By Brian Hughes

APCO International is fortunate to have a committee structure that offers all members an opportunity to participate in activities vital to their professional success, as well as the continued success of the association. One such group is the Conference and Exposition Committee (CEC).

This committee is unique, as five of its members are elected by representatives of the whole membership for a two-year term. Each of the four regional executive councils, as well as the Commercial Advisory Council (CAC), elects a representative. In addition to the elected members, the association president appoints a member-at-large who fills out the core of the CEC. The chair of the Professional Events Development Committee (PDEC) and two APCO staff members, along with a representative from the Board of Directors, rounds out the committee.

The idea for the committee started in 2010 when a task force of regional representatives and APCO staff set out to revise the annual conference manual, evaluate the most effective method of rotating host cities and address the changing role of the annual conference host committee. Within two years, the association established the Conference and Exposition Advisory Committee (CEAC). Over the next four years, the CEAC, acting in an advisory role, became a liaison between membership and APCO staff. This partnership implemented many changes evident to those of you who walk the exhibit floor and take part in events surrounding the annual meeting. In April 2016, the board of directors officially confirmed that the CEAC had been renamed the Conference and Exposition Committee (CEC) to reflect its evolving focus.

CEC members share their knowledge, experience and viewpoints, which serve to underscore the breadth and diversity of this vital committee. The group’s five elected members are the heart of the committee and the representative voice of the APCO community. Each of them brings unique perspectives that make our annual meeting a success.

Faith Evers
Faith Evers was elected in 2012 to represent the North Central Region. Evers is the communications supervisor for the Rochester (Minn.) Police Department. She has been a chapter officer and a member of the executive council. She brings the experience of her involvement in two international conferences; one in 1999 and another in 2012. Both were held in Minneapolis. She also brings valuable knowledge of the evolving role of the host committee.

Evers has witnessed conferences growing larger and more complicated, leading APCO staff to play a larger role in the planning and execution of the annual conferences. As one of the original members of the CEAC and now the CEC, Evers has a special appreciation of how cooperation between APCO staff and committee members benefits the conferences.

Stephanie Fritts
Stephanie Fritts, from the Western Region, was appointed in 2015 as the committee’s at-large representative. She is the chief deputy of the Pacific County Communications and Emergency Management Agencies within the Pacific County (Wash.) Sheriff’s Office. She is a Senior Member and has served as a chapter officer and executive council representative, and has also chaired several chapter conferences in the state of Washington. Fritts joined the CEAC in August 2015 and has quickly developed an understanding of managing an international conference. She came well-prepared for this task as a result of her involvement in the western region, serving on a Western Regional Conference committee. The Western Region Conference is very robust. The assistance she gave to CEC Chair Jim Acosta, who had a full understanding of the origins of the Western Regional Conference Manual, on the update of the Western Region conference guide proved very valuable to the committee. Fritts truly hit the grounding running as a member of the CEAC.

The experienced gained by Evers and Fritts as a result of their involvement at both the national and regional level has allowed them to play a key role in the CEC’s focus on conference volunteers. Evers has noted that “the annual conferences have certainly become larger and more complicated over the years; however it is important to maintain a level of consistency in managing the role of the volunteers from year to year.”

Ricky Rowell
Ricky Rowell is the representative from the Gulf Coast Region. Rowell is the assistant manager, communications division, of the Nassau County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Department. He is currently serving on the 2016 Orlando Host Committee and in this capacity brings important feedback to the committee. Rowell brings first-hand, real-time information on organizing an annual conference, ranging from evaluating the colors that will best reflect the host area to the all-important communications network that will serve the conference. He has also had the opportunity to learn how hard the APCO staff works to produce a world-class conference.

Rowell’s positions on the both the CEC and the Orlando Host Committee have allowed him to create a unique partnership with Jim Acosta as they work together on the many tasks required to make the annual conference successful. Rowell has found that “no detail is too small to be ignored.” Acosta agreed.

Bill Agee
Bill Agee is the representative from the East Region. He is the network and telecommunications manager of the city of Hampton, Va. He is serving on the Executive Council, is a Life Member and has been a chapter officer. Agee also shares the distinction with Acosta of being our only CEC member who served on the original task force, established in 2010. His years of unbroken service are very valuable as he is able to bring a historical perspective to the committee. Agee has also chaired seven consecutive Virginia Chapter conferences, thus the many lessons allowed him to contribute to a very comprehensive revision of the conference manual as well as a smooth transition to a new host committee format.

Agee played a critical role not only in developing the new conference manual, but also revising the Western Region’s conference manual into a set of regional conference guidelines. This important document will serve as the template for future regional conferences. Stephanie Fritts played an important role in the process as she was able to use her years of experience in the Western Region to provide valuable input.

“She was a great help even before she joined the committee; thank you, Stephanie,” Agee said.

Jim Acosta
The chair of the committee is Jim Acosta, who is the representative of the Western Region. He is retired from his position as the communications supervisor for the Downey (Calif.) Fire Department. Acosta is a member of the executive council, a Life Member of the association and has served as a chapter officer. He is a charter member of the CEAC, serving as chair since 2014 as well as a member of the original task force, having been chosen for the task force based on his involvement in regional, state and chapter conferences.

His experience at all conference levels allowed Acosta to develop a specialized registration program, which is an asset available to the association. In addition to his many roles as chair, Jim has a special focus on working with APCO staff and the conference host committees. This focus not only includes the selection of the host committee chair but numerous face-to-face meetings with current and future host committees. This activity helps maintain continuity from one host committee to another and promotes consistency between conferences. He also delivers the Conference After-Action report to the board of directors. This report, which is prepared by the CEC immediately after the annual conference, offers real-time feedback from both attendees and vendors.

Brian Hughes
I am a representative from the CAC. I am a charter member of the CEAC, having gained valuable input from my colleague, Michael Mangini, who served on the task force. I am Vice President of Strategic Programs for Eastern Communications, Ltd., located in Long Island City, New York. The CEC has given me an opportunity to offer a commercial perspective with the goal of making the conferences more attractive to vendors and attendees alike. One such initiative developed by Lisa Williams, APCO Director of Corporate Outreach, is the Career Advancement Center held on the exhibit hall floor. I have had the opportunity to work with Williams to grow the center into a major event on the exhibit hall floor.

The Career Advancement Center in 2016 will see the number of sessions expand to nine, which will allow more opportunities for attendees to gain valuable career guidance. This expansion of the program will also drive more traffic to the exhibit hall, which was one of the major goals of the important initiative Williams started.

From the very earliest days of the task force, it was the groups’ mission to work with APCO staff to help develop the overall strategy for the annual conference and exposition of APCO International. This includes making recommendations and being an information conduit between our constituents and the executive committee of APCO International. It is the vision of APCO International to strengthen our communities by empowering and educating public safety professionals through the presentation of the premier international public safety conference and exposition. The CEC is a proud partner in that effort and will continue to strive to make each conference and exposition better than all previous ones.

Brian Hughes is Vice President of Strategic Programs at Eastern Communications, Ltd. in Long Island City, New York. He can be reached at bh@easterncommunications.com.