Norfolk Adopts Connect-CTY Service to Improve Emergency Preparedness and Communication Planning Test Call Planned to Ensure Residents are Ready to Receive Important Messages NORFOLK, MA - August 21, 2007- The Town of Norfolk announced today it has selected the mass communication service Connect-CTY® from The NTI Group, Inc. (NTI) and will conduct its first town-wide test call on August 29. Funded by the Board of Health with Homeland Security grant money for the first year, Norfolk has implemented Connect-CTY to provide town officials the ability to communicate with all residents regarding time-sensitive matters, such as unforeseen events or emergencies. The Connect-CTY service allows town officials to send and track personalized voice messages to thousands of residents, businesses, and local officials in just minutes, through a single phone call. The service requires no additional hardware; it can be used from any computer with Internet access or telephone, ensuring that officials can send vital messages from wherever they are located. The town also can track homes that were reached with a report on the results of outgoing messages. "Immediately notifying all residents with one phone call will help ensure that everyone receives correct information and keep residents safe," said Jack Hathaway, town administrator of Norfolk. "Connect-CTY will play a vital role in our emergency planning, communication and response." Town administrators can target messages to an unlimited number of groups - everything from mobilizing emergency response teams to notifying necessary department heads. Authorized users also can use a map on the Connect-CTY system to contact specific geographical locations, sending messages only to select neighborhoods when needed. "Implementing a fast, efficient mass notification system has been a goal of the Board of Health for a long time," said Betsy Fijol, Board of Health administrative assistant. "We can now quickly inform all residents, or just affected neighborhoods, of time-sensitive issues, such as water contamination, rabies alerts or severe storms." Primary residential and business phones in Norfolk will automatically be included in the system. However, residents can opt-in to provide their complete information (up to three phone numbers and two e-mail addresses) by visiting the Norfolk Web site (http://www.virtualnorfolk.org/) and clicking on the link that says "SIGN UP NOW - SERVICES BY CONNECT-CTY" to enter their information into the secure database. Those without Internet access can have their information added into the system by calling 508-528- 7747. Residents with call blocking services can make sure to receive the town's time-sensitive calls by adding 508-528-7747 to their approved number list.  "The best way to keep residents safe is through communication, and the Connect-CTY service makes it easy," said Robin D. Richards, Chairman and CEO of NTI. "With the Connect-CTY service, administrators have a powerful tool for mass communication without having to purchase new computers, software and telephone lines." Norfolk will be conducting its first test-call on August 29, in order to ensure all residents who would like to be included in the system are given a chance to correct their phone numbers. If residents do not receive the call, they should visit the town's Web site at http://www.virtualnorfolk.org/ and click on the "SIGN UP NOW - SERVICES BY CONNECT-CTY" link to enter their contact information into the Connect-CTY database. Residents without Internet access can have their information added into the database by calling (508) 528-7747.  For more information on the Connect-CTY system, please go to www.ntigroup.com * NTI does not sell, lease, share, or rent personally identifiable information (names, addresses, phone numbers, etc.) to any companies or persons outside of NTI or NTI service providers. About The NTI Group The NTI Group, Inc. (NTI), a Delaware corporation, is a privately held company that provides award winning communication systems designed specifically for local, regional, state, and Federal government entities. The Connect family of services enables rapid dissemination of critical information via voice and text devices using its premier mass notification engine designed to allow users to quickly and easily record and send time- based notifications to thousands of people in minutes using just a telephone. NTI makes and distributes the Connect-ED®, Connect-CTY®, Connect- GOV®, and Connect-MIL® systems, allowing users to target specific groups and/or geographic regions within their database(s) and engage recipients in two-way communication by asking them to respond to questions via their telephone keypads. 8/22/2007 ### Norfolknet.com your community, on-line