Saturday, April 14, 2012 6:01 am
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April 8-14 is National Telecommunicator Week. The week observance was established in 1991 by Congress, to raise awareness of the hard work and dedication of 9-1-1 call takers, dispatchers, and telecommunications personnel.
They are an unsung group of heroes that man call centers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, rain, shine, tornado, or any other kind of disaster that you can think of. They work in a solitary world behind closed doors, devoid of sunlight. The only time they can differentiate between night and day is at the beginning or end of their shift.
National Telecommunicator Week offers an opportunity to recognize and remember those professionals, operating out of the eyesight of the public, but virtually touching every person in our community.
Cannon County’s dispatchers, operating under E-911 Director Roy Sullivan, are Tracy Gullett, Kori Graves, Kim Hall, Michael Hollandsworth, Angie Seivers, Lizabeth Stluka, Tamara Barker, Sasha Avera, Karen Ashford and Kevin Mooneyham.
Dispatchers are the calm voice of reason in the midst of chaos, friend, confidante, and guidance in a time of need on the other end of the phone to someone experiencing a meltdown and having their world crashing around them. They’re not only responsible for getting Police, Fire, or EMS on their way, but they also have to track, monitor the status, and provide information, to emergency personnel until the situation comes to an end.
The 9-1-1 operators are a well-rounded, highly capable group of individuals that transition, daily, from low to high gear in a moment’s notice.
George and Anna Pittman of Fine Swine BBQ showed their and the community’s appreciation for the county’s dispatchers Friday when they delivered a buffet to the 9-1-1 Call Center for workers to enjoy.