Proclamation 6414—National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, 1992

Each day, thousands of Americans dial 9-1-1 for help in emergencies ranging from house fires and automobile accidents to heart attacks and child poisonings. The men and women who answer these calls for help, gathering essential information and dispatching the appropriate assistance, can often make the difference between life and death for persons in need. Our Nation's 9-1-1 dispatchers, however, are among the more than 500,000 telecommunications specialists who work daily to protect and to promote the public safety. This week, we salute all of them -- both professional and volunteer -- for their dedicated efforts in our behalf.

Public safety telecommunicators are more than a calm and reassuring voice at the other end of the phone. They are knowledgeable and highly trained individuals who work closely with other police, fire, and medical personnel. They are Federal and State officials who manage vital government communications in areas such as highway safety, road maintenance, forestry, and conservation; and they are municipal employees who help to ensure the smooth operation of public utilities and other services that affect the health and safety of our citizens. Because emergencies can strike at any time, we rely on the vigilance and the preparedness of these individuals 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Our Nation enjoys the highest standards of public health and safety in the world, and we owe a great debt to the men and women who, by applying their expertise in telecommunications, help to make that achievement possible. During this special observance, we acknowledge that debt and extend a heartfelt thanks to each of them.

The Congress, by House Joint Resolution 284, has designated the week of April 12 through April 18, 1992, as "National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week" and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this week.

Now, Therefore, I, George Bush, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week of April 12 through April 18, 1992, as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. I invite all Americans to observe this week with appropriate programs and activities in honor of all the emergency dispatchers and other communications specialists, both professional and volunteer, who help to protect our health and safety.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-two, and the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and sixteenth.

GEORGE BUSH