Prior to the APCO-NENA National Joint TERT Initiative in 2005, Texas was already on the right path for participation. Texas public safety telecommunicators and 9-1-1 professionals came together to form the first TX-TERT Steering Committee.
The first volunteer TX-TERT Steering Committee was comprised of the following members.
| Lisa Dodson |
Philip Jones |
| Deborah Yarnell |
Andrea Kirkconnell |
| Gina Larocca |
Deborah Turner |
| Laura Moore |
Russ Steffee |
| Larry Bachman |
Toni Dunne |
The North Carolina Chapter of NENA originated the taskforce in 2001 to provide staffing assistance to Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) during times of FEMA-declared disasters when personnel were unable to make it into an affected PSAP. Texas hoped to carry on the same goal of making this a statewide taskforce by creating a partnership between Texas PSAPs and the Texas Department of Emergency Management. This partnership focused on providing response to all public safety communications centers across Texas regardless of size or participation during a disaster. A trained team of public safety telecommunicators who were already familiar with another PSAP's equipment and protocols could provide a valuable solution to a short-term situation.
The original committee will always be remembered as the founding volunteers. Due to their efforts and dedication, TX-TERT is now one of the most recognized TERT programs nationwide.
Today, the program consists of the following positions.
- State Coordinator
- Regional Coordinators
- Communications Liaison
- Database Coordinator
