Daytona Beach, Fla.– Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International has announced the recipients of the 2012 Public Safety Leadership in Policy Awards who will be honored at APCO’s 8th Annual Leadership in Policy Awards Dinner in Washington, DC on May 15, 2012.

The Public Safety Communications Leadership in Policy Awards Dinner commemorates leaders in public safety communications who are outstanding advocates for the industry and advance all aspects of public safety policy. In addition to the annual award categories, APCO is adding a special category in 2012.

To mark the monumental achievements of the Public Safety Alliance (PSA), APCO will recognize the leadership from each of the PSA partner organizations who helped secure legislation that changed the landscape of public safety communications. The PSA successfully advocated for, and secured legislation that allocated the D Block spectrum for public safety and $7 billion in funding. It also created FirstNet, an independent agency within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, that will ensure the development of a nationwide public safety broadband network.

The tireless efforts of stakeholders from the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the National Sheriffs’ Association, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the Major County Sheriffs’ Association, the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association, the National Emergency Management Association and the National Association of EMS Officials resulted in the victory for public safety.  For this reason APCO is recognizing members from each organization who made the D Block campaign a success.

The award winner of each category is:

Leadership in Advocacy Award
Richard Mirgon, Past President, APCO International

Leadership in Regulatory Service Award
Jeffery Goldthorp, Associate Bureau Chief, Federal Communications Commission

Leadership in Legislative Service Award
United States Senator John McCain (R-AZ)

United States Senator Joseph I. Lieberman (I-CT)

Leadership in Advancing Communications Policy Award
Anna Gomez, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and Deputy Administrator, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce

Special Partnership Recognition Awards
Harlin R. McEwen, Chair, International Association of Chiefs of Police Communications & Technology Committee

Christopher M. Moore, Chief of Police, San Jose Police Department

Paul H. Fitzgerald, Sheriff, Story County Iowa, President NSA

William J. McCammon, Executive Director, East Bay Regional Communications System Authority

Matt Cowles, Director of Government Relations, National Emergency Management Association

Raymond. J. Flynn, Assistant Sheriff, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department

Jeffrey D. Johnson, Past President, International Association of Fire Chiefs

Kevin McGinnis, Program Manager, National Association of State EMS Officials

Andrew Seybold, CEO and Principal Consultant, Andrew Seybold, Inc.

Award recipients will be recognized by public safety communications leaders, government, state and local officials and others at the Mandarin Oriental in Washington, DC.

Public safety communications officials interested in attending the May 15th dinner should visitleadersdinner.apcointl.org to purchase tickets.