APCO International is pleased to announce the winners of the 2017 Public Safety Communications and Technology Leadership Awards. They will also be recognized at APCO 2017 in Denver, Colorado, August 13–16.

TELECOMMUNICATOR OF THE YEAR
Eric Mulvaine
Barry County (Mich.) Central Dispatch

Eric Mulvaine is a telecommunicator at Barry County Central Dispatch in Hastings, Michigan, a rural consolidated dispatch agency with 17 employees, serving a community of about 60,000 residents. It dispatches 10 fire departments and eight police agencies, and it directly dispatches three EMS services in-house and three others via telephone. The agency also works closely with the state of Michigan park system, Yankee Springs recreation area, DNR, Barry County Road Commission, several different departments of public works, wreckers services, and more.

In addition to his dispatching duties, Mulvaine takes on responsibilities including serving as a communications training officer — a role he earned after only two years on the job, thanks to his exemplary leadership skills — creating and maintaining the department website, assisting the I.T. administrator with a range of essential tasks, and manning the emergency service tent at the local fair. His above-and-beyond work ethic coupled with his exceptional teamwork helps reduce stress among his colleagues in a high-intensity profession; Mulvaine acts as a sounding board, brainstormer and trouble shooter and provides constructive feedback. He lends a hand without expecting anything in return and recognizes that a job worth doing is worth doing well — even if it’s not in your job description.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIST OF THE YEAR
Ted Rufledt, Jr.
Pennington County (S.D.) 9-1-1

Ted Rufledt, Jr. is the Assistant Director of Technology at Pennington County 9-1-1 in Rapid City, South Dakota, a combined dispatch center serving Rapid City, Pennington County, Jackson County and state agencies in western South Dakota. The PSAP’s 47 dispatchers serve over 40 agencies, including city and volunteer fire agencies, law enforcement and highway patrol.

Rufledt began his 9-1-1 career in 1990; over the last 27 years he has served as a dispatcher, rural addressing coordinator, E9-1-1 project manager, PSAP consolidation manager, and acting director. In his current role, he has been the driving force behind the South Dakota NG911 project. As chair of the 9-1-1 board, he has been a leader in moving South Dakota to this cutting edge technology, and he regularly offers support to the other PSAPs in the state with problem solving, technical questions and planning as they move over to the new statewide hosted phone system. And as he drives his PSAP and state toward technological advancement, Rufledt never forgets his roots — when he hears that the phones in the dispatch center are busy, he is the first of the administrative staff to grab a headset and answer the call.

LINE SUPERVISOR OF THE YEAR
Shawn Handel
Kitsap (Wash.) 911

Shawn Handel is a public safety communications supervisor at Kitsap 911 in Bremerton, Washington. The PSAP employs approximately 76 people and serves as the only provider of dispatch services for seven law enforcement agencies, six fire departments (running both fire and medical calls for service), and Port Gamble Natural Resources and Kitsap Animal Control. It also provides mutual aid services to Washington State Patrol, Jefferson, Mason and Pierce counties, as well as three military bases.

As a public safety communications supervisor, Handel is responsible for the overall supervision of emergency 9-1-1 communications work for all call receivers, dispatchers and lead dispatchers — but she does far more than just supervise. Both on and off the dispatch floor she is a mentor, a dedicated trainer, a cheerleader, and often times, a caring ear. Her drive to make a positive difference is evidenced not only by her daily work, but also by her dedicated involvement in several groups and committees within the organization that are outside of her job description, including the Public Education Committee, where she coordinates and presents at educational events; the CAD Testing Cadre, where she participates in testing and identifying issues with new or updated CAD applications; the instructor group, where she teaches call receiving to new employees; and supervisor curriculum development, where she documents her supervisory knowledge for the drafting of a more detailed, consistent curriculum.

RADIO FREQUENCY TECHNOLOGIST OF THE YEAR
Tim Beuschlein
Deschutes County (Ore.) 9-1-1 Service District

Tim Beuschlein is the public safety systems specialist lead at Deschutes County 9-1-1 Service District in Bend, Oregon, serving 176,000 people. The District’s 58 employees are responsible for 9-1-1 and non-emergency call receiving and emergency services dispatching for five law enforcement and eight fire and EMS agencies.

