WASHINGTON — Retired Fire Chief and former IAFC President Jeff Johnson was appointed to the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) board of directors. The board will oversee the building of a nationwide first-responder broadband network.
Chief Jeff Johnson was the IAFC president from 2009-2010 and is the current CEO of the Western Fire Chiefs Association. He is one of fire service’s leading authorities on communication issues.
Current IAFC president and chairman of the board Chief Hank Clemmensen said he was very pleased with the decision to bring Chief Johnson on board.
“What’s great about Chief Johnson and many of these other appointments is that these people are not just about talk,” Clemmensen said. “These people are real public safety officers … who work collaboratively and get the job done.”
The U.S. Commerce Department appointed the board members. The other appointees are:
- Tim Bryan, CEO, National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative;
- Charles Dowd, Deputy Chief, NYPD;
- F. Craig Farrill, Wireless telecommunications executive;
- Paul Fitzgerald, sheriff, Story County, Iowa;
- Samuel Ginn, telecommunications executive;
- William Keever, telecommunications executive;
- Kevin McGinnis, chief/CEO, North East Mobile Health Services;
- Ed Reynolds, telecommunications executive;
- Teri Taki, government information technology expert; and
- Wellington Webb, founder, Webb Group International.