APCO 2026: Opening General Session

By Rick Goldstein

APCO 2026 attendees filled the San Antonio Convention Center ballroom Monday for the Opening General Session, where a Bexar County sheriff, the APCO CEO and the APCO president welcomed the membership before a mental health expert urged telecommunicators to make six daily choices to build a less anxious life.

CEO & Executive Director Mel Maier told the audience that APCO has surpassed 45,000 members for the first time in the association's history and welcomed a new international chapter in Colombia. He outlined a year of initiatives: an AI Summit held in October that led to a partnership with iCERT on safe AI implementation in emergency communications; a Public Safety Innovation Summit with the FirstNet Authority set for Dec. 1-2 in Orlando, Florida; and a partnership with GovWorx to build AI-enabled workflow tools for emergency communications centers (ECCs).

Maier also cited a February Wellness & Workforce Summit in Phoenix, a new wellness initiative, and a research partnership with George Mason University's Center for Social Science Research. The George Mason partnership has produced a study of staffing, retention and incident-handling times at ECCs nationwide. "The analysis of this data will help us understand and respond to the evolving needs of agencies across the country," he said.

APCO and the Motorola Solutions Public Safety Threat Alliance have also released a report on swatting based on input from more than 800 agencies.

"You can download the comprehensive report we have created with Motorola. Over 800 agencies gave us input," Maeir said. "This will help us aid ECCs everywhere, helping us assure that ECCs have the most up-to-date information by developing standards and best practices for handling these disruptive and often dangerous incidents."

Maeir pointed to APCO's continuing drive to protect the 700 MHz spectrum for use by public safety communications.

"We know that 700 MHz narrowband spectrum remains an indispensable resource, supporting highly reliable, interoperable and resilient voice communications for public safety agencies nationwide," Maier said. "APCO remains committed to protecting public safety's dedicated narrowband spectrum and advancing standards-based P25 technologies."

The association published four APCO standards this year and awarded nearly $100,000 in scholarships for members' education, Maier said. He pointed to continued advocacy for the 9-1-1 SAVES Act, NG9-1-1 funding, FirstNet and cybersecurity. On the 4.9 GHz band, Maier noted that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on July 21 upheld the FCC's framework establishing a nationwide band manager. He said APCO hopes the FCC will now act on its pending petition to modernize the band's technical rules and select a manager.

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar took to the stage to welcome attendees to San Antonio, calling them field responders' "lifeline." He invited attendees to enjoy the Riverwalk and the city's mariachi culture.

APCO President Jack Varnado challenged first-time attendees to meet at least 10 new people during the week, in keeping with the conference theme of "Connecting Today. Transforming Tomorrow."

Maier, Varnado and the executive committee presented the 2026 Emergency Communications Center and Technology Leadership Awards:

• David "Zac" Jones, Florence County Emergency Communications Center, is Radio Frequency Technologist of the Year.
• Bryce Leming, Spokane Regional Communications Agency, Spokane, Washington, is Information Technologist of the Year.
• Hannah Augustine, KITSAP 911, Bremerton, Washington, is Telecommunicator of the Year.
• Kelly Eckley, Riverside County Sheriff's Department, Palm Desert, California, is Trainer of the Year.
• Abigail Rider, New Hampshire Division of Emergency Services and Communications, Concord, New Hampshire, is Line Supervisor of the Year.
• Tallahassee Leon County Consolidated Dispatch Agency 9-1-1 Emergency Communications, Tallahassee, Florida, is Team of the Year.
• David Odom, Tallahassee Leon County Consolidated Dispatch Agency, is Communications Center Director of the Year.
• La Crosse County 9-1-1, La Crosse, Wisconsin, won the Technology Leadership Award for a small to medium ECC.
• Milwaukee Department of Emergency Communications, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, won the Technology Leadership Award for a large ECC.

Scott Agnew, president of FirstNet Built with AT&T, introduced keynote speaker Dr. John Delony, host of "The Dr. John Delony Show." Deloney is a mental health expert associated with finance advice talk show host Dave Ramsey. Deloney's book, "Building a Non-Anxious Life," outlines six daily choices for reducing anxiety.

Delony said roughly half of Americans are dealing with anxiety and said the condition shows up "in every house, in every car on the way to Sunday school." He argued that anxiety is often the body registering real problems - unpaid bills, strained marriages, exhaustion - rather than a malfunction to be dismissed.

He outlined the six choices that people should make to maintain mental health. They should choose:

• Honesty by assessing the state of one's relationships and finances.
• Connection because isolation, particularly among men, has become widespread.
• Freedom, meaning independence from debt and possessions.
• Health and healing by seeking medical or therapeutic help for physical or emotional problems.
• Mindfulness by pausing between events and reactions. He recommended using breathing exercises and the reframing reactions in response to daily frustrations.
• Belief in something larger than yourself.

Delony said that making these choices equips public safety telecommunicators to maintain their mental health, and it enables them to cope with their job's recurring traumatic emergency calls.