November 14, 2008
XSM Meets with Lincoln-Way High School
Joe Johns and John Nordsell, both with Xstream Mobile Solutions (XSM), met with Ron Sawin (Assistant Superintendent of Business) and John Pehle (Director of Technology), of Lincoln-Way High School on November 13th to move forward with Lincoln-Way’s decision to participate in Will County’s School Emergency Notification Program. This program is offered to every school in Will County and is made possible by the cooperative efforts of the Will County Emergency Management Agency and the Will County Regional Office of Education. This is the culmination of several meetings which will bring all four Lincoln-Way campuses, (Central, East, North and West) under the protection umbrella of the EMA/ROE affiliation. Lincoln-Way is expected to be fully operational within 30 days.
A similar program is offered through the cooperative efforts of the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Department (KCSD) and the Iroquois-Kankakee Regional Office of Education (I-KAN). In the two county area covered under this offering, there are currently 30 separate school districts participating, which covers over 80 schools grades K-12 and also includes Kankakee Community College.
Every school in Will County has the opportunity to participate in the EMA/ROE affiliation, the cost of which is determined by a sliding scale based on school population. Costs range from $600-$1,500 (sliding scale) for the first year with annual renewals of 25% of the original cost. There has been grant money available in the past to assist with these costs so the hope is that every school in the county will eventually participate.
November 12, 2008
XSM Attends HSEIC Seminar
John Nordsell and Al Romano of Xstream Mobile Solutions attended a seminar dealing with government procurement in Evanston, IL on October 28th, 2008. The event was sponsored by the IL Homeland Security Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center at Northwestern University and dealt with both government and private sector strategies for promoting products with homeland security implications. The event was attended by approximately 15 people from various backgrounds that are attempting to market their products to government agencies.
November 6, 2008
XSM to Exhibit at (IASB/IASA/IASBO) 76th Annual Conference
Xstream Mobile Solutions (XSM) will be exhibiting again at the upcoming Illinois Association of School Boards, Illinois Association of School Administrators and the Illinois Association of School Business Officials
(IASB/IASA/IASBO) 76th Annual Conference, the premiere Educational Conference in the state of Illinois. School Administrators, Principals, Teachers, School Board members, Business Officials, and Technology personnel from across the state are among the 10,000-12,000 people expected to attend the 2-day event to be held at the Hyatt Regency Chicago on Nov. 21st and 22nd, 2008. Last year’s conference was XSM’s first exposure to this school market. Since that conference last year, XSM now includes Northern Illinois University, Kankakee Community College and over 80 schools, grades K-12 as a part of their satisfied customers.
October 29, 2008
XSM Meets with Village of Mokena
John Nordsell of Xstream Mobile Solutions met with representatives from the village of Mokena on October 23rd, 2008 to discuss an emergency notification system the village is considering bringing to its residents.
Nordsell spoke with Chief Randy Rajewski of the Mokena Police Department and Kirk Zoellner, Assistant Village Administrator about how XSM SAFE would help the village with community policing efforts, neighborhood watch programs, village road closures and more.
Rajewski and Zoellner will be discussing this with village officials and will make a determination in the early months of 2009
October 23, 2008
XSM Meets with Frankfort Police
John Nordsell, Sales Director for Xstream Mobile Solutions, met with Commander Burica and Officer Bender of the Frankfort Police Department on Oct. 21st to discuss augmenting Frankfort’s existing community awareness program through the use of XSM SAFE. XSM products are currently being used by many organizations with whom the Frankfort Police are familiar including New Lenox Police Department, New Lenox ESDA, Will County Emergency Management Agency, Northern Illinois University, and Kankakee County Sheriff’s Department. Burica and Bender were encouraged to contact any or all of these organizations to better understand the scope of how XSM products could impact the notification abilities and help to build community rapport in Frankfort. Burica and Bender said Frankfort plans to offer a community newsletter via email soon. Nordsell explained that XSM SAFE would be a natural extension of programs they currently have in place and others they plan to implement in the near future.
October 22, 2008
XSM Attends IPSTA Conference
Joe Johns (President and CTO) and Al Romano (Director of Police and Public Safety Solutions) showcased XSM products at the 24th Illinois Public Safety Telecommunications Association (IPSTA) Conference held on Oct. 21st and 22nd at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and Conference Center in Springfield, IL. This was the second consecutive IPSTA Conference Xstream Mobile Solutions’ has attended and, according to Johns, provided a wealth of interested contacts and exposure to persons in the public safety telecommunications industry. Approximately 100 vendors and 800 attendees were at the two-day event that targeted public safety professionals, police and fire officials and board members of the emergency telephone systems across the state.
October 20, 2008
XSM Attends School Safety Conference
Joe Johns (President and CTO) and John Nordsell (Sales Director) exhibited XSM products at the first annual School Safety Conference held at the Bolingbrook Golf Club on September 24th and 25th, 2008. The purpose of the event was to heighten school safety awareness and it was sponsored by Valley View Community School District 365U and Bolingbrook and Romeoville Police departments among others. XSM has already met with the Oak Brook Police Department as a result of this conference. Approximately 600 people were in attendance at the two-day event and Johns and Nordsell had the opportunity to speak with several school administrators and police personnel.
October 14, 2008
Lincoln-Way High Schools to use XSM Safe
Xstream Mobile Solutions (XSM) has received word that all Lincoln-Way High Schools (Central, East, North and West) will be joining the ranks of XSM’s satisfied customers. Through a combined effort between the Will County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) and the Will County Regional Office of Education (ROE), Lincoln-Way is able to participate at low prices to bolster their emergency notification program. Lincoln-Way is the first school to take advantage of the generous offer made by the affiliation of the EMA/ROE. This offer is available to any school within Will County at rates beginning at $600 for the first year and $150 per year thereafter. These rates are based on school population so regardless of size, every school in the county can be protected.
XSM is proud to be associated with Lincoln-Way High School and hopes that other schools in the county will take advantage of the generous offer being made by the EMA/ROE affiliation.
October 10, 2008
I-Kann School Uses Xstream Safe to Notify Community
On Wednesday, October 8, St. George School sent a Community Alert text
message through Xstream SAFE. The message notified parents in the
area that there was a suspicious individual in a local subdivision.
Members of the community were asked to be aware of who was at the
local bus stops and instructed to report any suspicious activity to
the police.
October 9, 2008
XSM meets with the Oak Brook Police Department
Joe Johns and John Nordsell of Xstream Mobile Solutions (XSM) met with representatives of the Oak Brook Police Department (OBPD) on October 7th at their offices on Oak Brook Road. XSM was contacted by the Police Department after a conversation with one of the attending officers at a recent trade show at which XSM exhibited. OBPD is searching for a solution to notification problems they experienced in recent attempts to notify their residents. Johns and Nordsell explained that XSM products are being used by several local emergency organizations and how they could be used in Oak Brook to enhance and strengthen their notification abilities. While currently only in the preliminary stages, a decision is expected to be made in the coming months as to how they will proceed.
