APCO International is pleased to announce the winners of the 2018 Public Safety Communications and Technology Leadership Awards. They will also be recognized at APCO 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada, August 5-8.

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Kathren Sukus
Rock County Communications Center
Janesville, WI

Kathy Sukus has been the Communications Director for the Rock County, Wisconsin, Communications Center since 2013. The Rock County Communications Center is the only PSAP in Rock County and dispatches for 24 user agencies. The Rock County Communications Center is the longest continuously accredited CALEA public safety communications center in the United States and the only CALEA accredited communications center in the State of Wisconsin.

Sukus developed and managed the agency’s Emergency Medical Dispatch, Communications Training, and Quality Assurance programs during her tenure as Operations Manager. As Director, Sukus has made public education and community relations a top priority. She uses social media to educate and inform the public and user agencies of the amazing work of her staff. Director Sukus has also created various light-hearted public safety lip-dub videos to highlight certain public safety communications issues such as misuse of 9-1-1 and 9-1-1 misdials and hang-ups. She also implemented text-to-9-1-1 in 2015 and created several public education videos concerning how and when to use the new service.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIST OF THE YEAR
Brandon Wecker
Kitsap 9-1-1
Bremerton, WA

Brandon Wecker is a Systems Engineer at Kitsap 911 in Kitsap County, WA.  He began at Kitsap 911 in 2011 as a temporary employee to assist with a large-scale mobile computer project.

Throughout his career, Brandon has been a key player in almost every technology project at Kitsap 911.  He has worked through a number of CAD system and mobile compute upgrades, learned something from each one, and applied improvements to the next.   Brandon developed a web based overtime portal for Operations to manage the mandatory overtime system more easily. This required a detailed understanding of a complicated process, dictated by contract language.  He is frequently asked for recommendations on future technology planning for the organization due to the level of trust and respect he has fostered during his tenure.

LINE SUPERVISOR OF THE YEAR
Denese Moore
Valley Communications Center
Kent, WA

Denese Moore is Supervisor II at Valley Communications Center (Valley Com). She instituted the use of an ambulance radio talk-group to coordinate private ambulance company responses versus incoming 911 lines and dispatch work phone lines being disrupted with these calls. Her resolve in this issue saved our Center from receiving nearly 3,000 unnecessary phone calls and decreased our fire dispatcher’s phone call volume by 19 percent.

Moore is driven and always puts forth a tireless effort in the accomplishment of special projects; most recently developing and co-presenting “Surviving an Active Shooter in the Workplace” to all Center employees. Her excellent communications with others and uncanny organizational skills allow her to see projects through in an environment that is fast paced, highly charged and fluid.

RADIO FREQUENCY TECHNOLOGIST OF THE YEAR
Ric Wilhelm
California National Guard State Military Department
Van Nuys, CA

As a Chief Warrant Officer in the CA State Military Department supporting the National Guard, Ric Wilhelm is responsible for a variety of communications related duties. Most recently during the 2017 California floods, fires in Napa and Southern California during the Thomas Fires, hurricane response in Texas after Harvey, Irma and Maria supporting Puerto Rico and St. Thomas , Wilhelm ensured teams had critical communications within minutes of arrival to the scene.

Also supporting live video downlink for real-time damage assessments, Wilhelm designed the HARRIER rapid communications kit after seeing the lack of “easy to use” and quick deployable packages that had the required performance. The HARRIER was utilized on all of these responses supporting various communications needs from VoIP, RoIP, data and live streaming video.

TELECOMMUNICATOR OF THE YEAR
Jamie Siller
Kitsap 9-1-1
Bremerton, WA

Jamie Siller is a telecommunicator for Kitsap 9-1-1 where she is also a member of the CAD Change Control Board, CAD Testing Cadre, SOP and the in-house Policy Review Group. She is dispatch representative on the department’s CAD Change Control involved in its CAD upgrade processes, offering input to changes and fixes, as well as developing training for floor operations employees. She mentors newer employees to help them develop into stronger telecommunicators in hopes of building better employees and leaving the center stronger than when she arrived.

While Siller was working the Bremerton PD frequency, two officers were shot in the line of duty (they survived). The operations manager made a copy of the radio traffic to play for the Law Enforcement Dispatch Academy to illustrate the proper way to handle the event, process workload, and manage the stressors and chaos of this tragic call.

 TRAINER OF THE YEAR
Carmen Bower
Kitsap 9-1-1
Bremerton, WA

Carmen Bower is Communications Training Officer for Kitsap 9-1-1 and an in-house academy instructor. This year she helped overhaul the academy curriculum.  She is a member of the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission’s Telecommunicator Program Instructor Cadre, where she facilitates learning for Basic Call Receiving and Basic Fire and Law Enforcement Dispatch to new telecommunicators in Washington State. She enjoys teaching new call takers the base knowledge they will need to be successful in this career.

Bower prides herself on being a supportive, encouraging trainer and puts a lot of pressure on herself to produce highly successful employees. With the other trainers, she explores multiple teaching techniques, promoting flexibility in teaching styles. She enjoys nothing more than teaching new hires how to do the most challenging yet rewarding job in the world.

TEAM OF THE YEAR
Combined Communications Center
Las Vegas, NV

TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP AWARD FOR A LARGE COMMUNICATIONS CENTER
MAJCS
Oregon Metro Area

TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP AWARD FOR A SMALL COMMUNICATIONS CENTER
Manatee County Emergency Communications Center
Bradenton, FL