Candidate for 2nd Vice President
Jason E. Kern, RPL, ENP, CPE

Executive Director

Proven Industry Leader * Skilled Public Speaker * Legislative Experience * 20+ Years of Dedication to APCO

The past six months have been an amazing opportunity and experience to connect with so many of my peers in this great association and talk about my candidacy for Second Vice President. I am passionate about the public-safety communications industry, a proud member of our association and highly motivated as I seek your support to help lead our organization.

I’ve been in the public-safety industry since 1991 with experience in Law Enforcement, Fire/EMS, Emergency Management, and most notably 9-1-1 Communications. In 1993 I found my way in to the communications arena where I, like many, intended to use it as a stepping stone for a public-safety career. Little did I know that the job would envelop me and turn into such a rewarding career. I’ve held numerous positions in our industry beginning as a Telecommunicator and currently am the Executive Director of a regional consolidated Emergency Communications Center that serves over a dozen agencies with a population of 215,000. In my various roles, I’ve been instrumental in managing technology projects, consolidations, policies, personnel, budgets and numerous other components of our job.

Since I began my APCO membership in 1997, I’ve been extremely active in both chapter and national activities. As a member of the Illinois Chapter, I’ve held numerous board positions over a 13-year tenure including two terms as Chapter President and nearly six years on the Executive Council. Additionally, I spent time as the chair of the IL Emergency Medical Dispatch Committee, a member of the IL Historical Committee and currently sit as a long-term member of the Legislative Committee. Over the last several years, the Legislative Committee has been successful in obtaining two surcharge increases, a NG9-1-1 and consolidation cost recovery bill, and currently is working towards introducing training standards language. In 2011, Illinois APCO presented me with the Chapter Senior and Chapter Life distinctions. On the national side, I’ve been involved in a number of committees over the past 14 years such as Historical, Member & Chapter Services, Professional Development Events, Leadership Development, Finance & Budget, and Investment. It was during my time on these committees that I began to understand how important it was to become increasingly involved in APCO. I also began to meet and network with some amazing people from across the country which tremendously impacted me both personally and professionally. From 2013 thru 2016, I was appointed to serve the association as a Group Leader. This opportunity provided me with keen insight in the leadership of APCO, our committees, and the long-range vision/strategic plan we were working towards. Since 2016, I’ve been fortunate to serve the North Central Region as a Representative to the Board of Directors.

As a Senior Member of APCO International, I’m very familiar with where we have been as an association and where we are currently. It will be with dialogue and frequent communications with this group, industry partners, and other associations that we can push ourselves into the future to meet the needs of our members and the industry. As a premier public-safety association we are fortunate to have a large, growing and diverse membership; and it is my opinion that those members are what gives us the drive and allows us to succeed. In the years to come, let’s move forward items included in Project 43; create opportunities for training and standards across the country; concentrate on the mental and physical health of our peers; and obtain recognition for the first responders that we truly are! It is my goal to mentor individuals, foster leadership and instill confidence in others to make decisions which will positively impact us in the years to come.

Visit www.JasonKern911.com to learn more