A Publication of the Texas Chapter of the Association of Public Safety Communication Officials Texas Talks. Texas Talks

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1 A Publication of the Texas Chapter of the Association of Public Safety Communication Officials A Publication of the Texas Chapter of the Association of Public Safety Communication Officials Texas Talks Texas Talks August 2014 Hello everyone! I hope this finds each of you well and looking forward to the Fall with some cooler weather! The Board has been busy since our last newsletter. We have hosted a number of Active Shooter Courses throughout our great State of Texas. Portland Police Department 2 classes; the first one was held August 17 th over 25 students attended; the second class is scheduled for Saturday, October 4th. Abilene Police Department hosting on August 23 rd and we anticipate 15 students. San Marcos Police Department hosting on August 23 rd, and we anticipate 50 students Tech Times Issue 00 Month Year Mindy Adams, RPL, ENP President of Texas Chapter of APCO When all is said and done we will have provided free training to over 100 Telecommunicators in the State of Texas which includes over 800 contact training hours! A true accomplishment indeed! If you or your colleagues are interested in any of the above dates or would like to host a course in your agency, please contact me at madams@txapco.org In November we will be having our annual business meeting in Tyler. This meeting is open to all Texas APCO Members and we encourage you to attend. We will be sending out flyers with more information within the week, so be sure to mark your calendar. We have already started planning for the Texas APCO / Texas NENA Joint Conference to be held April 19-22, 2015 in Galveston. If you have never attended this event, or if it has been awhile, please join us! This conference provides incredible networking opportunities, an Industry Partner Vendor Hall that is outstanding, recognition of award winners and of course educational sessions that are superb! It is truly one of the finest and most rewarding times you will ever experience. Opportunities for volunteers and serving on committees will be open soon. Check the Texas APCO Website for more information. The success of our organization is dependent on your involvement. Find your voice and let it be heard! And finally, I would be remiss if I did not tell you that APCO International in New Orleans this year was face paced, well attended and a lot of fun! As we say goodbye to Gigi Smith as the President of APCO, we welcome our new leader, John Wright. In NOLA, we hosted our annual Texas Night Out and it was a huge success as well! We cannot thank our sponsors enough for all their support, encouragement and involvement! Enjoy the remainder of your summer and remember we work for you so let s us know how we can help! 1 P a g e

2 Bill Keller Pictured are: Shawn Barnes, Immediate Past President, Bill Keller, Executive Council Representative for Texas Chapter of APCO and Brent Lee, President Elect of APCO Bill Keller was presented the Life Chapter Member Award by Brent Lee of APCO International. To become a Life Chapter Member you must have served a full term as President of APCO International or must have maintained membership for 15 or more years and made at least five major accomplishments that have contributed significantly to the betterment of the association. Bill also has received the Senior Chapter Member Award. To become a Senior Chapter Member you have maintained membership for 10 or more years, made four significant contributions to APCO, including one at the Association level, and should be a member in good standing at the time of the award. Senior membership grade is approved by the Executive Committee after a nomination and recommendation process is completed. Bill received the Presidential award at the spring business meeting at the APCO/NENA joint conference in Galveston. This recognition was for serving the Chapter in a number of capacities, continuing to be a tremendous resource and maintaining an abundance of historical knowledge. Bill Keller also has been chosen as the Chair for APCO s Management Committee. This Committee, among other duties and responsibilities, recognizes leaders in our industry as well as identifying future leaders on a national level. The success of our organization is dependent on your involvement. Find your voice and let it be heard! Congratulations to Bill Keller for all of his hard work and dedication to the Texas Chapter and to APCO International! Executive Council Representative Texas Chapter Past President of the Texas Chapter of APCO Member of APCO since 1977 Life Chapter Member Senior Chapter Member Chair for APCO s Management Committee 2 P a g e

3 Simon Say s August Training Tips By: Monica Corbin-Simon Texas APCO 1 st Vice President Are you a new supervisor/manager who has a new team that you just can t seem to connect with? Or have you and your team been together for a while but seem to have lost the magic? How do you get the magic back? How do bring together a new team and build on greatness. Well I m glad you were thinking of these questions. The answer is so simple that many of us miss it all together. As supervisors, managers, or trainers we often look for a profound answer but as Judge Judy would say, KISS-Keep it Simple S In order for anyone of us to build a team or keep a team from drowning in despair one must know and understand the SHAPE of that team. I m not speaking about the physical size of the team but the ability of the team to do what is asked of them and how they perceive you as the leader. In the book The Way of the Shepherd, written by Dr. Kevin Leman and Bill Pentak, they speak on this very subject. Knowing and understanding the S.H.A.P.E. of your team will allow you all to grow together no matter what is going on in the jurisdiction you serve. Let s take a look at what S.H.A.P.E. really means. S- Strength; as a leader of a team you must understand and recognize your strengths and the strengths of your team members. You are as successful as your weakest member. Take some time to learn and understand each persons job. You don t have to be the resident expert but you must be willing to learn and work in the trenches. H-Heart; what is the condition of the heart of your team members? Many people act out of hurt and mistrust of management. Be open enough to ask the tough questions and be willing to accept the answers even if they don t feel good. As a leader people will not follow you if they can t trust you. A - Attitude; Your ATTITUDE determines your ALTITUDE. Have you ever experienced a team member who is very good at their job but has the worst attitude known to man? Or does this describe you as a leader? We have to remember that it s not all about us but who we get to serve. Yes, I said get to serve. We should be honored to have a job where we can make a difference in another s life for the positive. We might not hear a lot of thank you s but it s very easy to give them away. As a leader you set the tone of your team not vice versa. Come in prepared and ready to fight for your team when they are right and support them when they make an error. P- Personality; in each team there are many different personalities that are thrown together, chosen, or given. We as a leader must understand these personalities and utilize them for the benefit of our citizens and agency. As human beings we all will not get along all the time but when we understand and respect each other for our differences we are better off in the end. I would rather have a bag full of skittles than a bag of red hots. E- Experiences; each team member comes with their own set of experiences. As adults we build on our ability to learn by building off our past experiences. As a leader we should value the experiences of our team members and not suppress them because we believe what we bring to the table is more important. It is that kind of thinking that will destroy a team from the inside out. We must make our team members feel valuable and be open to their ideas. So when you are selecting, building, shaping and growing your team remember it s not all about you but who you have the privilege in serving. Until next time Simon Says, keep it real and you will go far. 3 P a g e

