By Tiffany Fuller

What better way to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Mid-Eastern Chapter of APCO than to host the APCO International Annual Conference & Expo in the host chapter’s backyard in Baltimore, Maryland.  It’s been 12 years since the last annual conference was held in Baltimore. Current Mid-Eastern Chapter Executive Council Representative Terry Whitham chaired the golf tournament at APCO 2007, which drew thousands of public safety professionals from across the world. It’s safe to say that when the Mid-Eastern Chapter of APCO is called to host a conference, you can expect a unique conference experience.

Host Chapter’s Past, Present & Future

In 1947, before the formation of today’s Mid-Eastern Chapter of APCO, the chapter’s charter was issued only for Maryland and the District of Columbia region. Over the next 20 years, the chapter experienced unprecedented growth as new members were drawn into the Maryland and D.C. chapter from unchartered states. As a result, on November 13, 1969, National President Cecil Ratcliff presented then-chapter President Weldon Hale with a new charter, identifying the newly combined Mid-Atlantic Region as including Maryland, Delaware and Washington, D.C., and officially known as the Mid-Eastern Chapter of APCO.

Fast forward 50 years and today’s Mid-Eastern Chapter is composed of thousands of members on the East Coast and provides a premier platform for members to engage, learn and grow. Some of the nation’s top-performing emergency communications centers are within this chapter’s region, and with top-performing ECCs come top-performing leaders. The Mid-Eastern Chapter is home to some of the most impactful leaders in public safety. For starters, current Mid-Eastern Chapter President Renee Gordon is the first African American woman to be elected and to serve as vice president and president on the executive board of the Mid-Eastern Chapter of APCO. Alongside Renee is the APCO executive board that works tirelessly to serve, promote and build the local chapter.

Meet the Mid-Eastern Chapter of APCO Executive Board Officers

	Renee Gordon, ENP, RPL, CPE Chapter President Gordon is director of the Department of Emergency Communications for the city of Alexandria, Virginia, a 25-year veteran in public safety with over 30 years’ experience as a manager and leader. Her wide range of experience has taught her that training and employee development is the most important element of an organization’s success.
	Marilyn Anderson RPL, CMCP Vice President Anderson is former director of public safety communications for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA). She has served for over 17 years in the public safety industry and has risen through the ranks from a front-line emergency communications technician to emergency communications supervisor to director. Since 1996, Anderson has dedicated herself to giving back to the community as a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician, providing medical and fire suppression services in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
	Kenneth Virdin Jr 2nd Vice-President Virdin has worked in public safety for over 20 years. Most recently he has served as public safety operator III/CTO with the New Castle County Emergency Communications Center in Delaware. Virdin has  learned that in order to be successful, public safety training and development are most important. He has always pushed his team to “sharpen their tools” and his motto is, “There is always something new to learn and opportunities to improve your skills.”
	Terry M. Whitham Treasurer/Executive Council Representative Whitham has been an active APCO member since 2001 and has previously served for two terms as the Mid-Eastern Chapter president. Whitham has been employed with Delaware State Police as a 9-1-1 PSAP manager and retired as Delaware’s 9-1-1 administrator. He currently works as the Track Service’s Coordinator for Dover International Speedway. Whitham has held numerous positions and has served on several APCO committees including chairing the 9-1-1 Emerging Technologies Committee for numerous years.
	Judy Duff Secretary A native Iowan, Judy Duff attended the University of Iowa where her 9-1-1 career began as a student employee and public safety telecommunicator for the university’s police department in 1984. Since then, Judy’s passion for 9-1-1 training, quality assurance and employee development has lead her to a higher purpose of managing 9-1-1 training programs across the U.S. to include Iowa, Texas and, currently, Washington, D.C., as chief of professional standards and development at the Office of Unified Communications.
	Dee Freeman Commercial Advisor Freeman has been a proud representative of Motorola Solutions for 30 plus years. She has supported the Mid-Eastern Chapter of APCO for over 20 years and is responsible for collaborating with the dedicated public safety and service professionals in the Baltimore-Annapolis area to provide mission-critical communications solutions. This includes driving best practices to transform the way government agencies deliver services, maximize responsiveness and streamline business processes.
	Helen Rushing Historian At the age of 90, Rushing is one of the oldest living members of APCO International. She remains physically active as an executive board officer within the Mid-Eastern Chapter of APCO. Rushing joined APCO in the early 1960s and served as president of the Mid-Eastern Chapter from 1985-1987. In 1988, she moved to Florida and took a job at APCO’s headquarters as director of the chapters service unit. She has attended 22 national conferences and holds the highest membership honor of Life Member and Senior Member.

The Mid-Eastern Chapter of APCO Executive Board would like to welcome all public safety professionals, sponsors and attendees to the 85th Annual APCO International Conference & Expo in Baltimore, Maryland.

Tiffany Fuller is a 14-year Public Safety Telecommunicator, Office Of Unified Communications, Washington, D.C.