By CJ Elias-West, NICE Systems Inc.
NICE Systems is pleased to announce the winners of its first annual NICE Telecommunicator of the Year Contest, an awards competition designed to recognize telecommunicators who have exhibited outstanding professionalism and dedication to the 9-1-1 vocation. This years’ NICE Telecommunicator of the Year award recipients are:
FIRST PLACE (two-way tie)
Sheila Van Grol
Telecommunicator
Monroe County E9-1-1
Sherry Wood
Telecommunicator
Deerfield Police Department
SECOND PLACE (two-way tie)
Judi Reeves
Police Communications Technician
NYC Police Department Communications Section (E-911)
Kathryn Bobot
Dispatcher
Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office
THIRD PLACE
Lisa Caddy
Dispatcher
Salt Lake Valley Emergency Communications Center
The NICE Telecommunicator of the Year award announcements coincide with National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, the second full week of April, which is set aside to honor the thousands of dedicated men and women serving as public safety telecommunicators in the US, working behind the scenes handling emergency calls and dispatching life-saving assistance.
“Everyone who serves in a public safety profession should be commended,” said Chris Wooten, VP of NICE Systems’ Public Safety Division. “But the telecommunicators who tirelessly answer 9-1-1 calls are our nation’s first first responders. They are the lifeline to all of us in a time of need.”
The 2006 NICE Telecommunicator of the Year award winners were selected based on various criteria, such as: exemplary contributions to the organization, agency or public safety profession; the candidate’s commendable handling of specific incidents and resulting outcomes; and other key factors.
“While our Telecommunicator of the Year award is intended to recognize individual telecommunicators, we also want to take this opportunity to recognize and reflect on the service of those who played a role in serving our citizens during recent natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina,” said Jim Park, President of NICE’s public safety division. “We owe them all a debt of gratitude.”
Learn more about the NICE Telecommunicator of the Year award winners. Look for their personal stories in upcoming issues of NICE News Special Edition.
Read more about National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week at www.911dispatch.com or at www.apcoint1.com.
