Once a year, APCO International honors individuals who have served their communities with exceptional dedication, ability and performance. These individuals are frontline telecommunicators, supervisors, managers, IT and radio specialists, comm center directors and instructors. “The work they have done in their respective agencies are great examples of activities deserving of this great honor,” says APCO Executive Director George S. Rice Jr., “and their entire departments should be proud.” APCO’s 2010 Public-Safety Communications Award winners:

Comm Center Director of the Year

Debbie Fox

Debbie H. Fox is deputy director of MetroSafe Communications at the Louisville Jefferson County (Ky.) Emergency Management Agency and APCO’s 2010 Communications Center Director of the Year. “For 28 years, Fox has consistently demonstrated her ability to work within [teams] and lead team efforts and has positively contributed to the professionalism of emergency communications,” says agency Executive Director Edw. Douglas Hamilton. “[Many of our initiatives] are accomplished and successful because Fox has [this] natural ability.”

Fox began her career as a police dispatcher in 1982 for Jefferson County Police Department and quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a supervisor in 1987. After the agency merged with the city of Louisville, Fox was promoted to administrator police/technical services manager in 2003. In this position, she guided the center’s transition to a police-fire dispatch center and helped add a third county EMS service. Fox also helped develop Kentucky’s state-mandated training for telecommunicators and helped Jefferson County PD achieve statewide accreditation for the entire department, including communications. In 2005, she accepted her current position.

As a manager, Fox sets the standard for accountability at her center. “Excellence is expected; it is not a goal,” says Hamilton. She adopted minimum standards for call pick-up and dispatch times and monitors the performance of the center. The center also uses NFPA 1710 for all services. Each month she analyzes the numbers, looking for areas to improve performance and spotlighting superior performances. Fox also ensures that her staff has the ability to meet high expectations by supporting continuous education.

Hamilton says, “Whenever I think of awards or recognition for accomplishment, I think of the words energy, enthusiasm, education, experience, attitude, commitment, integrity, persistence, professionalism, advocacy, accountability, performance and service. Fox exemplifies all those attributes.”

Telecommunicator of the Year

Cindy Skidmore

Cindy Skidmore is APCO’s 2010 Telecommunicator of the Year. A senior communications officer for the Bridgeport (Texas) Police Department, Skidmore has been a valuable asset to the agency since 2004.

“She truly loves her job and takes pride in every aspect,” says Christie Eskew of the North Central Texas Council of Governments. “She is always the first to volunteer to cover a shift and does a great job mentoring those with less experience.”

Skidmore is also a communications training officer and an active member of the local TAG team, which educates the community about 9-1-1. In addition to her work at Bridgeport PD, Skidmore works part-time dispatching for the Wise County Sheriff’s Office, and therefore is extremely knowledgeable about the community as a whole. Locally, she was awarded the 2007 Civilian Employee of the Year Award, the 2007 Silent Hero Award and the 2009 Telecommunicator of the Year Award.

“Cindy always comes to work with a good attitude and her good-natured mood is contagious,” says Eskew. “She is always willing to help out with projects and volunteering for new ones. Cindy is a great co-worker, mentor and trainer, who has an immense passion for law enforcement.”

On April 2, 2009, Skidmore showed professionalism and great ability under extreme circumstances. That night, she answered a call from the Wise County Sheriff’s Office, which was in pursuit of a hit-and-run suspect. The chase was heading toward Bridgeport and Decatur PD was also in pursuit. Skidmore dispatched officers and alerted all officers at the station. Officers were quickly in position in front of the oncoming pursuit. Eleven minutes after the call began, “send medics, officer down” came over the radio. Skidmore maintained her composure without knowing which officer was down or the extent of their injuries. She processed calls for an air ambulance, justice of the peace and many other requests coming in over the radio phones, including calls to other agencies for assistance.

Sgt. Randy White, a friend, was killed when his patrol car was hit by the suspect’s vehicle at a high speed. Skidmore volunteered to accompany the Bridgeport police chief and assistant chief to White’s residence to notify the family, providing support and comfort to White’s wife and daughter. At the funeral, she put Sgt. White 10-42 for the last time over a loud speaker, “Bridgeport 804 [silence], 804 Bridgeport shows you 10-42 on April 7, 2009. May God be with you.”

