TERRY HALL is chief of emergency communications for York-Poquoson-Williamsburg Emergency Communications Center in York town, Va. He has more than 30 years of experience in public safety, and he was sworn in as the new president of APCO International during the Blue & White Gala at the 78^th Annual APCO International Conference & Expo in Minnesota. Below, his comments upon taking office:

I am honored to serve as the 77^th president of APCO International, a member-driven organization of public safety communications professionals that is widely respected here in the U.S. and around the world.

I have more than 30 years’ experience in public safety and have worked diligently with APCO throughout these years. I’m currently the chief of emergency communications for the York-Poquoson- Williamsburg Emergency Communications Center located in historic Yorktown, Va.

During the course of my 30 years as a dedicated APCO member, I have always respected its core values. APCO must remain a member-driven organization. With the remarkable resource that our membership represents, I pledge to build on the achievements of my predecessors and strive to elevate APCO to new heights.

Certainly a hallmark achievement of the past few years was APCO’s recent success in achieving enactment of the D Block legislation. With perseverance, we accomplished what many thought was impossible—to convince the administration, federal agencies and Congress to provide public safety with the spectrum, funding and governance structure needed to deploy a first-in-time, dedicated, truly interoperable, nationwide, advanced wireless broadband network. Considering the political climate and the state of the economy, enactment of this legislation, along with $7 billion in funding (plus the value of the D Block of approximately $2.75 billion), was truly extraordinary. This was no less than a herculean effort at the highest levels of our government and a reflection of the enduring respect and influence of the individuals who were the face of this effort, as well as the active involvement of the APCO membership itself. This new legislation sets us on a course to remain at the forefront of public safety broadband and other emerging communications technologies. We will continue to exhibit leadership in this area by ensuring that the legislation and the wireless public safety broadband network are implemented in the most effective and efficient way for public safety.

What will be essential to our ongoing success is the continued improvement of our working relationships with other national public safety organizations that represent law enforcement, fire and EMS, including those that are part of the Public Safety Alliance, as well as our federal partners and key groups of public safety representatives, such as the SAFECOM committee and NPSTC (the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council). I’d also like to stress the importance of working together with our corporate partners. The unity we achieved within the public safety community in our struggle for the D Block truly made all the difference. We must continue on this path as we face new challenges and opportunities.

Emerging technologies also affect 9-1-1 systems, and an increasing challenge is the future of NG9-1-1 and what it means to the nation’s citizens, first responders, calltakers and dispatchers. Although NG9-1-1 holds significant promise, especially when complemented with the future wireless broadband network, we will need to carefully guide development as we address text to 9-1-1 and other non-voice means the public will use to summon emergency response. We also need to be mindful of the funding challenges that are leading to decreasing staff levels and budget shortfalls.

Among the specific steps we will take to promote deployment of advanced public safety communications technologies is to continue two successful events we began just in the last couple of years—the Public Safety Broadband Summit and the Emerging Technologies Forum, both of which depend on input from APCO’s practitioners. These events provide opportunities to educate members and APCO’s supporters, and showcase the products and services of our commercial partners.

While we look forward, we must continue to recognize the importance of today’s land mobile radio communications networks and 9-1-1 systems. In this regard, we will continue to work to enhance P25 and communications interoperability as we embrace the early stages of migrating to long-term evolution (LTE) technology for wireless broadband. And we will remain vigilant and actively participate in any and all federal regulatory proceedings that concern public safety communications, as well as related developments on Capitol Hill. We will also remain focused on programs for our telecommunicators, including APCO’s Project 33 training and certification program. And our newly constituted ProCHRT (Professional Communications Human Resources Task Force) committee is working on improving recognition and human resources issues for our members. ProCHRT’s work will be a major focus of APCO this coming year.

The convergence of technologies will have a profound and transformational impact on the future of public safety communications and APCO. To help guide the public safety community through these changing times, APCO will continue its education, standards development and recognition efforts for the benefit of all of APCO’s members, including calltakers, dispatchers, technicians and all other public safety communications professionals.

Our long-term strategic plan forms the basis of the goals and strategies that staff at the director level strive to achieve annually. The Strategic Governance Initiative has permitted more responsive and effective decision-making. At the same time, these strategic planning and governance processes ensure that the organization remains member driven, that APCO’s core values remain at the forefront and that APCO can act quickly when appropriate in an informed manner. The Board of Directors and Executive Council continue to have active and meaningful roles. Further, the importance of APCO’s committees cannot be overstressed.

Overall, I begin my presidency with exciting opportunities before us. This will be the year that public safety begins to deploy an advanced communications network that will undoubtedly save lives and improve the safety and security of the nation. This will be the year that the first aspects of NG9-1-1 become realized. This will be the year that we make progress on filling in the gaps with human resources and recognition issues. We will continue to lead in training and standards development. All of this will depend not on me, but on the continued involvement and contributions of the dedicated, professional APCO membership—all 15,000 (and growing) of you. I look forward to the honor of serving as your president.