Latest / The Wilmac Wire / Melanie Jones | 911 Career, NENA Leadership, and Modernizing Emergency Communications

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Melanie Jones | 911 Career, NENA Leadership, and Modernizing Emergency Communications · The Wilmac Wire

• Emily Miller: All right, we'll get things started today by introducing our guest. She is a 36 year public safety veteran out of Greensboro, North Carolina. She started her career as a deputy sheriff before making the move into emergency communications. She's worked every level of a 911 center, call taker, supervisor, operations manager, and now executive director. She's led Guilford Metro 911 for nearly a decade, which is one of the largest consolidated 911 centers in North Carolina. handling over 700,000 calls a year. She's also the immediate past president of NINA or the National Emergency Number Association. Welcome to the Will MacWire, Melanie Jones. Melanie Jones: Thank you very much for having me. Emily Miller: Melanie, thanks for joining us on the podcast today. I hope it's nicer in North Carolina today than it is in Rochester, because it is pouring here. okay, good. I would hope there's some sun. Melanie Jones: Well it's little chilly but it's not raining so... Steve McDonnell: What, well, what's your chili, Melanie? Melanie Jones: It's about 62. Emily Miller: Okay. That's a nice chili. It's comfortable chili. I love it. All right. Well, Melanie, thanks again for joining us on the Will MacWire. We're going to start off our conversation today with a nice icebreaker that we like to call this or that. So I've got three questions for you and we're going to start before, actually before we start with the first one, I just want to give you a little bit of context. this first one is like a little specific. ⁓ So I am a college basketball fan and I love Duke. Steve McDonnell: Yeah, that's beautiful weather for us. Emily Miller: So, my first- okay that already answers my first this or that. My first this or that question for you, Melanie, is UNC or Duke? Steve McDonnell: We already got it. Melanie Jones: Woo! Steve McDonnell: I'm with you, Melanie. Melanie Jones: Absolutely UNC. Emily Miller: Yeah. So funny story. I was pulling out my leg outfit for this morning and I was like, okay, maybe I'll wear this sweater and it was Tar Heel Blue. And I was like, I can't get myself to do it. ⁓ But you attended a UNC school, correct? No, okay. Melanie Jones: No, daughter did and my brother and sister did. They both attended UNC Chapel Hill. Emily Miller: Okay. Steve McDonnell: ⁓ so you're a real tar heel. Yeah. Emily Miller: Yeah. Melanie Jones: ⁓ absolutely, die hard. Emily Miller: Okay, I had to give you a little bit of context, but it was how you answered my question before I even asked it. Okay, so on to our next this or that question. More intimidating first day, deputy sheriff or 911 dispatcher? Melanie Jones: Thank 911. Emily Miller: Yeah, can tell us a little bit about your first day? Steve McDonnell: Real. Melanie Jones: Well, so the county that I came from, which is adjacent to Guilford County, they were still writing everything down on pen and paper. And so when I was hired in Guilford County, the director took me into the 911 Center. When I sat down, I was looking around on the console and he said, what are you looking for? I said, where's the pen and paper? He said, you enter it as the people tell you on the phone, you don't write anything down. And I went, ⁓ no. was just scared, I was like, ⁓ my gosh, okay. So that was frightening. Emily Miller: ⁓ gosh, that is wild. Yeah. Steve McDonnell: We, I recently had breakfast with the old mayor of Rochester where we're located and he came up through police and he got injured when he was young. He was like two years on the job. Not, didn't get injured on the job, but got injured and they put him in the 911 center while he was rehabbing. And he was telling me about it and I'm like, what, what are you talking about? He said, pieces of paper would come by like on a trolley system to him. And I was like, I just couldn't wrap my head around it that that's how it happened back then. Melanie Jones: That was old school. Emily Miller: Wow, that's crazy, but thank you for sharing about that. That's a fun one. Okay, and last question, walking your center floor or speaking on the national stage? Melanie Jones: I would say walking on my center floor. I mean, I've been thoroughly enjoyed my time at Nena, but I mean, my team means more to me than, you know, Been with them entirely too long. Emily Miller: can imagine. Yes, all right, that's lovely. All right, thanks for humor in