Eskew says, “C.O. Skidmore handled one of the most devastating situations she may ever face in her career as a dispatcher with professionalism, composure and courage.”

Trainer of the Year

Nicholas Stepaniak

Nicholas Stepaniak is the training officer for the Stafford County (Va.) Sheriff’s Office Emergency Communications Division and APCO’s 2010 Trainer of the Year.

“Stepaniak’s commitment to educating individuals who have chosen a career in the emergency communications profession is unrelenting,” says Karen L. Hileman, assistant commander/operations manager for the division. “He eagerly and earnestly shares with others all of the knowledge he has acquired and cultivated throughout his professional career and takes joy in seeing others succeed.”

In 2005, Stepaniak joined the agency as a telecommunicator and was promoted to his current position in 2007. He manages the division’s in-house training academy and its continuing education program, oversees the communications training officer program, coordinates the division’s certification and recertification programs, maintains the training records system and works on the public education programs. In addition, he serves as the EMD QA/QI committee chair, serves as lead instructor for the In-House Training Academy and teaches for the Regional Training Academy.

Stepaniak created and developed lesson plans and presentations for the training program’s 24 modules, incorporating aspects that would reach all learning styles. Through his drive and determination, he successfully created the training program in three-and-a-half months. As a teacher, he is known for his commitment to student success. When battling cancer throughout the last year, Stepaniak would regain his strength and teach and support “his” students. In December 2009, Stepaniak and his wife were involved in a motor vehicle crash. Hileman says that, despite his injuries, at the hospital, Stepaniak wanted to make sure that the agency’s CPR instructor got the materials she needed from him. He returned to teach two days after the crash.

“Stepaniak is a role model for our communications officer trainees as to what they aspire to be as a communications professional,” says Hileman. “These are not examples of someone going above and beyond basic job requirements. This is our reality and experience with Stepaniak, our inspiration to be better at what we do and be better human beings doing it. He did not teach us this; we learned it by just having the privilege of working side by side with him.”

Information Technologist of the Year

Michele Hamilton

“Michele Hamilton’s technical savvy and know-how were key to making our system work for both dispatch and the sheriff’s department,” says Michael E. Moore, director of Pendleton County (Ky.) E9-1-1 Dispatch. “She maintains computer systems and databases for every organization in the county, but especially the technology that the dispatch center utilizes. … She is highly motivated to succeed and operates at a high energy level, continually looking for new and better ways to accomplish the mission.”

For her technical expertise and leadership as information technology coordinator, Hamilton is APCO’s 2010 Information Technologist of the Year. Since joining the agency two years ago, Hamilton has revolutionized computer technology in the comm center. She worked to advance the agency’s GIS system, making the mapping system more usable and improving it by adding clickable features, fire district information and a parcel layer to help dispatchers identify property owners. She works to ensure the reliability of recording and database equipment, protecting the integrity of critical information. She has also created a secure secondary server for 9-1-1 files.

To advance system security, she has upgraded virus software and firewalls. She educates personnel about password protection and Internet dangers, trying to address the human factor in security. She has also worked with the center’s security company on remote video monitoring for the center. Moore says, “Hamilton is extremely thorough in her actions and is a powerful guardian of electronic data critical to the dispatch center’s mission.”

Radio Technologist of the Year

Scott Walsh

Scott Walsh is the only radio technician for the city of Norman, Okla.’s, $4 million SmartZone simulcast radio system and has the responsibility of programming, troubleshooting, repairing and maintaining approximately 1,300 radios. The system’s subscribers include three police departments, three fire departments, an EMS agency and the Max Westheimer Airport. His hard work and dedication make him this year’s Radio Technician of the Year.

“Walsh is not just an asset to the city of Norman,” says Communications Systems Manager Lance Terry. “He is an asset to the entire state. He is an excellent team player. He has proven himself to management, his peers and the thousands of customers he provides service to.”

During his four years working for Norman, Walsh has built relationships with public safety agencies across the state, helping fix problems on other systems and increase overall interoperability with Norman’s system. He has also worked with local Native American tribes, helping them test and program radios.

