Wood County’s Lowe to lead state 911 council
By ROGER ADKINS, radkins@newsandsentinel.comPARKERSBURG - Wood County's 911 director has been appointed head of the state's enhanced 911 council.
Randy Lowe, director of Wood County Central Telecommunications, has been named president of the West Virginia Enhanced 911 Council. Lowe's term is for one year, but members of the council are not limited to a certain number of terms.
Lowe said he's been involved with the council since he joined the Wood County 911 center.
"As soon as I became director in 2005, I immediately started attending the meetings," Lowe said. "The first couple of years on the council, I just tried to absorb and learn as much as I could. I was still pretty green on all of the 911 technology, so those first two years I was being educated."
Lowe said he later became more involved, serving on committees that were looking at 911 issues. He also branched out as a member of the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials and now serves as vice president of that organization. He said many of the same individuals involved in the 911 Council are members of APSCO.
Wood County Central Telecommunications will celebrate its 10th anniversary in June of this year, making it a relatively new 911 center in West Virginia. Lowe said he still considers himself a "junior" 911 director because he's only been with the 911 center since 2005. However, his colleagues on the enhanced 911 council apparently have enough confidence in him to make him their leader.
"There are many more mature directors. It was definitely an honor to be recognized by them to head up the council," he said. "I'm honored that they had enough confidence in me and my energy to further their cause."
Lowe said one of the 911 council's main purposes is to lobby the state Legislature on 911-related issues. He said the council played a pivotal role in how cell phone fees are administered to West Virginia counties. The council also worked with the state 911 mapping and addressing board.
"We keep an eye on any 911 issuues the Legislature deals with, whether we're for it or against it," he said. "Often, the council comes together to form an opinion, one way or the other."
The council places a great deal of emphasis on helping 911 centers in the state. If 911 centers are having internal problems, they can come to the council for help and advice, Lowe said.
Lowe said technology is another area of great interest to the council.
"We keep an eye on new technology and how it will affect the state as a whole," he said.
Every organization has its good and bad points, Lowe said, but he's never been a part of an organization that was as cognizant of the big picture as the enhanced 911 council.
"On a state level, I've never been part of a board that cared as much about the state as a whole," Lowe said. "It's a good feeling to have people in Raleigh County care about Wood County."
As the council's new president, Lowe said he wants to look to the future of 911. He said 911 technology has changed drastically throughout the years and continues to advance. Lowe said 911 centers likely will have to make adaptations to handle text messages in the near future, for example. Other priorities include increased information sharing among counties.
"I don't know how far it will go, but look how far it's come in the last 10 years," Lowe said. "One area near and dear to me is wireless cell towers. There are still areas in the state with poor cell phone reception. There are deadspots throughout the state that make it hard to communicate by radio and cell phone."
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WVCommissioner
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01-11-09 7:32 AM
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Way to go Randy Lowe! Mr. Lowe certainly has shown leadership at the Wood County 911 center and I am sure that the Statewide Council will benefit from his leadership as well.
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