News - Avaya - Avaya to Present First Kari’s Law 911 Trailblazer Award to Texas CSEC

Santa Clara, Calif. - September 6, 2017 - Avaya, the global market leader in contact center solutions and a major provider of communications technology to public safety dispatch centers, announced today that it will present the inaugural Kari’s Law 911 Trailblazer Award to the Texas Commission on State Emergency Communications (CSEC). The award will be presented on September 27 at the Real-Time Communications Conference, hosted by the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), an industry think tank for Next Generation 911 activities.

The Kari’s Law 911 Trailblazer Award was created by Avaya to recognize the efforts of industry leaders who have transformed public safety best practices through the adoption of Kari’s Law. The Award is in honor of Kari Hunt, a 31-year old mother of three who was killed by her ex-husband while their oldest daughter frantically and unsuccessfully tried dialing 9-1-1 from the phone in their hotel room. That phone system was programmed to require a caller to dial 9 before getting any outside line, including for emergency assistance. The tragedy inspired Kari’s father, Hank Hunt, to raise a Change.Org petition, securing more than 650,000 signatures in support of a law requiring hotels to allow callers to reach 911 emergency services without having to dial an additional digit such as “9.”

The Texas CSEC was selected this year by Mark Fletcher, ENP, Avaya, and Hunt for its role in orchestrating the many resources in Texas in support of Kari’s Law, which was enacted May 15, 2015. CSEC’s commitment and support included statewide workshops support to organizations such as the 911 Industry Alliance (which was responsible for drafting much of the legislative language in Texas) and providing guidance through the legislative process.