WASHINGTON – The National Alliance for Public Safety GIS (NAPSG) Foundation Board of Directors is pleased to announce Major General William N. Reddel of the New Hampshire National Guard, Richard Butgereit of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, and Chad Council of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as recipients of the 2017 Award for Excellence in Public Safety GIS. Awards were presented at a special reception during NAPSG Foundation’s annual National Geospatial Preparedness Summit on August 8, 2017, in Tuscaloosa Alabama.
“The NAPSG Foundation Board of Directors is honored to recognize the exceptional leadership and advancements that this year’s awards recipients represent,” said Chief Rand Napoli, Board Chairman of the NAPSG Foundation. “This year’s recipients represent a unique combination of visionary leadership and measurable progress in applying data and analytics for improved first responder operations.” NAPSG Foundation receives nominations for award recipients each year, and the Board votes on awards in all or some of three categories – local/regional, state, and national/federal.
Concurrently, the 3rd annual National Geospatial Preparedness Summit, held August 7-9 at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, brought together more than 215 public safety and homeland security leaders, first responders, and GIS professional representing 39 states and 120 agencies. The summit was coordinated in coordination with the US Department of Homeland Security, International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Emergency Managers, National Association for Search and Rescue, the National States Geographic Information Council, the Naval Post-Graduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security, and other partner organizations.
The summit is the only national training and preparedness exercise forum dedicated to advancing the use of geospatial information system technology and data by our nation’s first responders. This year’s programming featured hands-on technical GIS training on the latest technology and analytics, a tabletop exercise focused around a complex coordinated attach scenario, keynote speakers from leading local and national agencies, and numerous workshops on issues ranging from damage assessment processes to emerging technologies. The summit culminated with a one-day functional preparedness exercise based on a real-world flood scenario.
The National Geospatial Preparedness Summit is always hosted at no cost for public sector participants from federal, tribal, state, and local governments.
For more information, visit https://www.napsgfoundation.org/events/ngps/. For questions regarding this press release contact Peter O’Rourke, Executive Director, at 202-895-1711 or porourke@publicsafetygis.org.
