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oversees the operation of Maryland Relay.  Maryland Relay provides special
            telecommunication services and equipment for people with disabilities that

            make using regular phone services impossible.   I was recently reappointed to
            another three-year term by Governor Hogan, having served as the GABTR
            Chair for the past five years.  In this capacity, I have testified before the
            Maryland General Assembly several times on proposed legislation impacting

            Maryland Relay.   I also serve on the Executive Board of Chapter 1888 of the
            National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association; actively support
            efforts by my church to provide for those in our community who are homeless

            and in shelters; and am actively involved in community service with the
            Laytonsville Lions Club, doing hearing and vision evaluations at community
            health fairs and fundraising for local community events and organizations.  I

            retired from Federal Service in 2006.


            I am Ken Putkovich and I served in the National Weather Service (NWS) for

            over 40 years of Federal Service.  I worked as an Engineering Manager for the
            last 16 years, responsible for telecommunication systems designed to deliver
            All Hazard Emergency Warnings to people immediately at risk as quickly as

            possible.  As Chief of Dissemination Systems for NWS, I was responsible for
            numerous improvements to emergency warning technology, which impacted
            the welfare and safety of millions of Americans.  During this period, I

            transitioned the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
            Weather Wire Service from a state-based teletype system to a state-of-the-art
            National satellite system, which carries emergency warning messages from
            anywhere in the country to media and emergency managers anywhere in the

            country in less than three seconds.  I grew the NOAA Weather Radio (NWR)
            network from less than 500 stations in 1988 to nearly 1,000 in 2004,
            providing critical, timely emergency warnings to an additional 70 million

            people in the United States.  During that same period, NWR was made more
            reliable with state-of-the-art transmitters and upgrades to older broadcast
            stations.  I was instrumental in developing and deploying technology capable
            of effectively warning the 30 million people in the U.S. who are deaf or hard

            of hearing and in establishing an effective National outreach program to this
            community.  I was a founding member of the Partnership for Public Warning,
            was part of Vice President Gore’s Partnership for Reinventing Government,

            and served on President Clinton’s National  Science Technology Council’s
            Working Group on Natural Disaster Information Services.




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