me, Melanie, and answering our icebreaker questions. We're gonna get right into kind of our first thing. We always love to chat with people about their career journeys. So can you tell us more about how you got into public safety and how you ended up at Guilford Metro? Melanie Jones: Sure, so I started my career with the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office. I'd been a Rockingham County native my whole life. Joined them in 1988 right after I turned 21. Became a deputy sheriff seven months later after going through the Basic Law Enforcement Training Academy. I was a deputy sheriff for 10 and a half years with them. My former husband was the Fire Chief. And at the time he accepted a role in Guilford County as a fire chief and he had to move to Guilford County. And this was back in the days that you couldn't work in one county and live in another one. So I applied for the Guilford County Sheriff's Office and Guilford County 911 both. But the Guilford County Sheriff's Office only offered rotating schedules, two weeks a day and two weeks a night. And I had a two year old and six month old at home and there was no way I could manage that schedule. the 911 center offered straight days or straight nights. So I accepted a role with the 911 center and been there ever since. Steve McDonnell: So did you have any experience in 9-1-1 before you jumped into this? That's unbelievable. And you liked it right off the bat. Yeah. What'd you do nights or days when you first started? Melanie Jones: Not at all. I absolutely love it. So I did nights when I initially went and then I had the opportunity about a year and a half after I started there to get promoted. But I had just moved to day shift, but the promotion was on night shift. But my former husband at the time said, you gotta let them know you're interested in moving up. And so I applied for it, ended up getting it. So that was my first supervisory role and I was on night shift for five and a half years after that. And then I've been on days since then. Emily Miller: Did you? Steve McDonnell: I was working nights. You get used to it? Melanie Jones: Well, I enjoyed it. Yeah, I actually enjoyed it because it was lower call volume. No admin around. ⁓ You know that type of thing, but here there's not really a lot of downtime in Guilford County at the 911 Center, except maybe. 3 AM to 7 AM. Otherwise, it's just busy all the time. Steve McDonnell: So I had, think I had this conversation up at the Toronto police recently and in Canada, they were saying they're trying to get police officers or sheriffs to maybe sit a day in the 911 center so they can get a feel of both ends of it. Did you feel like your experience being deputy sheriff before you moved into 911 helped you in the 911 center? Yeah. Melanie Jones: It definitely did. I knew what the other side of the radio entailed. And so I had much more patience, you know, with the deputies. And it helped me provide some leadership in that regard to my team. Emily Miller: Yeah. And Melanie, did you know you wanted to pursue a career in public safety, like originally, before you even got into 911? Melanie Jones: No, I was actually working in the banking business and had been in the banking business for maybe two and half years. But the sheriff of Rockingham County was one of our customers and he would always come in and say, you know, you need to come to work for me. Your memory is amazing. I need somebody like you. And I said, OK. And he said, when you turn 21, let me know. And so I did. And sure enough, he hired me right after I turned 21. Steve McDonnell: That's a good story. Emily Miller: Yeah, that is cool to work with a, be in the banking industry, work with a customer and then that's where it takes you. That's very cool. Okay, you touched on this a little bit Melanie, but like the opportunity to grow within the 911 Center and showing that you're interested in growing. What changed most about like how you saw the work as you kind of moved up the ladder? Melanie Jones: Hmm. So when I first got promoted to a senior supervisor role, my mother told me, her favorite quote was, be wise like the owl. She said, not everyone is gonna like you and that's okay. You have to accept the higher up you go, less people are probably gonna appreciate your decisions, but always make the right decision for the entire team, not just for one or two people. So I've always tried to live by that. Emily Miller: Yeah, so that kind of mindset, that mantra almost has remained consistent no matter the role. So, powerful. I like that. ⁓ Melanie Jones: Yes. Steve McDonnell: great mantra for leadership. Emily Miller: Yeah, it