As we step into a new year with new experiences and opportunities, I wanted to take a moment to thank you, our members, and provide you with a quick overview of what our chapter has accomplished this year.
First of all, thank you! Thank you for being part of this chapter and this association. Thank you for enabling us to make a positive impact in the emergency communications profession. Thank you for being part of that same profession and doing your part to protect and serve the citizens, visitors and field responders of Missouri. Your service and dedication, either as a frontline communicator, supervisor, administrator, support staff, or technical staff, have been evident in this year’s day-to-day operations and critical incidents. As a profession, we have been directly responsible for saving lives and making a positive impact in our communities. YOU have been a big part of that, so thank you!
2022 has seen our chapter undertake new projects, develop and engage our membership and provide training opportunities and care packages. This past year we developed and awarded our first-ever MO Leaders Scholarship, which allowed one of our members to attend APCO’s year-long Registered Public Safety (RPL) program. APCO International’s Registered Public Safety Leader (RPL), Certified Public-Safety Executive (CPE) and General Training Scholarship program began accepting applications on January 2nd. CPE scholarship applications are due by February 15th, RPL scholarship applications are due by March 1st, and general scholarships are due by March 31st. Learn more about these programs or apply for a scholarship today at apcointl.org/scholarship
We awarded two Matthew Knight Memorial Scholarships, one to each Missouri Public Safety Communications Conference (MPSCC). This scholarship allowed two first-time attendees to attend the MPSCC and gain critical knowledge and skills at no cost to them or their agencies. The MKM Scholarship application process is open and will close at the end of business on January 13th, 2023. Apply today at moapco.org/scholarship.
The Missouri Totes of Hope program once again had an active year, with our final deployment of the year taking place on December 31st. Over the year, we deployed 22 totes to agencies following critical incidents, unexpected deaths of coworkers and officers and line-of-duty deaths. The Totes of Hope Program began in 2019 and has deployed a total of 70 totes around the state.
Our ProCHRT committee has been busy engaging our membership through our quarterly newsletter but also by developing and administering engagement projects such as July’s Christmas in July Drive. This summer, agencies competed against each other to gather the most hygiene and first aid items that were then donated to charities in their communities. Competing agencies gathered a total of 3,380 items! Congratulations again to the winning agencies Kennett 911 Communications (small agency category) and Christian County Emergency Services (large agency category). Be on the lookout for more engagement projects this summer!
The Missouri Professional Training Partnership has also had a very active year! On top of again beginning to offer in-person initial and continuing education training throughout the state, the Partnership continued to offer free continuing education training through an online webinar platform. 23 sessions, a total of 31 hours of training was offered throughout the year. All 66 of our recorded state-certified continuing education sessions are still available for on-demand viewing. Check out our library of training at https://mopartnership.glide.page/
Lastly, our chapter is truly a leader in Public-Safety Communications on the national front. At APCO 2022 in Anaheim, chapter officers presented several of Missouri’s projects and programs to chapter leaders from around the U.S. We’ve seen programs like the Totes of Hope begin to be implemented in different chapters around the country, most recently in Texas. We look forward to continuing to work with and learning from our fellow leaders throughout the country. If you’re interested in serving in a leadership capacity, Missouri APCO is currently accepting declarations of candidacy for the 2023-2025 board term. Declarations are due to the election committee by close of business on February 3, 2023. Learn more at https://moapco.org/2023election/
Again, thank you for being part of our chapter and enabling us to make a positive difference in the profession. We hope that you have found your membership beneficial and that you continue to be a member of our Chapter for many more years to come. We look forward to seeing what we can accomplish together during 2023!
Happy New Year from Missouri APCO!