For more than six years now, Team DCC has had the honor of serving America’s 9-1-1 professionals through our client NENA -The 9-1-1 Association.

As we celebrate National 9-1-1 Education Month in April and the 50th anniversary of the 9-1-1 system all year long, we wanted to share a few snapshots of NENA’s work – and ours – with you.

Fifty years after the first 9-1-1 call was placed in Haleyville, Alabama, 9-1-1 has become one of the most fundamental public safety services in our country. In thousands of call centers across America, “the unsung heroes of public safety” answer more than 650,000 calls per day — more than 240 million calls a year.

DCC helps NENA advocate for a stronger 9-1-1 system through media outreach, social media, video, and creative campaigns.

During the week of February 12, DCC assisted NENA with its annual “9-1-1 Goes to Washington” event, which brought hundreds of leaders from the public safety community to the nation’s capital for information-sharing and advocacy activities.

Key issues that were addressed included the need to accelerate deployment of Next Generation 9-1-1; establish parity of access to federal public safety grants; improve wireless location accuracy; and enhance cybersecurity.

On February 14, the Next Generation 9-1-1 Institute, a partner organization of NENA’s, hosted its 15th annual 9-1-1 Honor Awards Reception, presenting awards to a number of individuals and organizations who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and skills in the field.  

On February 16, the 50th anniversary of that first call in Haleyville, Alabama, NENA members and friends gathered at the Hotel Monaco in DC for a toast to 9-1-1. The night was a true celebration, filled with great food, drinks, and dancing to music from the 60’s to today.

Throughout these events, Team DCC was proud to assist in a variety of ways:

  • During the awards event, NENA and the Institute premiered a jointly produced video on the history of 9-1-1, highlighting the progress that has been made and more that needs to be done. DCC wrote and coordinated the production of the video.

  • During the anniversary party, attendees were delighted by a video montage of greetings from the stars of several of TV’s top public-safety themed shows, including Angela Bassett and Connie Britton of Fox’s “9-1-1” and the cast of NBC’s “Chicago Fire.” DCC secured the stars’ participation, wrote the script, and coordinated the production of the videos.

  • As a result of our media outreach, DCC secured a segment on NBC4-Washington on the 50th anniversary of 9-1-1 and the true story of a U.S. government employee whose life was saved by the fast action of a local 9-1-1 call taker. We also helped announce the award winners to their local communities.

To top off the week, the 9-1-1 community was thrilled by the enactment of “Kari’s Law,” one of NENA’s longtime advocacy goals. On February 16, President Trump signed this legislation, which requires multi-line telephone systems to provide access to 9-1-1 without having to dial an extra digit before 9-1-1.

During the month to come, we will helping NENA promote a pair of educational videos produced with support from Comcast. 

By the way, if you or someone you know has been helped by your local 9-1-1 center, please visit www.thankyou911.org to post a story, photo, or video. You can also join the conversation on Twitter by using the hashtag #ThankYou911. To learn more about Next Generation 9-1-1 and how to get involved, visit www.ng911now.org.

It is an honor to serve NENA and the cause of stronger 9-1-1 systems, and we join with millions of Americans in saying “Thank you, 9-1-1!” for all that they do to protect our lives.