TAVARES — The Lake County Department of Public Safety, Communications Technologies Division Director Greg Holcomb was recently selected to co-chair the State Working Group Interoperable Communications Committee.

HOLCOMB

The state interoperable communications committee facilitates an array of projects, such as development of communication plans and construction of an interoperability network, to serve the primary goal of enhancing interoperable communications.

Since January 2007, Holcomb has also co-chaired the interoperable communications committee for Region 5 of the Regional Domestic Security Task Forces (RDSTF), which includes the counties of Brevard, Indian River, Lake, Martin, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, St. Lucie and Volusia. As the RDSTF Region 5 co-chair, he was involved in the Public Safety Interoperable Communications grant from its inception at the national level. He helped develop a state and regional strategy for interoperability as part of the grant process. Additionally, he helped orchestrate the regional grant submittal that awarded RDSTF Region 5 with $4.3 million in projects, $3 million of which Lake County is currently managing.

This summer Holcomb was asked to fulfill the Alternate Statewide Interoperability Coordinator (SWIC) role augmenting and providing local influence to the Florida SWIC. In September, this appointment was confirmed by Florida Department of Emergency Management SWIC through the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Emergency Communications.

“These roles contribute to our success in Lake County, with our neighbors, the region and ultimately statewide by allowing us to play a role in some of the state communications developments,” said Interim County Manager Sandy Minkoff.