By Nunnie Robinson
If perhaps as a minority you were employed in the 70s in law enforcement, with the fire department/emergency rescue or even in the field of electronics, Mr. Emmitt Kater likely had some impact or significant influence Don your chosen career or at the very minimum you knew him professionally or personally. Having met him through his association with the Westside Gazette family, particularly our publisher Bobby Henry and my wife Sonia, whom he refers to as his wife as well – more on that later – he struck me as a larger than life character – gregarious, loquacious, energetic, comical and highly intelligent with the memory of an elephant, which is on constant display in our presence. His influence and impact on others emanated from his vast professional experiences as Communications Engineer with the Hollywood Public Safety, Police & Fire/Fire Rescue where he serviced Two-Way Radio devices, Mobil and Base Station Repeaters, Digital Voice Land Lines, and Computer Local to Wide Area Networking.
A Fort Lauderdale native, Emmitt graduated from Dillard High School in 1967, subsequently enrolling in the Atlanta School of Radio and TV Broadcasting, receiving his diploma in 1969. His educational pursuits continued at the Elkins Institute where in 1971 he received a First-Class FCC Radio Telephone Operators License.
Mr. Kater, undeterred and motivated, simultaneously enrolled in ITT’s Information Systems Local to Wide Area Networking Principles, becoming a Certified Technician in 1971.
At Motorola, General Electric, and Midland, he became a Two-Way Radio Factory Service technician while receiving continuous training and certification in all phases of Mobil and Base Station, and Two-Way Portable Radio Repair.
Additional certifications included Federal Signal and Code Three Emergency Lighting and Siracoms repair for Public Safety and Police.
From 1979- 1997 Mr. Kater was employed with Southern Bell and Meridian North Starr Digital Key as a 1A2 multi-land line phone systems installer and technician, receiving several certificates in the process.
After retiring he and his lovely wife Dorothy, a Waycross native, moved to Tipton, Georgia where they quickly became embedded in the community and where his expertise and knowledge proved to be immensely valuable. You see the leaders and politicians in a nearby community, actually his wife’s hometown- Waynesboro – where they owned property downtown, experienced difficulty with its emergency communications system. Having gone to the office to pay their taxes, Emmitt fortuitously overheard the conversation, then asked if could look at the system. A cursory examination revealed the exact source of the problem. Lightening strikes had damaged critical wiring, leaving the system inoperable. In a matter of minutes, Emmitt had restored the communications system for fire and police departments. In utter disbelief the city and county (Burke County) officials eventually gathered their wits, thanked him profusely, waved his taxes for the next 3 years and permitted them to build or expand property vertically, removing all barriers in place pre repair which basically saved them time and money. What a serendipitous blessing. After telling his brother-in-law about his fortune, comically deadpanned: you walked in with a stitch of manure and came out smelling like flower.
Emmitt is such an affable, loquacious people person that if says to you – let me speak to my wife – rest assured he is a friend. That became obvious to me when referred to my neighbor’s wife as his wife. If you’re not laughing or smiling from the minute you’re in his presence, you immediately realize something is amiss. Making those he cares for becomes more apparent with penchant for treating us some delicious Georgia peanuts. That , combined with his storytelling and outlandish humor, makes the visits time well spent. He never fails to stop by when he’s in town, which has been quite frequently in the last few months because of multiple deaths in his family. Nonetheless, his faith has sustained Dorothy and him during some dark, difficult times.
His wealth of professional experience spanning some 50 years makes retirement an even more attractive proposition.
From 1967-1969 he was employed at WRBD, WFUN, WIOD, WSRF, & WSHE as an Announcer Engineer. He also worked for
Atlanta Police Fire/Fire Fescue Bureau as a Communications Engineer before returning to Broward County, employed
- 1980- 2010 by City of Hollywood Police Fire/ Fire Rescue as Communications Engineer and Vice Chairman of the General Employees’ Pension Board, responsible for the pension fund of every police officer and firefighter.
