E911 Institute honors ‘extraordinary’ individuals
The E911 Institute recently honored New York State Assemblyman David Koon, Kristy Wikliff of Southlake, Texas, and Jim Moore of Nashville Tennessee for their efforts in promoting the deployment of E911 emergency communications.
Koon was cited for his work in securing a New York State auditor’s report on “misspent 911 funds” and in passing legislation to modernize the state’s emergency call centers. Six-year-old Wikliff was credited with saving her father’s life by remaining calm when he went into diabetic shock, calling 911, and then following the dispatcher’s instructions.
Moore, front man for The Animal Band, was cited for the creation of a public service announcement that is being shown on television, and the song “Call 911,” which has been performed in “hundreds of schools across America” since 1992, according to the E911 Institute. The band recently released a DVD based on the song that will be released to movie theaters and video stores on March 10.
The E911 Institute provides support services to the Congressional E911 Caucus, which is studying the factors that are preventing nationwide deployment of wireless E911 services. To date, only about 15% of public-safety answering points nationwide have the Phase II location capability mandated by the Federal Communications Commission.