By Gigi Smith

President Gigi Smith congratulates honorees at the APCO Leaders Dinner held this May in Washington, D.C.

Teamwork is defined as “cooperative or coordinated effort on the part of a group of persons acting together as a team or in the interests of a common cause.”

As I look back at this past year, there are so many things I am proud of, but at the top of that list is watching my team evolve and grow: all of them successfully working together and in cooperation with each other for the interest of APCO.

I’ve been blessed to have many people comment that this past year was “a good one,” but I know it wasn’t just because of me. So recently, I reached out to our Regional Board of Directors and asked them, “How were you successful in your role as a representative on the Board of Directors this past year?” I was so humbled by how each of them credited their success to the teamwork of another.

APCO leaders wear many hats. Take the time to thank our conference volunteers during your stay in New Orleans, and reach out to your local chapter for more opportunities to get
involved.

Kimberly Burdick, Montana Chapter/Western Regional Board Representative: “Sharing the leadership effectively with the EC [Executive Committee] reps and members in our region. It’s been exciting and gratifying to share information with everyone. But overall it’s been the teamwork between Peggy [Fouts; Western Regional Board Representative] and I in particular and the whole board of directors as a group. It’s opened my eyes a lot, and the support overall has been outstanding!”

Martha Carter, Louisiana Chapter/Gulf Coast Regional Board Representative: “The establishment of strong relationships through effective communications, not only between the Executive Committee, Regional Board of Directors, Executive Council and the 20,000 members of APCO, but in our mission of public safety communications.”

Matt Stillwell, Oklahoma Chapter/Gulf Coast Regional Board Representative: “Martha Carter and I used a team approach to represent our region and the best interest of the association to the best of our abilities. I certainly gained a lot of knowledge about the governance and policies of APCO, and am in a better position to serve our great association well.”

James McFarland, Pennsylvania Chapter/East Coast Regional Board Representative: “Attending the Indiana Chapter Conference and getting to meet and interact with those members. Being welcomed by them gave me a greater sense of what we are all about.”

Rich Boettcher, Atlantic Chapter/East Coast Regional Board Representative: “Listening to what the members of the region had to say and bringing them forward to the Board.”

Teams come in all shapes, skills and sizes. And thank goodness for that, since being unique is what gives us the flexibility, fresh ideas and opportunities to get out of our boxes to grow and achieve. We’re not all alike; styles are different, and that’s a good thing. A year ago, I was given some great advice, to be myself, and now I’m sharing that with you. Sometimes it’s difficult, especially if you’re still trying to figure out who you are and what you want, but trust me, being yourself is what will make you an irreplaceable member of the team.

There’s that old saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Well, I’m going to put my own twist on it and say, “It takes a team to raise an Association,” and that we did!

Through the hard work of each team member, including all the dedicated individuals in the APCO offices in Alexandria, Va., and Daytona Beach, Fla., we’ve raised the level of communication, we’ve raised our membership numbers, we’ve raised the bar with APCO’s resources and online learning software, we’ve raised awareness with AppComm and we’re going to raise the roof in New Orleans this year!

Events such as the Broadband Summit ensure that APCO’s leaders and membership stay up to date on technological innovations in emergency communications.

I want to thank those of you who reached out to me personally after reading these columns. Your messages are still what make me smile each day. I’ve saved every one of them. To each of my new and renewed friends that I’ve met as I’ve traveled to chapter events, to my Executive Director and Executive Committee, to my Board of Directors and to my buddy Bernard “Buster” Brown and his board at the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), I cannot thank you enough for what you’ve taught me.

I will forever cherish the opportunities I’ve had to spend time and work with you (as the definition says) for the common cause. In striving to coordinate and cooperate, I’ve been humbled by your dedication and impressed by your hard work. I’m honored to have been your President and when the opportunity arises, I will always pick you first to be on my team.

GIGI SMITH is the police operations manager at Salt Lake Valley Emergency Communications Center in West Valley City, Utah. She’s been a member of APCO for more than 20 years and has 28 years of public safety telecommunications and training experience. Reach her at gsmith@vec9-1-1.com.