DialPro’s Dennis Tyler Testifies on Campus Emergency Warning Systems

May 31, 2007
California State Senate session focuses on emergency warning, following Va. Tech incident

Seattle, Wash. (May 30, 2007) – DialPro Northwest, a leading provider of enterprise voice messaging and unified communications systems in the Pacific Northwest, today announced that company president and CEO Dennis R. Tyler appeared as an expert witness at the California State Senate’s hearing on campus emergency warning systems.

Tyler’s appearance at the hearing, which was held in response to the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech, marked the only one by a representative from outside the state of California.

Titled “Emergency Alert Systems – Can We Protect our Students,” the hearing was conducted earlier this month by the California State Senate Governmental Organization Committee, which oversees emergency preparedness in California. Chaired by California State Senator Dean Florez, D-Shafter, the hearing focused on existing technologies and those under development to reach students and staff quickly and efficiently when their safety could be at risk.

Tyler joined a variety of leading education, telecommunications and law enforcement experts called before the committee to discuss student safety. Other speakers included the Chief Deputy Director of the Governor’s Department of Homeland Security for the State of California, the Director of Emergency Services for the state of California, and California Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi.

“Our campuses have traditionally been open and accessible – a product of our democratic society and our system of higher education – however, it is critical that we balance this openness with the need to protect our students and staff,” said Senator Florez in prepared opening remarks.

“The safety of our schools and universities are of paramount concern, and today’s emergency event notification systems offer ways to quickly notify students and staff in the event of a disaster or emergency,” said Tyler. “With the advances in communications technology, it is possible to create emergency event notification systems that are multi-modal; that is, they can be customized to contact students and staff through a variety of means, from text messaging, email, pager or phone call, depending on their preference. Not only do these systems work for schools, but for business of all types as well.”