The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center at NASA. Photo by Courtney McCain

This year marks APCO International’s 75th anniversary as an association and its 76th Annual Conference. If you want to be inspired and invigorated and give your career a boost, then Houston is the place to be Aug. 1–4. The reconfigured conference schedule allows attendees this year to achieve its full value with just a three-night stay.

Coincidentally, this year also marks the 40th anniversary of Apollo 13, and Captain Jim Lovell, who commanded the Apollo 13 mission and brought her crew safely home, will be the opening keynote speaker (Monday, Aug. 2, 2010, 8:30 a.m.–10:00 a.m.). With the words, “Houston, we have a problem,” Lovell demonstrated a calm command presence in the face of the oxygen system failure that could have doomed the mission.

Through teamwork and decisive leadership Lovell and his crew, John L. Swigert and Fred W. Haise, modified the lunar module into an effective lifeboat to safely return to earth. As captain, he was transformed into a national hero and received the nation’s most distinguished honors, including the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Lovell was also the command module pilot of Apollo 8, the first Apollo mission to enter lunar orbit. He is one of only 24 men to have flown to the moon, and the only man to have flown to the moon twice without making a landing.

Lovell’s inspirational story is a testament to the essential elements of heroism: a courageous spirit, quick and well-reasoned thinking, meticulous attention to detail, and the spirit of teamwork that guided him and his crew safely back to Earth. Harkening back to the incredible early days of space exploration and the Apollo program, Lovell applies the “time when we did bold things in space to achieve leadership” to your goals and ambitions, proving that even during challenging times, innovation and new heights of leadership can be attained. An unforgettable motivational speaker with an unforgettable story, Lovell will inspire you with his valiant and courageous journey.

Don’t miss the Annual Golf Tournament on Sunday morning, the Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall on Sunday night, the Monday Night Event or the Blue & White Gala on Tuesday night. Also on Monday evening, all attendees are invited to the E9-1-1 Institute/APCO International Partnership Reception. On Tuesday morning, you can enjoy breakfast with your peers and get in a Supersession at the same time. The Distinguished Achiever’s Breakfast will recognize and honor distinguished achievers in public safety communications.

The Tuesday Supersession is Laugh at Fear: Finding the Courage to Achieve (8:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m., in conjunction with the Distinguished Achievers Breakfast). Frank Miles will deliver a unique motivational comedy presentation that demonstrates a simple approach to overcoming the self-imposed limits of fear, the No. 1 obstacle to success. With the help of audience volunteers, Miles uses his extraordinary talents of juggling, magic, unicycling and fire-eating to deliver a powerful presentation, helping you to address the issues of stress, change and achieving goals.

On Wednesday, Aug. 4, you can lunch and learn during the session, Build Balance and Reduce Stress: Secrets from The Daily Six (12:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m., includes lunch). Across the country, companies are pushing employees to do more and more, often with less and less—and public safety comm centers are no exception. Reset your day at any time using The Daily Six. According to speaker John Chappelear, this simple, powerful process reduces stress and enhances productivity by showing people how to live positively. You can prosper by living with purpose and committing to the success of others.

Choose from more than 90 educational sessions hand-selected by a highly qual­ified team of public safety professionals. Topics range from new technology to disaster planning to management and training tips.

In the session, Laughter Is Lawful (Sunday, Aug. 1, 2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.) by Sheriff J.B. Smith, you’ll learn how to laugh at your weaknesses and leave a lasting legacy that you’re proud of.

On Monday, Aug. 2, sit in on the FCC Regulatory Panel from 3:15–4:15 p.m.

Other professional development sessions include:

• The City of Houston’s Next-Generation P-25 Phase 2 700 MHz Trunked Radio System;
• PTSD: Identifying Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Callers and Techniques in Aiding Such Individuals;
• Remote Site Power—Greener Hybrids;
• “I Want to Speak to the Supervisor!”—Handling Complaints;
• The Emerging Role of Social Media Tools for Public Safety: Beyond the Web;
• Case Studies in Dispatch Consolidation;
• And much more!

For complete session information, visit www.apco2010.org and click the Education tab.

Clearly education is the No. 1 reason many people attend the conference. But there are other compelling reasons as well. People attend to:

Conduct APCO business: The conference serves as the location for the Annual Membership Quorum to meet and vote on association business. Refer to the June issue for a summary of the resolutions that will be placed before the Quorum this year. In short, Resolution No. 1 offers amendments to Policy Manual 4.12 (Membership Categories) that would retitle certain categories of membership for clarity and expand the offering of an agencywide group membership. Under Resolution No. 2, the qualifications for Senior and Life Member designations would be tightened. For the final and full text of the proposed Quorum resolutions and supporting material, visit www.apcointl.org/governance (you’ll be prompted to enter your membership password). The 1st Business Meeting (discussion) will be held Sunday, Aug. 1 at 1 p.m. and the 2nd Business Meeting (vote) will be held Tuesday, Aug. 3 at 4 p.m.

Also during the conference, the changing of the APCO guard will occur. The changes to the APCO Constitution and Bylaws that were voted on in 2009 included the elimination of the position of President-Elect, so there will be no new member added to the Executive Committee this year, but President Richard Mirgon will hand off the gavel to incoming President Bill Carrow. The new Executive Committee will formally take office during the Blue & White Gala on Tuesday night.

APCO committees also meet face to face during the conference. This is your chance to really get involved and make a difference in the association and for public safety communications.

Catch up with colleagues: Don’t let anyone fool you into thinking that networking isn’t an important part of the conference experience. The conference offers plenty of opportunities to meet other comm center personnel who hold similar positions in similar centers around the country. These people will likely become friends you can turn to for advice on common comm center problems. And you may discover that you hold the answer to someone else’s problem.

About the Author
Keri Losavio, is the editor of Public Safety Communications. Contact her via e-mail at [email protected]