is. is. Okay, and Melanie, when you reflect back kind of on your career journey so far, are there any turning points or moments that have stood out to you as like very formational in how you've approached your role? Melanie Jones: Yeah, so one of my mentors, the best advice he ever gave me was, always take the high road, you'll never regret it. And I've always tried to abide by that when people disagree with a decision or they don't like a new product that's coming or something of that nature. I just always try to take the high road, let them see it in action. Then, you know, if they still don't like it, then let's talk about it. Emily Miller: Okay, and so Melanie, you've been, we mentioned it in the intro, but I think 36 years in public safety. Congratulations, first of all. But second to that, like what continues to motivate you in the field to keep getting up every day and going back to it? Melanie Jones: Well, and I know as cheesy as it sounds, the fact that my team genuinely helps people every day is what matters to me. It's the fact that we take so many calls every single day and help people and that matters to me that we are helping our community. Emily Miller: And you mentioned too, in the previous county that you worked with, how does it compare to Guilford? Melanie Jones: ⁓ there is no comparison. Rockingham County is much less busy. Yeah. Emily Miller: No. OK, OK, interesting. It's just like as we talk to more and more public safety leaders on the podcast, it's just so interesting to hear how vastly different each piece of runs their experiences and then within the leaders like their backgrounds are always so varied. So we like to pick pick and prod at that. You guys are nice enough to share so. Will will come back a little bit to Guilford and some of the specifics as to what you're doing within. Melanie Jones: I'm Emily Miller: your PSAP, but we wanted to move into more of the Nina conversation and your role in leadership. So I know too, I'm going to ask this upfront, but you have experience working with APCO as well. So how has have those kind of, I know you're representing Nina as the immediate past president now, but how do you balance those two and how do you see them working in the greater public safety ecosystem? Melanie Jones: Mm-hmm. So I am a member of both Nina and APCO. I was the APCO president on the state chapter level back in 2017-2018. I ⁓ think both have great things to offer to 911 professionals. APCO does have the radio piece in theirs that the 911 Association does not. we, Nina is a standards-based organization. We have tons of committee work going on for those standards that Emily Miller: Mm-hmm. Melanie Jones: very few people know about. It's just the unsung heroes, in my opinion of NENA, are those volunteers and those committees that do the work. We have tons of educational offerings. APCO has committee work. We both, we work very closely now on legislative issues on Capitol Hill because we have seen that there is strength in numbers and that when you send things to Capitol Hill and you have three or four organizations supporting it. rather than just one, it draws more attention. Steve McDonnell: to that point, as Emily probably knows, I'm gonna bring this up and you kind of led right into it, the 9-1-1 Saves Act. We've been proponents of it trying to help our New York state representatives push it. It is frustrating that it's kind of stuck where it is now. And I don't think in general, most of the public doesn't realize that 9-1-1 people don't get Melanie Jones: Mm-hmm. Steve McDonnell: the type of benefits that police officers, EMS and fire get. So I don't think it's been broadcasted enough out to the world. ⁓ Emily Miller: Steve, we just like your audio. Melanie Jones: I lost his tail. Steve McDonnell: man, I tapped this mic, this high tech microphone and it just, it went red. was wondering, ⁓ yeah. What are your thoughts on it, Melanie? have you been part of any discussions in Washington around it? I know Nina obviously has to have a big partner. ⁓ It's super exciting that hopefully it gets pushed through. Hopefully it goes through soon, but kind of your insights into that if you have any. Emily Miller: All right, do I just restate your questions? Melanie Jones: So I'll say that we are more hopeful now than we've ever been because the Senate unanimously passed in September of 2025, Enhancing First Response Act. And that has actually been sent to the House, the Senate version of it. We asked when we did the 9-1-1 Goes to Washington event in February, we asked House members to pass the Senate version under suspension of rules, which is something