By Dana Bykowski
April 25, 2005

SentryPoints, LLC, unveiled the nation's newest Executive Command Center (EC2) at its office headquarters in downtown Fort Wayne (IN) April 15. This center serves as a response management and monitoring system that streamlines the efforts of local police, fire, EMS and other emergency response teams, providing instant access to critical information in real-time. Furthermore, the facility has been designed for inter-agency coordination and training for local officials in the event of a public safety emergency.

"Our EC2 provides what we believe is the first fully integrated command station allowing a mayor or county executive's leadership team to be tied into a crisis response effort without needing to be in the middle of the traditional responder-level emergency operations center," said SentryPoints CEO Don Willis. "Whether that crisis is a natural disaster such as a flood, an accident such as a tanker truck overturning, or a major criminal or terrorist incident, the EC2 enables high level responsiveness," he added.

The EC2 includes multiple computer workstations, televisions for monitoring weather and media, and wired and wireless high speed data connectivity. The workstations operate SentryPoints command and control software, allowing near real time situation awareness through a unique "Executive Dashboard" screen for use by a mayor or county executive.

"People do not always realize the enormous need for continual training for our public safety agencies," Willis said. "What we have heard from local government officials across the country is their need to train in a cost-effective manner. Therefore, we have designed the EC2 as a fully functional training facility in addition to its use as the nerve center during emergencies," he added.

SentryPoints hosted an open house and on-going presentations of the EC2 throughout the day allowing local officials to view the technological advantages that EC2 has to offer. Federal, state and local government officials, including State Senator Thomas Wyss and Executive Director of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, J. Eric Dietz, Ph.D. attended the presentations.

"Immediate and seamless access to the right information is critical in an emergency," said Paul Helmke said former mayor of Fort Wayne and current Chairman of SentryPoints. "The EC2 and SentryPoints software system provides that access. These capabilities can also help in the day-to-day challenges of governing a community, managing public works as well as public safety, and communicating with the public through the media. We are pleased to bring this world-class facility at our headquarters in Fort Wayne."

SentryPoints is a United States Conference of Mayors Platinum Member. For more information about SentryPoints, please contact Dana Bykowski at the Conference of Mayors at (202) 861-6703 or visit www.sentrypointsllc.net.