While maintaining the District’s 20-year-old analog trunked radio system, Beuschlein served as project manager for the deployment of a digital Phase II 700 MHz trunked radio system, working with district and user agency operations staff to assure the new system would meet the coverage and signal density needs of the highly mountainous service area. And Beuschlein is no stranger to the complications Mother Nature can create — he has frequently had to snowmobile, snowshoe or hike into remote sites in order to maintain current systems and to install new system components. His expertise is invaluable to District staff and user agencies, acting as technical advisor, trainer, developer and innovator. An exemplary leader, Beuschlein has not only been at the forefront of the district’s radio system upgrade, but he has assembled and mentored a cohesive team of technicians and is creating a succession plan within his division so that the kind of progress he’s helped bring about will continue into the future.

TRAINER OF THE YEAR
Heather Hallman
St. George (Utah) Communications

Heather Hallman is a training coordinator at St. George Communications in St. George, Utah, a consolidated PSAP covering Washington County law, fire and EMS agencies. A 14-year veteran with St. George Communications, Hallman has a deep knowledge and love of the work dispatchers do, and this carries over into the way she trains and mentors employees. She spends time working consoles on the dispatch floor alongside new hires and co-workers. If needed, Hallman will come in on a day off or at any hour to meet with a dispatcher. She doesn’t give up on anyone — she is the center’s cheerleader for success.

A creative trainer, Hallman has developed games and challenges to make benchmark test training as well as continued training more fun and more effective. In her innovative training plan, new hires, after passing the radio benchmark test, are placed on the dispatch floor as radio-only dispatchers for six weeks, giving them a feel for the dispatch job, making them part of the team and developing all they have learned thus far into habits so that they will be successful with phone dispatching. She is credited with contributing to her center’s low turnover rate, as new hires are not only well trained but also feel valued at work.

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Richard Kirton
Kitsap (Wash.) 911

Richard Kirton is the director of CENCOM (Kitsap 911) in Kitsap, Washington. Kirton got his first taste of public safety work at the age of 16 when he joined the volunteer fire department, later becoming the youngest Emergency Medical Technician in the state. He was working as an EMT for a private ambulance company when a snow storm prevented the dispatcher from arriving at work. Kirton was assigned to work dispatch, where he found his calling.

He has worked as a 9-1-1 professional since 1990, first working as a dispatcher and progressing through various other assignments until being appointed Director of CENCOM (Kitsap 911) in 2008. Kirton has served in various roles on the executive committee of the Washington State Chapters of APCO/NENA, including as Chapter President, and is the current APCO treasurer. He holds the Senior Member designation with APCO International and is currently the Vice Chair of the Washington State 911 Advisory Committee. Kirton has been recognized by the King County Red Cross (1998 Dispatch Hero Award) and Washington APCO/NENA (President’s Award and Maurice Cartwright Award). He is the Chair of the 2018 APCO Western Regional Conference Committee.

TEAM OF THE YEAR
East Baton Rouge (La.) EMS

The Department of EMS provides a progressive and comprehensive system of pre-hospital care, education and public awareness to the 440,000+ residents of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. EMS is responsible for dispatching and coordination all pre-hospital movement as well as communication frequencies of all emergency medical vehicles within the parish. The Communications Division is the primary PSAP for the parish and answers approximately 400,000 calls to 9-1-1 a year. The division also provides radio dispatch services for over 50,000 calls for East Baton Rouge Parish EMS ambulances each year.

Operators dispatch approximately 100–125 calls for medical emergencies per shift. All 9-1-1 operators have taken Basic Telecommunicator and Emergency Medical Dispatch through the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) and are National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) Certified as EMT or Paramedic. All 9-1-1 supervisors and training officers receive advanced APCO certified training.

TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP AWARD FOR A LARGE COMMUNICATIONS CENTER
Minnesota State Patrol Communications

TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP AWARD FOR A SMALL COMMUNICATIONS CENTER
El Paso-Teller County (Colo.) 9-1-1 Authority