they can do. Steve McDonnell: Yeah. Melanie Jones: And the reason is because the 9-1-1 Saves Act language was changed to only suggest that the Office of Management and Budget change the classification. The Senate version tells them to do it, to change it. And so we would much rather have the version the Senate has sent than the 9-1-1 Saves Act. So we're asking them to pass that one instead. Steve McDonnell: Interesting. I was not aware of that. Melanie Jones: which they can do. Yeah, Mm-hmm. Steve McDonnell: That's good. Emily Miller: Yeah, and sorry, Steve, if you want to, I was just going to ask, know Melanie, when you stepped into your term as NINA president, like the telecommunicator reclassification was one of a thing you pushed. ⁓ So it is exciting to see progress in that role. And like you said, in the small role that WillMac plays in the ecosystem, we're just trying to bring awareness to it. Because every time we chat with people, even locally, ⁓ when we discuss the fact that telecommunicators aren't classified in a certain way, Steve McDonnell: It, yep, go ahead. Emily Miller: Like it's a no brainer sort of conversation. We've had that with a lot of PSAP leaders that it's usually a surprise to them. So as the immediate past president of NINA, like what do you tell people when they ask like how they can help? Melanie Jones: Well, they can contact their local legislators who then carry more weight with the federal teams. ⁓ But they just, mean, my local city council and local county commissioners have come into my center. And so as soon as they've come in and sat in, like two weeks later, they passed resolutions recognizing us as first responders. It's just a matter of getting them here to see the work we're doing. I mean, if they can. If they can see it, they'll know exactly what we mean and why we should be first responders. Steve McDonnell: How is going to Washington and being in that environment and pushing legislation along, how is that? Melanie Jones: It is very impactful. I have developed a rapport with one of my senators who used to be my congressman and one of my, the one that used to be a congressman and now holds a very high office in President Trump's administration. We are still in contact. Building those relationships helps to set the stage for those coming behind you because this year we had a like 19 people from North Carolina that went for the 9-1-1 Goes to Washington event. And we actually had a breakfast in Senator Bud's office. And so even though he personally knows me, he's been to my PSAP three times, the interactions with the people he didn't know, I feel like went so much better because of our established relationship. Emily Miller: wonderful and Steve and I talk about this often like it's not it's at a much higher level than the conferences but that just in-person interaction is what pushes the needle like it's not just it is awareness and that's a piece of it but being in the room with someone and chatting with them is a lot more effective. Okay wonderful Steve do you have any other questions on the 9-1-1 saves act before I keep pushing this? Okay I knew I knew you're gonna bring it up so it was it was a good tangent. Melanie Jones: Absolutely. Steve McDonnell: Nope, good to go. Emily Miller: Melanie, we mentioned how when you stepped into your presidential role at NENA that that was telecommunicator telecommunicator reclassification. That's a tough one. Was a top priority for you. What other priorities did you have stepping into that role? And then kind of a separate question to that is like, how does your role as immediate past president differ from the president? Melanie Jones: you So the Next Generation 911 funding piece is the secondary priority and it's probably the top priority. So many people don't realize that 911 has to be looked at like its infrastructure. Like when we start going to Next Generation 911 systems, we still have to keep the legacy systems up and running until the Next Gen system is built out. And so it is very, very costly. to have two systems up and running at the same time, but because so many centers across the country are still on legacy, we've got to get the funding in place. I'm very proud to say that Representative Richard Hudson from North Carolina has actually introduced the information for the authorization to pass, but it just hasn't gotten any footing. It's almost like the House and Senate both see that We've got to get this funded because we are actually, every emergency starts with us, but they just won't stay long enough to decide where the funding's coming from. Steve McDonnell: So we hear this throughout