This article originally appeared in Sampson Independent and can be viewed here.

CLINTON — A multi-million dollar project broke ground Friday, one that is expected to bring benefits to the county for years to come.

Just in sight of the Sampson County Detention Center on Fontana Street, a new Sampson County 911 and Emergency Services facility will be built for $18.4 million.

State College, Pa. (April 15, 2021)—Mission Critical Partners (MCP) today announced that it will hold its second-annual educational conference for public safety, justice and other public-sector leaders. The Conference for Advancing Public Safety (CAPS) will take place June 15-16, 2021, in a fully digital experience. The event will feature keynote speakers, educational presentations, roundtable discussions and networking opportunities, all focused on enabling attendees to gather insights and ideas for moving the public safety and justice sectors forward.

The inaugural CAPS, held in 2020, brought together more than 500 attendees for collaboration and learning. The event was created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely curtailed the ability to travel. The event’s virtual environment, enabled by advanced video-conferencing technology, demonstrated how technology can be empowering, in this case enabling public safety and justice sector leaders to find new ways to connect.

One year later, the pandemic has accelerated technology adoption in the government sector dramatically. According to Darrin Reilly, MCP’s president and chief executive officer, the public safety and justice sectors must capitalize on this opportunity to move forward, and CAPS exists to help them meet that goal.

“The ultimate goal of CAPS is to bring people together for engaging and compelling content that inspires them to be change agents,” Reilly said.

Attendees will be able to develop their own educational paths by registering for the full conference, topic tracks or individual sessions.

Topic tracks include:

Award honors his thought leadership and vision in leading the public safety and justice communities into the future

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (March 31, 2021) — Mission Critical Partners (MCP) announced today that Kevin Murray, the firm’s cofounder and executive chairman, was selected to receive a 911 Honor Award from the NG911 Institute, in the Industry Professional category. The NG911 Institute works to advance deployment of Next Generation 911 systems nationwide.

Award recognizes his career-long work to enhance data integration and information sharing in the justice and public safety communities

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (March 12, 2021) — Mission Critical Partners (MCP) announced today that Joseph Wheeler was selected to receive this year’s Robert P. Shumate National Public Safety Contributor to Excellence Award from the IJIS Institute. Wheeler recently joined MCP when the firm acquired Seattle-based MTG Management Consultants, where he served as senior partner and chief executive officer (CEO). Wheeler is an MTG cofounder and led the firm’s justice and courts practice. He serves in a similar role at MCP as vice president of justice and courts.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (March 1, 2021) — Mission Critical Partners (MCP) announced that the Missouri 911 Service Board selected the firm to support the statewide transition from legacy technology to an Internet Protocol (IP)-enabled Next Generation 911 (NG911) platform.