The independent board that runs Vermont’s 911 system announced Tuesday that its interim executive director will take the position permanently.
Barb Neal has been serving as interim executive director of the Enhanced 911 Board since April, when David Tucker retired after 30 years in state government and recommended Neal as his ideal replacement.
She worked with consultant Mike Smith, a former Vermont president of FairPoint Communications and member of the Douglas administration, to run the agency in the interim. Part of Smith’s job has been to help with day-to-day management of the E-911 board and help find a new executive director.
“Barb is a good listener with lots of experience in the field,” Smith wrote in an email Tuesday. “Few noticed (because the implementation was so successful) but she spearheaded a successful transition to a new and more sophisticated IT system without a hitch. That is a rarity for large IT projects.”
Neal most recently worked as an emergency communications training coordinator for the Enhanced 911 Board from 2003 to 2015. Previously, she was a dispatcher and supervisor for the Vermont State Police for eight years, according to a news release.
Lamoille County Sheriff Roger Marcoux, chair of the E-911 board, said in a news release that Neal showed “commitment” to the board and that he was “confident” in her leadership.
Neal said in the release that the board would “move forward to meet our shared responsibility of serving Vermont’s citizens and visitors in times of emergency.”
Vermont’s 911 system has six call centers, called public safety answering points, according to the board’s website. The Vermont State Police runs two in Rockingham and Williston. The other four are quasi-private.
FairPoint Communications took over running the system in July under a five-year, $11.2-million contract. Previously, the Colorado company Intrado ran Vermont’s 911 system.
The Enhanced 911 Board is a quasi-independent agency that is part of the state government. Vermont’s 911 system includes the ability to text emergencies to 911.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Interim E-911 Board director named to permanent post.