the country when we have these conversations and obviously up here in New York, it's just stunning to me. I worked in our division that sells into enterprise. And in the enterprise private world, no one would blink an eye at what you just said. Obviously the legacy has to stand until the production, the new stuff is ready to roll and then you can let go of the legacy safely, smoothly. That's just how everyone operates. And the money that goes along with it, that's just part of doing business. And it's surprisingly to me when we're talking about like a life and death mission critical environment and people are kicking the can down the road or trying to say, ⁓ no, we might be able to do it without keeping the legacy up. ⁓ So that's been stunning to me to see that and trying to kind of educate people. It sounds like you're trying to, you have to actually educate your politicians and decision makers with these funds to do the proper thing that benefits everyone in the county, because it is the first step of the emergency. ⁓ So you're, do you find yourself educating a lot? Doing the education, yeah. Melanie Jones: Correct. Yes, ⁓ we do. A great deal of our time is spent doing that. As far as change, the change from the presidency to the immediate past presidency, so the year that you're president of the national organization, there are five international conferences that you have to attend. And then of course, there are weekly calls with CEO. If anyone reaches out for an interview, they want you to do it. Steve McDonnell: Yeah. Melanie Jones: and things like that. It's just much, much busier once you move to the immediate past, President. You're just a regular old Joe again. Emily Miller: Well, it's like, go ahead, Steve. Steve McDonnell: Did you get to go to anywhere for the, where'd you go for the international? Melanie Jones: So we went to Mexico's NENA conference. We went to British APCO in London, UK. We went to the European Emergency Number Conference in Helsinki, Finland. And then Canada, St. Catharines in Canada for their NENA conference. And then, I can't remember, we went to Canada APCO's conference, but I can't remember which, where it was right off the top of my head. Steve McDonnell: So that's a cool perk to get to go to those. Melanie Jones: It is. Emily Miller: Yeah, you get to explore. ⁓ I was gonna ask, Melody, and it just popped out of my head, so let me think about it for a second. I was like, ⁓ I had it. ⁓ Melanie Jones: Sure. Emily Miller: ⁓ okay, yes. So the way the executive board works at Nina, correct me if I'm wrong, I understand it's like a four year term essentially. You start as a second VP, then your first VP, then your president, then your immediate past president. So this started for you three years ago. What prompted you to get, want to get involved at this like national executive level? Melanie Jones: So North Carolina has had several national NENA presidents and one of the former ones is a really, really good friend of mine. And he had reached out and said, you really need to consider running for NENA before you retire. You know, you're a great leader. And I said, well, at the time in 2019, I didn't have my emergency number professional certification, which is a requirement to run for the NENA board. And he said, well, go get it. So in 2020, I got my... Emily Miller: Okay. Melanie Jones: emergency number professional. And in 2021 is when I ran for the board and was fortunate enough to get elected. Emily Miller: Let me ask, and this is just out of me being unaware, what does it take to become an ENP certified? Melanie Jones: It's the hardest test I've ever taken in my life. It covers a multitude of topics to include telephony, computer-aided dispatch systems, radio systems. You really just have to have a brawl based knowledge of everything 911. But they have it in a test that's, I want to say 150 questions maybe, but it was the hardest test I've ever taken. Emily Miller: Yeah? ⁓ my god. Yikes. Melanie Jones: Don't want to ever redo that again. Steve McDonnell: Okay. Emily Miller: I can imagine. Oh my gosh, I didn't know it was that intense. Man, very cool. Okay, I'm gonna get, I'm gonna call it a quote that you mentioned in your inaugural address, Melanie, but you challenged the 911 community to be the reason people trust 911. So where did that kind of thought come from and how did it kind of shape your leadership in Nina? Melanie Jones: So I actually got the quote from the Denise Amber Lee Foundation, which is one of the big hitters in the 911 industry. Nathan Lee started the foundation when his wife was kidnapped, raped, and murdered in Florida many, years