BK Technologies - Experts & Thought Leaders

BK Technologies Corporation (the ‘Company’, ‘BK Technologies’) has announced that Ellen O. O’Hara was elected to the Board of Directors by the Company’s stockholders at the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders on June 20, 2024. Ms. O’Hara has enjoyed a distinguished career in the mobile communications industry with more than 40 years’ experience across diverse operational roles and in senior leadership positions of increasing scope and responsibility. Extensive industry experience From 2009 through 2016, Ms. O’Hara was President and CEO of Zetron Most recently, from 2016 through 2021, she served as Chairman of the Board and Strategic Advisor to Zetron, Inc., a provider of integrated communications, radio dispatch consoles and NG911 call taking systems to mission-critical customers including public safety, government and utilities. From 2009 through 2016, Ms. O’Hara was President and CEO of Zetron. Previously, she was President and COO of EF Johnson, a major land mobile communications business. In this role, she oversaw all functions including sales, marketing, finance, customer service, engineering and supply chain. Held key roles in global enterprises Earlier in her career, she spent 12 years with Motorola, Inc., first in their private systems and private conventional business groups, and later in roles as Vice President and Director of Subscriber Operations, where she led a $600 million group responsible for the design, manufacture and marketing of mobile communications products for public safety, government and enterprise customers worldwide. Later, she was Vice President and General Manager of the Radio Products division, a $350 million business that designed and distributed two-way radio products through 1,000 channel partners. Before joining Motorola, Ellen’s spent 12 years in various product management and marketing roles for GE Mobile Communications, now a division of L3Harris. Worked with several industry and charitable Firms Additionally, Ms. O’Hara has worked with several industry and charitable organizations Additionally, Ms. O’Hara has worked with several industry and charitable organizations, including: Chairman of the Board, Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologies (iCERT); Board Member of the Washington Technology Industry Association; Chair, Corporate Sponsorship Committee, Komen Dallas Race for the Cure; Co-Chair of Motorola’s Women’s Business Council and Motorola Representative to the FCC National Coordinating Committee; and as a Board Member for the American SMR Network Association (now AMTA). She holds a B.A. degree in Modern European History from Mount Holyoke College and an MBA degree with high distinction from Harvard Business School. Valuable leadership experience Joshua Horowitz, Chairman of the Board of BK Technologies commented, “Ellen brings decades of valuable leadership experience, as well as expertise in virtually all of the operational functions that comprise a successful mobile communications company.” He adds, “BK Technologies is well-positioned to expand its role as a valued and reliable provider of mission critical communication solutions and technologies and we look forward to Ellen’s perspective and contributions as we continue to transform our company into both hardware and software company with long term profitable growth.”

The National Volunteer Fire Council held its inaugural Regional Wildland Symposium on March 17-18 in Box Elder, SD (just outside Rapid City). This new conference featured breakout sessions, panel discussions, keynote speakers, and networking opportunities focused on issues relating to wildland fire response and mitigation in the Plains region. Seventy-five first responders from 24 states gathered for two days of training, education, and idea-sharing. Eighteen of the attendees received a travel stipend from the NVFC to help offset the costs of attending. These stipends covered up to $600 for expenses including airfare/mileage, hotel, and registration fee. Providing best practices The packed agenda addressed a range of topics to provide best practices and solutions that responders can consider when working with communities to mitigate wildland fire impact and to keep first responders safe in the event of wildfire response. The agenda included the following speakers and presentations: Paul Acosta – Prairie Tactics: If Not You, Then Who? Bill Arsenault – Increasing Response Effectiveness in the WUI for Volunteer Departments Chad Baumgarten – Windy Fire, South Dakota Debbie Carpenter – Using Your Community’s Vulnerabilities to Raise Wildfire Awareness Jeff Dill – Internal Size-Up for Wildland Firefighters Rodney Foster – Better Staging Mike Johnson – Community Wildfire Mitigation Charlie Kludt – This is How We Do It on the Farm Todd Leiss – Wildland Fires and Traffic Management Sara Mullins – Show Me the Money: How to Find Funding Panel discussion on Finding Resources for Wildland Fire Mitigation and Response moderated by Dr. Candice McDonald and featuring Timothy Melchert, Sara Mullins, and David Shew Another educational conference The Regional Wildland Symposium was made possible due to a federal grant from the U.S. Forest Service In addition to the educational sessions, there were opportunities for networking and sharing of ideas among the attendees. This included a networking expo at the Journey Museum and Learning Center sponsored by Anheuser-Busch Foundation, BK Technologies, DripDrop Hydration, FirstNet Authority, Josh Cellars, Visit Rapid City, and Wendell’s Mint. The Regional Wildland Symposium was made possible due to a federal grant from the U.S. Forest Service. The NVFC thanks all who attended and all who instructed for a successful event. The NVFC will host another educational conference, the Training Summit, in Oklahoma City, OK, on June 23-24. This event focuses on responder health and safety, volunteer recruitment and retention, and leadership. Travel stipends of up to $900 are available to help more responders attend.

BK Technologies Corporation announced the launch of its first BKRplay service, InteropONE, the only PTToC service that enables operational interoperability to first responders through the on-demand creation of user groups without requiring network pre-provisioning or gateways. multi-agency incident response InteropONE, in cooperation with its PTToC platform partner, STREAMWIDE SA, a communications software technology provider, facilitates multi-agency incident response and mutual aid in planned or unplanned incidents such as large public events, disaster relief, criminal intelligence, and mass violence, where a lack of communications can slow or hinder the response. Incident command staff can dynamically manage PTToC communications from his/her smartphone, by “inviting” participants to engage in the incident. Invited participants simply need a smartphone with a data subscription to any carrier network. Participants can download the InteropONE application, BKRplay, from the App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android) stores. interoperable communications InteropONE is designed to eliminate barriers and enable all first responders to communicate regardless InteropONE is designed to eliminate barriers and enable all first responders to communicate regardless of which cellular network they use or PTToC service they subscribe to, or even first responders who do not subscribe to a PTToC service. InteropONE is designed to provide interoperable communications during emergency incidents when no other communications platform meets the need. Saas-based scalable smartphone application “InteropONE is a game-changing, scalable smartphone application that will deliver a unique SaaS service that is much needed in the public safety market,” stated John Suzuki, CEO of BK Technologies. “As PTToC solutions have become more sophisticated and operate on a variety of platforms, interoperability between different technologies and service providers is a big challenge today." practical solution We believe InteropONE provides an opportunity to address a broader market audience" "Our InteropONE offering provides a practical solution to this challenge, enhancing communications capabilities between first responders who arrive at events from near or far, as well as between different emergency agencies." "We’re excited to launch InteropONE, which we believe provides a tremendous opportunity to address a broader market audience within the public safety communications market and will serve as a blueprint for our development of additional BKRplay services.” PTToC solution James Teel, General Manager of BK’s SaaS business unit commented, “As wildfires and natural disasters increase in frequency, the broader response is often required from a wide range of emergency personnel. InteropONE’s ability to ensure that these diverse teams can quickly communicate through common channels is truly a differentiator for the markets we’re targeting." "Just as our LMR radios have a proven track record and excellent reputation for reliability and durability in the field, we believe our InteropONE solution can also play a key role in providing the PTToC solution that keeps first responders connected and safe as they protect our communities.”