E911 Institute to honor public-safety pros
The E911 Institute, a non-profit organization that provides administrative support to the Congressional E911 Caucus, announced yesterday that it would honor individuals and organizations that demonstrate “extraordinary action” to save lives and promote enhanced 911 services. One of the categories will honor 911 call-takers and dispatchers who were instrumental in saving or protecting a life or lives, while a second will honor individuals who showed exemplary effort in advancing E911 services on a regional or national level. Nominations can be filed on-line at www.e911institute.org through Jan. 16, 2004. The awards will be presented in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 24, 2004. Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), as well as Reps. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) and Anna Eshoo (D-Calif), chair the Congressional E911 Caucus.
The caucus’ goals include ubiquitous deployment of E911 systems nationwide and securing the funds required to achieve ubiquity. Funding is the biggest bugaboo. Wireless users having paid surcharges for years to support E911, but the money often ends up in state general treasuries instead.