ago. And I saw the quote several times over the years. And so when I got elected, I reached out and asked them if they would allow me to use that as my tagline and to promote my presidency. And they agreed to it. And fortunately, we found somebody that was willing to do merchandise with Be the Reason, People Trust 911. So we sold t-shirts and sweatshirts and stickers and things like that. And all of the proceeds were donated to NENA's Gold Line Scholarship Fund. So it funded people to come to the National NENA Conference. So was really, really cool. Emily Miller: Yeah, that is wonderful. Very cool. Okay, Steve, do you have any other questions for Melanie before we move into the more Guilford Metro 911 focused area? Steve McDonnell: When you run for this, it like, you have to have a team helping you out? Is it like a political campaign? I'm just curious on how this stuff. Melanie Jones: Well, because the NENA membership is nationwide and so it really helps to have connections in other states that can support you. And I was fortunate enough to have that. So I was able to attend virtually several states conferences and chapter meetings to introduce myself, tell them who I was, what I was running for and things like that. So my husband was very beneficial in that respect, helping me to get my word out. Emily Miller: Yeah, that's very cool. All right, wonderful Melanie. Steve McDonnell: your husbands in the industry. Melanie Jones: He is now, yes. Emily Miller: Okay, yeah, you convinced him, you got him in there. Wonderful, all right, well thanks, Melanie, for sharing about your experience with Nina and APCO. We're gonna dig a little bit into Guilford now, and like I mentioned in your intro, Guilford Metro 911 is one of the largest consolidated 911 centers in North Carolina. So can you just share a little bit about what your day-to-day looks like running a PSAP of that size? Melanie Jones: Yes. Steve McDonnell: Yeah. Melanie Jones: So I have five division managers that work for me that actually manage those five divisions. The Emergency Communications Division, which is the 911 Center, is our largest division. It has 89 people. So we have 23 on duty at a time on day shift and 21 on night shift. basically by 730 in the morning all the way until after midnight. They're very, very busy. I know a lot of centers across the country are saying that they get more non-emergency calls than 911 calls. We don't have that luxury. Our 911 calls are much more than our non-emergency calls. Emily Miller: as to why that's the case for your county specifically? Yeah. Melanie Jones: I think it's because it's population such a large metropolitan city in the state community. We have five, six interstates that, you know, go through our county and various points and places. So I think a combination of those things. But we also have a public safety IT division that has 19 people. They manage all of the IT needs for the police department, the fire department and Guilford Metro 911. We have a radio shop. which manages all of our radio systems, general government, public safety, everything in Greensboro, Guilford County, and a couple of adjacent cities. Have an administrative division that manages our budget and the training division that manages all of our hiring academies, CDE hours, bi-monthly training that's mandatory and things like that. Emily Miller: Yeah, you are the boss cap. I love it. Woman in power. Awesome, I love it. So I'm going to go a little bit back to what you've been vocal about and you know with staffing and retention, because I'm sure it's relevant to what you see at at Guilford Metro 911 to that staffing and retention or it's not an easy thing right now for 911. So how are you? Melanie Jones: I have great people. Emily Miller: dealing with that, the retention challenge, and then even the wellness conversation at Guilford. Melanie Jones: So we are currently at 10 vacancies, which is much, much better than we have been in the last several years. We have increased our starting pay over the last three to four years. And I think a better starting pay attracts the people to apply. ⁓ I don't really have a magic wand for how you get them to stay, because no matter how much we try to tell people, The mental trauma you'll go through listening to these callers say they understand, but you really don't until you're talking to the people. And when you start taking the calls, that's when we lose a lot of people and they just say, I can't handle it. I can't handle listening to people's troubles all day long. I just can't do it. I'm not built for this. and I just don't know a magic way to offer retention, but