4 Texas Night-Out NOLA By: Tina Chaffin Texas APCO Secretary / Treasurer Each year during the APCO Conference the Texas APCO Board hosts Texas Night out for Texas conference attendees. This year the event was held at Oceana at the corner of Conti and Bourbon, in the heart of the French Quarter. Attendees were treated to dinner, drinks, and raffle prizes. The atmosphere was perfect and the food was outstanding. The event had over 223 people in attendance. Texas APCO would not have been able to hold Texas Night Out without our sponsors. The sponsors for the evening were: Intrado, Mission Critical Partners, Commercial Electronics, Higher Ground, Hitech Systems, Motorola, EF Johnson, Genesis, Emergency CallWorks, Voice Products Inc., Sepura, and Voiance. Next year the APCO conference will be held in Washington D.C. August 16-19, To secure a venue in Washington D.C. the Board would like to begin preparing by creating a Texas Night Out Committee. If you are interested in being on the Texas Night Out Committee, contact Tina Chaffin at tchaffin@txapco.org. Thanks again to everyone who attended the event and our generous sponsors. See you next year at Texas Night Out in Washington D.C. 4 P a g e

5 Important Dates APCO Training Texas APCO / Texas NENA Joint Conference & Awards April 19 22, 2015 Galveston, Texas Texas APCO Fall Quorum & Training Host: Smith County November 10 Free Active Shooter Course (Instructed by Tina Chaffin) November 11 Breakfast with your Texas APCO Board (8:30 AM 9:30 AM) Texas APCO Business Meeting (09:45 AM 11:00 AM) Please look for more information at APCO International will be hosting the 81 st Annual Conference & EXPO in Washington, DC 5 P a g e

6 Want to Get Involved? Involvement is only an away! any of the following chairs and help them with the committee of your choice. Opportunities for volunteers and serving on committees will be open soon. Check the Texas APCO Website for more information. ( Alumni Committee** (membership limited to past presidents of Texas APCO) Chair: Immediate Past President, Shawn Barnes Board Liaison: Mindy Adams Serve as resource to the Board Support the Chapter Identify new leadership within the Chapter Awards Committee Chair: Jackie Cottongame Board Liaison: Mindy Adams Solicits nominations from members as well as non-members for all categories awarded during the annual spring conference Selects members of the Chapter to serve on sub-committees with the intention to score nominations in their area of expertise e.g. Telecommunicator of the Year, Supervisor of the Year, Team of the Year and Technician of the Year. Reviews scores of annual nominations and recommendations of subcommittee members Submits recommendations of award designees to the Board Liaison Educational/Training Committee Chair: Kim Turner Board Liaison: Monica Corbin-Simon Identify educational and training opportunities and communicate such to members via effective marketing tools (flyers, s blasts, newsletter article, etc.) Provide a list of APCO courses within the State to the Newsletter editor quarterly Serves as the Educational Session Chair for the Fall Conference as directed by the Board Liaison Historical Committee Chair: Tina Chaffin tchaffin@tc911.org Locate and preserve all historical records and other related materials for the Chapter Maintains accurate and comprehensive records for historical content Communicates the heritage of the Chapter to all interested parties Serves as the resource for all members, Board officers and RPL students as needed Membership Committee Chair: Gloria Little Gloria.little@co.jones.tx.us Board Liaison: Nancie Lutze nlutze@mdanderson.org Recruiting new members as well as renewal membership Encourage active participation of members within the Chapter Develop effective marketing tools (flyers, blasts, newsletter articles, etc.) to encourage membership Serve as greeter during annual business meetings, as directed by the Board Liaison Technical Committee Chair: Ken Yoder kyoder@austin.rr.com Board Liaison: Bill Keller bill.keller@txdps.state.tx.us Provide pertinent information to Chapter members as well as the Board concerning technical issues that apply to public safety communications Encourage professional development as well as provide innovations in the field of public safety communications Credential Committees** (Limited Membership) Chair: Ken Yoder kyoder@austin.rr.com Board Liaison: Shawn Barnes sbarnes@capcog.org Identifies members of Texas APCO eligible for Chapter or National membership designations Makes recommendations to the Board for nominations **Denotes an Ad-Hoc Committee or Taskforce created by the President. 6 P a g e