Welcome back to another episode of Within the Trenches, a podcast based on the experience of being a 9-1-1 dispatcher. Today is September 15th, 2016 and there are only 5 days left until the ability to submit a public comment closes. The #IAM911 movement has raised all kinds of awareness on the issue of reclassification for Public Safety Telecommunicators (PSTs) from "clerical" to "protective", but most of all the awareness of what PSTs go through on a day to day basis. The support from the Thin Gold Line, the public, those on the road, industry partners and those in Office has been amazing!

With that said, episode 117 has a special guest. In this episode I spoke with a former Public Safety Telecommunicator and currently the U.S. Representative for California's 35th District, Congresswoman Norma Torres. This was a lot of fun to record. She shared stories from her time in dispatch up to her current position in Congress. She recently sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in reference to their decision to reject the reclassification proposal started by APCO International. It was an honor to have her on the podcast and below you will find a link to the letter she sent to the OMB, her social media and links to where you can provide information to APCO International and NENA for public comment.

We only have 5 days left so let's push it! Continue to share your stories and go to the websites below and submit your public comment. As always if you have any questions or you would like to be a guest on the show send an email to [email protected].

Congresswoman Norma Torres - Facebook | Twitter | Web | Letter to OMB

APCO International - Facebook | Twitter | Web | Public Comment

NENA - Facebook | Twitter | Web | Public Comment

Episode topics -

• #IAM911 Change.org petition - Not affiliated with the #IAM911 Movement
• Congresswoman Torres on how she got her start in dispatch
• Letter to OMB
• What if scenario if OMB rejects for a second time
• And more...