we've done several things. in the realm of wellness over the years. We have a room that is built. We actually have gaming, gaming things. We have a bookshelf in there, recliners if they just want to go close their eyes and rest on their break. We have a power engage, which is a feedback that comes from the public that we just send them a link. They can respond and the kind comments that they say about the call takers, it connects. who their call taker was with their comments. And it rolls on the screen outside of the 911 center. So they see all of that positive feedback. And they've really enjoyed that over the last two years. Steve McDonnell: How is recruiting and onboarding? So there's 10 vacancies right now. Do you have to try to get 20, 30 people in because they don't all make it through the training or they leave before they're done training? And how long is training typically? Melanie Jones: Yeah, so we do, we take applications year round because we always have vacancies. I've never been fully staffed my 37 years in the business now. But I think the recruitment is like a four to five month process because of the background, extensive background we have to do because of dealing with law enforcement and things of that nature. So by the time we bring somebody on and they start with us, They are in a 10 to 12 week rookie academy where they obtain all of their certifications they're required to have to work in the center. And then once they graduate from that rookie academy, they start with a training officer in the 911 center and they have up to a six month probationary period to be signed off on call take. Emily Miller: Okay. Steve McDonnell: that probation can they take calls alone or are they just kind of so then if they make it through the probation they get out on the floor. Melanie Jones: They're with the CTO. They're with the training officer. Correct. Steve McDonnell: So that takes a long time in general, just doing that. So if you're behind, it's like a flywheel that keeps happening and you guys keep getting behind. Melanie Jones: Yeah, we actually just had an academy of seven that finished and two of the people have been signed off like four and a half months. So they are doing very, very well because that's not the usual case. Steve McDonnell: That's good. Emily Miller: Yeah, that's wonderful. That is interesting. Steve McDonnell: Interesting. We've seen this common with basically everyone we speak to. Emily Miller: Yeah, and it's interesting too because each training ⁓ time period is different too and it varies. But like Steve said, it's kind of like that never ending cycle because during that training period you have to hire more. Who knows if they'll actually make it to the end. During that period you probably might lose someone. It's just, I don't envy you. Melanie Jones: ⁓ huh. Steve McDonnell: And you're in during that period, you're running short to begin with, which sounds like you guys are always running short. How do you determine? So if you were running full, full steam, it would it be 30 people on? Melanie Jones: Mm-hmm. Emily Miller: Right. Okay. Melanie Jones: No, it would be 23 on day shift and 21 on nights. Yes, yeah. Steve McDonnell: and that's run and fall. Emily Miller: So then you're just basically dealing with more overtime than with the vacancies. Melanie Jones: We actually don't have to have much overtime. The people here, so we have an automated call distribution system. ⁓ all of our 911 calls are answered in less than 10 seconds, 99.9 % of the time. So we don't, we don't have to, we've had to do mandatory overtime once in my career and it was for seven or eight months and that was it. But we had 21 vacancies at that time. Yeah, that was in 2020, 21, yep. Emily Miller: ⁓ okay. Mm-hmm. and that's a time to do it. Go ahead, Steve. Did have a thought? Okay, wonderful. All right, Melanie, last question before I start to wrap us up, AI, WillMac operates in the AI world, so we have to ask the question, but AI is starting to becoming more of a hot topic in 911 conversation. So how are you thinking about it from the practitioner perspective as the executive director at Guilford, and then from the Nina executive leadership perspective? Steve McDonnell: ⁓ no, was just, that's. Melanie Jones: So the NENA chair officers, the NENA board has to remain vendor neutral. So I can't really speak to either or from that perspective. So Guilford Metro 911, we are currently in the process of transitioning to a new computer aided dispatch system. And that is set to go live in February of 2027. Our current system is a 30 year old platform. Yeah, so the one we're