Governor Cooper Surprises NC 911 Board to Thank Employees for Work During Hurricane Florence

As Pokey Harris, director of the North Carolina 911 Board, called roll at the beginning of the Oct. 19 board meeting, a silence fell over the room. Suddenly everyone around her was on their feet and applauding. Looking up from the meeting agenda, Harris was shocked to see North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper entering the room.

Cooper made a surprise visit to the meeting to thank 911 Board staff for their work during Hurricane Florence and to thank board members for their role in keeping 911 centers across the state equipped with the technology and resources to serve citizens.

“I came this morning because folks in this room coordinated an effort to save countless lives,” Cooper told the board and the staff. “There is no question about that. Tonight when you go home and put your head on the pillow, you know that the work you’ve done has not only saved lives but has saved people from injury, heartache and harm.”

During Hurricane Florence, Harris, NC 911 staff member Tina Bone; and Red Grasso, the state’s liaison for FirstNet and director of first responder emerging technologies, worked 12-hour shifts at the Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh for the duration of the storm. This was the first time that 911 Board staff had been embedded at the EOC during a state of emergency.

Grasso, who was recently named chairman of the FCC’s Disaster Response and Recovery Working Group, served as the overnight manager of the EOC. Harris and Bone monitored 911 call centers throughout the state during the hurricane and subsequent flooding. When centers needed to close due to weather-related concerns, Harris and Bone worked to divert the calls from those centers to other centers in less-affected areas of the state. Other members of the 911 Board staff worked remotely, spending hours calling centers to check on their operators and assess the status and needs of the centers.

Harris, Bone and Grasso, who all have had long careers in public- sector emergency operations, said that it was meaningful to them to be able to assist the telecommunicators during the state of emergency to ensure that citizens were able to get the help they needed.
“Knowing two months out that we have not received a report that anyone was not able to reach help, that’s the biggest takeaway,” Harris said.

Grasso emphasized that the real heroes were those on the ground, out in the storm attempting to provide help to citizens.

“It’s incredibly difficult and stressful for them,” he said, “While we worked hard, we were still safe at the National Guard headquarters in Raleigh. They were having to try to get help to people who were in dangerous and life-threatening situations.”

Cooper thanked Harris, Bone and Grasso by name and emphasized the impact of their work both ahead of and during the storm to help keep North Carolinians safe in the face of disaster.

“As that storm hit, and flooded houses and ruined people’s lives, it also knocked down 911 centers in counties. But, guess what? The plans that you put into place made sure that another county was right there to take those calls, and we didn’t miss a beat. Think about that. I’m proud of you. I’m grateful for the work that you have done.

“We had over 5,000 people who were rescued in this tragedy, and no doubt, a number of those rescues were due to the fact that the 911 call got to where it was supposed to go,” Cooper said.

Cooper’s presence and address surprised attendees, and the people he thanked said that it meant a lot to them.

“I don’t think any governor has ever done that to the 911 Board,” Bone said, “So that was awesome.”

Harris was moved to tears. “It was very humbling. The governor has such a busy schedule and just to know that he would coordinate and come thank folks in person, it meant a lot.”