There are many organizations in the 9-1-1 world, and someone new to the industry might not be sure where to start, which organizations to join, or which conferences to attend. This blog breaks down a few organizations and who is usually involved in each organization.
Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO)
Mission Statement
“APCO is an international leader committed to providing
complete public safety communications expertise, professional development,
technical assistance, advocacy, and outreach to benefit our members and the
public.”
APCO is the oldest and largest public safety communications
professionals’ organization globally and has many resources for all 9-1-1
professionals. Many 9-1-1 industry leaders enjoy participating in their annual
national conference. Not only do they have an annual national conference, but
they also have local Chapter conferences and training available to empower
those in 9-1-1.
You can learn more about APCO by visiting their website at https://www.apcointl.org/. APCO also has
an annual membership fee, which provides many opportunities for 9-1-1 professionals.
National Emergency Number Association (NENA)
Mission Statement
“The 9-1-1 Association improves 9-1-1 through research,
standards development, training, education, outreach, and advocacy. Our vision
is a public made safer and more secure through universally-available
state-of-the-art 9-1-1 systems and trained 9-1-1 professionals.”
Many might argue that NENA has a little bit of something for
everyone, whether you are a 9-1-1 coordinator, a PSAP manager, or a 9-1-1
call-taker - and they certainly do! Not only do they have a national conference
each year, but many local Chapters also hold annual conferences. There are
opportunities for you to work with your peers, get various training and
certifications to boost your 9-1-1 knowledge, keep up to date on pending
legislation, and more.
There is a fee to join, but you get a lot of perks with your
membership. You can learn more about NENA by visiting their website here: https://www.nena.org/.
National Public Safety Educators Forum (NPEF)
This organization was created over 12 years ago between
passionate 9-1-1 public educators who saw a need for more education and
training geared toward public educators in the industry. They formed NPEF and
started providing an annual conference. They offer many
resources for educators to use at their fingertips on the NPEF Dropbox and their website. NPEF
also regularly provides live webinars (recordings provided on the NPEF website after) and
e-blasts with updated conference and outreach information about the conference.
Want to learn more about this non-profit organization for
public safety educators? Visit their website and become a member for free (www.911npef.org)! Registration is now open
for the 2022 Virtual NPEF conference on July 26th and 27th. Register here: https://www.911npef.org/event-details/2022-npef-virtual-conference. NPEF will be back in person in Austin in
2023.
No matter what organization(s) you decide to join, you are
sure to learn more about the 9-1-1 industry and how it all operates.
