Will be recognized for outstanding work in advancing 911 service in the United States
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Mission Critical Partners (MCP) announced that Marc Berryman was selected by Laurie Anderson, president of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), to receive the organization’s Presidential Award.
Anderson will present the award posthumously to MCP’s Sherri Griffith Powell on June 18 during NENA’s 2023 national conference in Grapevine, Texas. Berryman and Griffith Powell were MCP colleagues who worked on numerous projects together during Berryman’s eight years with the firm. He died one year ago after a short battle with cancer.
The Presidential Award is conferred annually at the president’s discretion to honor individuals whose contributions to the association have been meaningful. Berryman will be honored for his work in advancing 911 service in the United States, particularly as it pertains to integrating legacy 911 and Next Generation 911 (NG911) systems with geographic information systems (GIS).
During a career that spanned more than three decades, Berryman chaired and actively participated in numerous NENA committees and working groups that established several significant standards under his watch, according to Anderson.
“In the NG911 environment, emergency calls will be located through geospatial routing, which depends on accurate, well-integrated GIS data,” Anderson said. “Marc played a very big role in establishing several standards that helped align NG911 and GIS. This was very important work to do, and Marc did it very well.”
Griffith Powell added that Berryman was a visionary who “connected the dots” concerning the relationship between 911 systems and GIS well before the advent of NG911.
“Marc was one of the first to recognize the importance of GIS when wireless enhanced 911 service arrived in the late 1990s,” Griffith Powell said. “He used to say, ‘we need a way to plot these calls on a map’ — and that, of course, requires GIS.”
Berryman earned a master’s degree in GIS from Texas State University in 1992. Before arriving at MCP in 2013 as a senior project manager specializing in 911 and GIS initiatives, he performed several noteworthy GIS-oriented roles. Among them was two years as state GIS coordinator for the Texas Department of Information Resources, and a decade as GIS manager/engineer for Greater Harris County Emergency Communications District in Houston. While at MCP, Berryman helped develop numerous strategic plans for implementing state-level, local, and regional NG911 systems.
“Everyone at MCP has been well aware, for a very long time, of Marc’s significant contributions to enhancing 911 service in the United States,” said John Chiaramonte, president of MCP’s consulting division. “He was passionate about GIS and about NENA, and he worked tirelessly to support both. This recognition is well deserved and long overdue.”
About Mission Critical Partners (MCP)
Mission Critical Partners (MCP) is a leading provider of data integration, consulting, network, and cybersecurity solutions specializing in transforming mission-critical communications networks into integrated ecosystems that improve outcomes in the public safety, justice, healthcare, transportation, and utility markets. Our comprehensive experience and vendor-agnostic approach helps us develop modernized solutions for our clients to maximize value and create optimal efficiency while mitigating risk. Additional information and career opportunities are available at www.MissionCriticalPartners.com