tips.
If you need to hire 9-1-1 professionals, the NENA Career Center will put your job in front of our members!
- Place your job in front of our highly qualified members.
- Search our resume database of qualified candidates.
- Manage jobs and applicant activity right on our site.
- Limit applicants to those who are qualified.
- Fill your jobs more quickly with great talent.
Our hope is that this new and improved resource will make a significant difference for our members as they navigate their career paths.
AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support NENA every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection, and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to NENA.
To shop at AmazonSmile, simply go to smile.amazon.com from the Web browser on your computer or mobile device. You may also want to add a bookmark to AmazonSmile to make it even easier to return and start your shopping at AmazonSmile.
On your first visit to AmazonSmile, you need to search for and select " National Emergency Number Association" to receive donations from eligible purchases before you begin shopping. Amazon will remember your selection, and then every eligible purchase you make on AmazonSmile will result in a donation.
Click here to learn more and here to start shopping now!
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.
OPS UPDATE
NENA Public Safety Communicationis & Railroad Interaction Standard, ANS Candidate NENA-STA-013.1-201X (DRAFT) has been posted to the NENA collaboration website and is available for Public Review and Comment. This document provides guidance and relevant information for operational interaction between public safety answering points (PSAPs), public safety communications, railroad call centers, railroad-sworn personnel in the field, and related railroad responders.
Current NENA Development Group members with a login to NENA Workspace can submit comments by clicking here. Those without a login can click here. From there, select "add a comment" just above the title "Document Details." Please complete all requested data and "Save" OR if submitting multiple comments, select "Save and Add Another".
All comments are due by Sept. 21, 2015. Contact the NENA Committee Resource Manager with any questions or concerns.
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS UPDATE
NENA is encouraged by the reported progress in reclassifying how public safety call takers and dispatchers are characterized by the U.S. Department of Labor. Recognizing that those who work in 9-1-1 centers fulfill a role that is far more than simply clerical or administrative is a critical step forward for the nation’s 9-1-1 system. These dedicated public servants are highly trained professionals who must address dynamic and complex emergency situations, manage resources, and make potentially life and death decisions each and every work day. Their duty requires them to perform these tasks no matter how upset the caller, busy the shift, or challenging the particular situation. We invite and encourage each of you to become a part of this process and look forward to the progress we will make together in this reclassification effort in furtherance of our mission to create a 9-1-1 system that the American public demands and that our professional duties require.
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 also 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.
UPCOMING EDUCATION COURSES
9.11.15 - Caught in the Middle: A Guide to Middle Management - Noblesville, IN - Register here!
9.14-18.15 - Center Manager Certification Program (CMCP) - Eagleville, PA - Register here!
9.16.15 - Understanding NG9-1-1 Components - State College, PA - Register here!
9.22.15 - Leadership in the 9-1-1 Center - NENA Education Summit - Bentonville, AR - Register here!
9.23.15 - Liability Issues in the 9-1-1 Center - NENA Education Summit - Bentonville, AR - Register here!
9.23.15 - 9-1-1: From the Basics to NG9-1-1 - NENA Education Summit - Bentonville, AR - Register here!
9.28-10.2.15 - Center Manager Certification Program (CMCP) - Murfreesboro, TN - Register here!
10.4.15 - Understanding Databases in NG9-1-1 - NENA Development Conference - Austin, TX - Register here!
10.4.15 - Quality Assurance: Achieving QA/QI in the PSAP - NENA Development Conference - Austin, TX - Register here!
10.5.15 - Liability for Telecommunicators - NENA Education Summit - Austin, TX - Register here!
10.6.15 - 9-1-1 Center Customer Service: Takes Seconds, Saves Minutes - NENA Education Summit - Austin, TX - Register here!
10.7.15 - Overcoming Negativity - NENA Education Summit - Austin, TX - Register here!
10.12-16.15 - Center Manager Certification Program (CMCP) - Henderson, NV - Register here!
10.13.15 - Caught in the Middle: A Guide to Middle Management - Syracuse, NY - Register here!
10.18.15 - Caught in the Middle: A Guide to Middle Management - Murfreesboro, TN - Register here!
11.30-12.4.15 - Center Manager Certification Program (CMCP) - Arlington Heights, IL - Register here!
12.14 - 18.15 - Center Manager Certification Program (CMCP) - Denton, TX - Register here!
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