After three days of walking between the exhibit hall and professional development tracks, Wednesday will be dedicated to education. During three different time blocks, attendees will be able to learn about emerging technology and communications trends, management, supervising and more.

Some Highlights
From 8-9:15
Is your agency up to date on the FCC environmental and historic regulations? Amos Loveday Jr., PhD, history and preservation specialist at Atchley Hardin Lane and former FCC federal preservation officer and Ohio SHPO, will be presenting and moderating the panel FCC Environmental and Section 106 Compliance for Public Safety Network Professionals. Panelists include representative(s) from the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau and NEPA/NHPA staff from the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.

During Dispatch Jeopardy — Take the Challenge, APCO Institute’s Pam Kaufman will find out how much you really know. Have fun and maybe learn a few new things during this fast-paced event.

Kevin McGinnis of the National Association of State EMS Officials is presenting with John Facella of Harris Corp. on how emergency medical services and its dispatch is rapidly changing during EMS Communications of the Future, It Will Be Different!.

From 9:30-10:45 a.m.
Hear Peter Bellmio from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children discuss how agencies can formally adopt APCO ANSI 1.101.2-2010 on Handling Cases of Missing and Sexually Exploited Children.

Kent Koehler from Sedgwick County will provide attendees insight into how to justify to cost of new technology for their agencies during these tough economic times in Building a Business Case for Procuring Public Safety Technology.

From 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Sharon Falcone, Marion County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office, and Natalie Heneks, Palm Beach (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office, during Florida 9-1-1 Public Safety Telecommunicator Certification Program.

Tony Harrison, who was the communications supervisor on duty during the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City, will present Disaster/Active Shooter & Other Large-Scale Incidents. Lessons learned will address call volume, information management and the media.  Supervisors will learn the importance of decision making, management of staffing issues during a disaster and the long-term effects of disasters on the comm center.

(View the complete schedule online.) 

Closing SuperSession
Our final 2011 APCO Conference session begins at 12:30 p.m. with the Closing SuperSession and Lunch. Attendees will receive an FCC update from none other than FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

This year’s featured speaker is Chief Richard Picciotto presenting Last Man Down: A Fireman’s Story. In a presentation modeled after his best-selling book, Last Man Down, Picciotto offers a tribute to the lives that were lost on 9/11. His recount is not one of death and destruction, but a celebration of life and its unpredictable nature. Picciotto offers an eyewitness account of the defining historical event of our lives; his story is that of a man, a hero, and a tragic event that inspired a nation.