Since the mid-20th century, three generations of the Troup-Hoover family have experienced some of the greatest moments in the history of APCO and Motorola. APCO member Mike Hoover opened up about the family’s involvement and the impact it has had on generations.

Starting in the late 1940s, the family has taken part in public safety first responder wireless markets.

“APCO has played an instrumental role in not only my career, but those of my father and grandfather,” Hoover said.

Everett Troup, Mike’s grandfather, started working for Motorola in Michigan in 1947. He founded Troup Electronics in the basement of the family home. By 1951, it had become the 13th Motorola Service Station. The same year Troup rose to president of the Michigan chapter, and he remained an APCO member until his death in 1969.

“For Motorola, he supported and maintained many of the initial two-way radio system installations throughout south central Michigan,” Mike said. “In addition, he supported the Michigan State Police in the first installation of a Motorola analog, simplex, low-band radio system.”

Meanwhile, Hoover’s father, Richard Hoover, was making his way working for his father-in-law. Later he became a Field Tech Rep for Motorola.

“My father served at Motorola until my grandfather’s death when he took over the helm at Troup Electronics in 1970. In partnership with his wife, Barb (also an APCOan), Troup Electronics continued its growth until their retirement in 2004. Both maintained their memberships and attended many APCO events over 40 years,” Mike said.

Upon the elder Hoover’s retirement, Mike’s brother Steve joined former-Motorolan Paul Hughes to lead Troup Electronics. Both were APCOans.

Mike began his relationship with APCO in 1984 while working at the family business and continued through his 26-year career with Motorola in positions ranging from service to sales, market development and business development. Mike left Motorola in 2013 and is now vice president municipal & public safety with IPKeys Technologies, leading the company’s growth in the municipal & public safety networking backhaul services and solutions.

With so much history over the course of three generations, it’s easy to see how big of an impact APCO involvement had for the Hoover family — professionally and personally.  APCO membership has been widely helpful to so many in the communications and public safety industries.

“My family has actively participated in APCO for 70 years while steering public-safety communications leaders through decades of evolution, from simple analog systems to advanced digital P25 IP-based networks,” Mike said. “It’s a great legacy and I’m proud to be a part of it.”