On behalf of the Awards Committee, by Judith Weshinskey-Price, MPA, ENP, RPL.

Judith.price@amarillo.gov

In the field of public safety communications, our telecommunicators, trainers, IT/RF, teams and directors are not always properly recognized for the great things they do in the course of their duties. Those in our profession deserve to be noticed, and you can help make that happen by nominating them for the upcoming APCO Public Safety Communications Awards.

These awards provide a wonderful opportunity to recognize those who demonstrate extraordinary performance in the line of duty and maintain the highest levels of personal and professional conduct—but this can’t happen unless you nominate someone you think deserves that recognition. The nomination process is not difficult, and the information provided below will make it even easier to nominate all of those wonderful professionals you work with.

First of all, make sure to you get your nominations in on time and in the proper manner for consideration. Nominations will be accepted from Jan. 1, 2015 through April 1, 2015, and your nomination must be submitted during this timeframe in order to be considered. Plan ahead and make sure you know who you want to nominate and why you are nominating them so that you have all the information you need to fill out the form. You can access the electronic nomination forms during the nomination period in the awards section of the APCO website (see below). Instructions on how to complete the forms will be available there as well to guide you through the process. Remember that nominations will not be accepted in any other format.

Secondly, make sure you know what category your nomination falls under. There are seven different categories of awards offered and you must submit your nomination under the correct category. For example, if you want to submit a nomination for someone to win the Trainer of the year award, you need to double check that this person meets the criteria for that category and holds the responsibilities required. In the case of the Trainer of the Year award, those responsibilities would include planning, scheduling, developing and conducting training, evaluating trainee skills and performance, and assisting with professional development and knowledge among others.

Other award categories include Telecommunicator of the Year, Communications Center Director of the Year, Line Supervisor of the Year, Radio Frequency Technologist of the Year, Information Technologist of the Year, and Team of the Year. Each has its own set of criteria. Keep in mind that the Technology Leadership Award, which recognizes centers that use technological advancements for their improvement, has two separate categories defined by the size of the center being nominated, so make sure you choose the correct category. If you nominate someone for an award in a category they don’t properly fit, it might impact the award committee’s ability to properly consider them for that award. You can review the available award categories and their criteria in the awards section of the APCO website during the nomination period.

Next, make sure that the person you are nominating is eligible. Nominees must have been employed with responsibilities that match the criteria of the category between April 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015 to be considered for that award. The nominee does not have to be an APCO member, but both the nominee and nominator must be residents of the United States or its territories, or a member of an international chapter of APCO for the nomination to be valid.

Lastly, when filling out the nomination form, make sure you are thorough. Answer every question and provide as much detail as possible in your answers. Remember, the award committee only has the information entered in that form to use for decision making. If you do not include every bit of information possible when answering the questions, the awards committee will not have access to that information to help them determine the winner of that category. Providing more information increases the ability of the awards committee to fully consider your nominee for the award.

This process may sound like a lot of work, but when you actually get to the website and start filling out the form you’ll find that the process is easy to follow and well worth the effort it takes. Every nominee receives a letter from APCO informing them that they are being considered for an award. Even if your nominee does not win, they learn that what they do is appreciated by those who took the time to nominate them and by APCO.

Winners of each award category except the Technological Leadership Award receive a fully paid trip to the 2015 APCO International Conference, to be held in Washington, D.C., on August 16–19. The winner of each category of the Technological Leadership Award receives a day pass so that a representative from each of the centers being recognized can attend the conference the day they will be recognized. In addition, all winners will be featured in an article in APCO’s Public Safety Communications magazine.

Please take the time to nominate your colleagues for the recognition they deserve. The process is easy and the Awards Committee is always ready to provide assistance if you have questions. The benefits of nominating someone are substantial for both the nominee who receives recognition and the nominator who knows they have done something good for both the nominee and their profession. Make 2015 the year you nominate someone!

Learn more at:
www.apcointl.org/apco-membership/awards/psap-awards.html