Escambia County encourages residents to join in observing National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, recognized by the
Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) each year on the second week of April. From April 11-17, telecommunications personnel in the public safety community are being honored and celebrated for their service and dedication to their community.
National Public Safety Telecommunications Week celebrates the dedication and hard work of the men and women who serve as emergency dispatchers, 911 call-takers, radio and phone technicians and other communication experts.
"Public safety telecommunicators serve their community every single day," said Interim Escambia County Public Safety Director Eric Gilmore. "These first responders who are often "unseen" but still heard are essential in emergency situations. Dispatchers have to quickly and skillfully ask the right questions and provide lifesaving information and instructions in a crisis. I'd like to thank the men and women who serve Escambia County residents in our 9-1-1 Communications Center."
National Public Safety Telecommunications Week has a contest on their webpage called, "Who's Your Public Safety Superhero" where you can nominate the person (or persons) in public safety telecommunications who inspires you the most. The rules of the contest include:
- Two $100 prizes, one for smaller and one for larger Emergency Control Centers (ECCs) with categories of “1-35 employees” and “36 and above.”
- Sending a photo adds one “like” to your score, and this year sending a video gets you two “likes.” (Maximum of two extra likes.) Please make sure you have permission to post your photo.
- Be creative, but watch those trademarks. A photo of your live hero in a superhero costume is fine, but please don’t attach copyrighted materials as they will not be able to post them.
- Entries must be submitted by April 19, 2021, at 9 a.m. ET.
Voting:
- One “like”, per person, per post.
- You may like as many posts as you wish.
- You do not have to log in to like a post.
- Anyone can vote – you don’t have to be an APCO member or in public safety communications.
- Voting begins February 5, 2021, and ends April 19, 2021, at 9 a.m. ET
- In the event of a tie, the winner will be selected by coin toss.
- All decisions are final.
You can submit your entries here:
npstw.org/whos-your-public-safety-superhero. The deadline for submissions and voting is 9 a.m. ET on April 19, 2021.
National Public Safety Telecommunications Week (NPSTW) was originally established by Patricia Anderson who was a dispatcher in Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office in California in 1981. In 1994, National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week was signed into law by President Bill Clinton and became a nationally celebrated event.
