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Iridium Satellite makes donation to ACPO International Silent Key Scholarship fund
The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International has announced that Iridium Satellite LLC (Iridium) has made a donation to support the organization’s Silent Key Scholarship Fund for the second year in a row.
Ted O’Brien, vice president, Americas for Iridium, presented a check for $7,000 at the APCO International 75th Annual Conference and Exhibition to Richard Mirgon, APCO International president elect, who accepted the check on behalf of the association.
“We are enormously grateful to Iridium for their generous gift to support this important cause,” said Mirgon. “The Silent Key Scholarship Fund, which was established to honor deceased APCO International members, provides funding for training and educational opportunities for public safety communications officials and is an investment in the future of our industry.”
“We are making this contribution as part of our Trade-Up to Iridium program, which was introduced last year to give first responders and other users an easy upgrade path for trading in non-functioning satellite phones for new Iridium handsets,” said O’Brien. “To show our support for the public-safety communications community, which represents a significant portion of our subscriber base, we have pledged to make a donation for each returned phone to the APCO International scholarship fund.”
“Many of our members rely on satellite phones to provide mission-critical communications in responding to emergencies when landlines and wireless infrastructure are destroyed or disrupted,” said Mirgon. “In many cases, satellite phones provide the only lifeline to the outside world during the first days of disaster response and relief operations.”
O’Brien added that Iridium is extending and expanding the Trade-Up to Iridium program to include its new-generation 9555 handset. The offer will run through Dec. 31, 2009. “We look forward to coming back again next year with another check representing donations for handsets turned in through the end of the year,” he said. At last year’s APCO International convention, Iridium presented a check for $17,000. This year’s contribution brings the total to $24,000.