Walsh has worked with radio vendors to ensure that projects are done correctly, including the implementation and installation of Norman’s controller upgrade, which involved the merger of its system into the statewide system and adding four digital channels. Terry says, “Various problems were discovered by Scott and stopped before disaster. One was the programming of all the radios and the fact that they were not correct. Another was the number of data lines needed to connect the system together and with the state. The data line issue has saved the city and the state approximately $1,000 per month.”

Line Supervisor of the Year

Natalie Heneks

“On Nov. 24, 2009, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office was the first agency in the state of Florida to receive certification of approval for the Equivalency of a Public Safety Telecommunication Course,” says K. Robin Schmidt, division manager for Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. “This would not have been obtainable without the leadership, dedication and professionalism of Supervisor Natalie Heneks.”

For her exceptional performance as a mentor and team player as communications supervisor, Heneks is APCO’s 2010 Line Supervisor of the Year. Heneks joined Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office in 1995 and progressed through the ranks to her current position. She oversees the Communications Division’s training program, quality assurance program, recruitment, applicant hiring process and supervises 15 training officers across six comm centers.

In addition to her duties, she regularly works as a dispatcher. “When a major incident occurs, Supervisor Heneks is the first person assisting with the incident,” says Schmidt. “She doesn’t ‘take over,’ she assists and mentors those who are already handling the incident.”

In one such incident, a co-worker was handling a motor vehicle crash during which one driver was covered in blood and said, “I killed my family.” Heneks assisted the dispatcher and also dispatched units to the driver’s house. After field units discovered the homicides, Heneks provided constant updates and informed appropriate staff and supervisors of the incident. “The sadness and despair could be heard in the voices of these units,” says Schmidt. “Heneks exhibited professionalism and leadership, maintaining a calm soothing voice as she directed additional units to this terrible tragedy.”

In addition to her skills as a mentor and dispatcher, Heneks has made continuing education a priority. She works with the county training team to assist other agencies in training their communications personnel. She has also advanced her own agency’s training program, working with her staff of trainers to create an effective program with all the components of a state certified curriculum. After achieving state certification, she began assisting other agencies with this process.

Schmidt says, “Heneks is one of our ‘go to’ supervisors. She is fluid and adjusts based on the ever-changing events that occur in communications. She can go from evaluating a CAD system to working a full SWAT call at a moment’s notice. … She mentors her training officers and instills in them the same qualities and traits she possesses. Under her leadership, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office is one of the leading programs in the state and nation.”

Art McDole & Weldon Joe Blair Awards
In June, APCO announced the winners of two rare awards, the Art McDole Award for technical expertise and accomplishments and the Weldon Joe Blair Award for leadership.

This year, APCO honors Stephen T. Devine with the Art McDole Award in recognition of his accomplishments of a technical nature in the field of public safety communications. His service includes chairing APCO Project 42, serving as vice chair of the National Regional Planning Council, actively participating in formulating recommendations to the FCC on the initial National Interoper­ability Channel Naming Standard and serving as the charter chair of the Missouri State Interoperability Executive Committee, while achieving many technical accomplishments in a 23-year career.

Julie Righter is being honored with the Weldon Joe Blair Award in recognition of her accomplishments as an association leader. Righter served with distinction as chair of the Call Center Standards Committee from 2005–2009. She is widely known for dedicating countless hours to the development of standards, her significant role in Project RETAINS, strengthening the partnership between APCO and CALEA, and her enthusiastic engagement in initiatives large and small throughout her 17 years of service to APCO.

Horizon Award Winners
On Aug. 3 at the Blue & White Gala, APCO will honor two comm centers for their technological advancements. The Horizon Award acknowledges centers that have proactively assessed and met the technological and operational needs of their center, employees and service population.

The award for a large center goes to Raleigh-Wake (N.C.) Emergency Communications. Raleigh-Wake Emergency Communications used Twitter connected with Google Maps to provide near real-time display of traffic incidents to the media and public, reducing non-emergency calls and improving call handling during high-volume times.

The award for a small center goes to Montgomery County (Tenn.) E9-1-1 Center. Montgomery County E9-1-1 Center recently installed a state-of-the-art Next Generation 9-1-1 system, allowing forward migration to the new standard without interruption of service while maintaining current operational needs.

About the Author
Natasha Yetman is the associate editor of APCO’s Public Safety Communications. Contact her via e-mail at yetmann@apcointl.org. Note: This article originally appeared in the August 2010 issue of Public Safety Communications.