Page 109 - profiles 2019 working copy containing all bios as of Feb 20 final version

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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