transitioning to, we're looking very forward to getting on Emily Miller: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Steve McDonnell: Woo. Emily Miller: you Melanie Jones: much better technology system. We are reviewing having AI answer our non-emergency calls, but I gave my IT manager my word that I would not put anything else on his plate until the new CAD goes live. So we've demoed with three or four different clients for providing that service, but we just aren't going to be able to move forward until the new CAD's up and running. Emily Miller: You can imagine. Steve McDonnell: Yeah, we've seen that. That's the most popular use case we've seen in 911 for AI is the non-emergency. ⁓ The three or four big guys that are all getting gobbled up by the even bigger guys already in public safety. ⁓ Not just AI, but NG911 in general. ⁓ Is that going to, if you were to get funded? Does that allow you to look at new call handling and technology across the board as well? Melanie Jones: So here in North Carolina, we have a statewide EZ-Net. And so our state 911 board has the contract with AT &T, who also only allows three different providers to do our call handling solution. So it's either Entrato's Viper or Vesta or now Carbine. And so those are our only three options for call handling. We have been on the Entrata Viper for years and years and years. And so again, even if I like another product better, I'm not putting anything else on my team managers plate until after we finish the CAD. They are. Emily Miller: Yeah, makes a lot of sense. Okay, think those are all the questions I had for you, Melanie. Steve, do have any additional questions for Melanie? Steve McDonnell: No, this is great. I wish we were heading to Carolina conference next week, but I'm going to be in Niagara Falls at New York 911, which also New York trying to figure out the arrangement with New York, why we don't have Nina and APCO would have 911. What's it called them? Yeah. Emily Miller: Yeah. Melanie Jones: I wish you all were too. You would really enjoy it. Emily Miller: Yeah, New York State 911 coordinators. I think it's like an amalgamation. That's what I've been told at least. ⁓ Melanie Jones: Yeah, my husband used to actually manage that conference. He was a 911 director in upstate New York. He worked for him for 26 years. Shenango County. Emily Miller: Okay. Steve McDonnell: What? Where? Okay. And now he's down there. Emily Miller: We're in upstate New York. Melanie Jones: Yep, we fell in love back in 2018-19 and he moved down here in 2021. We got married in 22. Emily Miller: Yeah. ⁓ Yeah, it's honestly, it's kind of ironic because up here we're in ⁓ Western upstate New York. I'm originally from Buffalo, so I always say Western New York, then I get my, my wrist slapped. But we, we have a lot of people who moved down in North Carolina. So that's just a very like common occurrence up here. So it's ironic that your husband's from up here. Melanie Jones: Yeah. Steve McDonnell: It's, I don't know what it is. is like people get out of college up here and flee down to North Carolina. It's a very popular spot. Melanie Jones: Yeah, he loved. you Emily Miller: It's so they're closer to Duke games. That's why. Wonderful alright. Oh Melanie, I did want to say too. I know we wish we see a North Carolina next week, but will likely see it in a 2026 and in Columbus, so it'll be lovely to meet you in person there. OK, before I wrap us up today, Melanie, is there any initiatives or programs at Nina Guilford wherever that we didn't touch on that you want to? Melanie Jones: How good? Yes, it will. Emily Miller: want to share with our listeners. Melanie Jones: No, not that can think of. We just need to really be talking to our congressmen and senators about funding Next Generation 911. Emily Miller: Wonderful, absolutely. All right, thank you again, Melanie, so much for joining us. For our listeners, if you'd like to connect with Melanie, you can find her on LinkedIn under Melanie Jones, and she also has an official Neenah page on Facebook. Outside of that, you can learn more about Neenah by heading to neenah.org. You can also follow Neenah on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Steve McDonnell: Absolutely. Emily Miller: Last but certainly not least, Guilford Metro 911 you can find on the Greensboro, North Carolina government website. That's greensboro-nc.gov. And you can also follow Guilford Metro 911 on Facebook. Melanie, thank you so much for joining us today on the Will MacWire. It was an absolute pleasure. Melanie Jones: Thank you for having me. really enjoyed it. Thank you. Steve McDonnell: Thanks, Melanie.