OUR SUNSHINE DISPATCHERS
​We are excited to announce that our first sunshine dispatcher award has been given to one of our own Tracy Eldridge . Tracy has been my inspiration to start this group and and push it to the best it can be. I’ve looked up to her in aspect that I never thought I would. Im now pushing myself to become a better dispatcher and a better leader in this profession. I just like to say thank you Tracy Eldridge for being Someone that I want to look up to. “Once a dispatcher, always a dispatcher”
Nominated by : John Barney
CONGRATULATIONS to Erin Tomlin with Bedford County Communications!!!
“Erin comes into work everyday with an attitude of ‘we are here to help anyone in need with a smile!’ Erin brings happiness to bad shifts and hugs in moments of need. Erin always puts others before herself and is rarely recognized for her hard work. If you are looking for a dispatcher that symbolizes sunshine in everything she does it would be her!”
Thank you to Michael Miller for being a great peer and recognizing one of your own. for being a great peer and recognizing one of your own.
​CONGRATULATIONS to Felicia Jones with Orlando Fire Department Communications!!!
Felicia is an outstanding training officer. Recently, she noticed a trainee struggling with emergency call taking and growing frustrated with himself. Felicia brought this to the training supervisor’s attention and presented a plan to help the trainee. She went out of her way to reassure the trainee that she will work with him as long as he needs to successfully complete training and feel confident in his abilities.
Her kindness and dedication to her coworker is epitome of a team player.
Thank you Matthew King for being a great peer and recognizing one of your own!
CONGRATULATIONS to Anthony Block with McLean County 911 Communications!!!
Anthony has come a long way in his 5 years as a dispatcher. Recently he has taken on several leadership roles among his fellow dispatchers, including lead CTO and assisting with revising our center’s training program. Anthony is not one to complain about long hours, especially right now being short staffed, there’s an over abundance of overtime. He gets along with all of his coworkers and management team and he’s always good for a laugh.
Thank you Rhonda Flegel for being a great peer and recognizing one of your own!
​CONGRATULATIONS to Kristy Gilbert with McLean County 911 Communications!!!
Kristy comes to work EARLY everyday and puts forth 110% each of those days. She doesn’t shy away from a challenge and still remains positive in any situation. She’s there for our dispatcher team and management team to check in and does her best to boost morale. I am honored to have been working alongside Kristy for the last 13 years and couldn’t think of a more deserving individual.
Thank you Rhonda Flegel for being a great peer and recognizing one of your own!
​CONGRATULATIONS to Chelsea Picciotti with Melbourne Police Department Communications!!!
Five little ducks went out one day and got stuck down a drain... On their way home after their long shift, 911 dispatchers Chelsea Picciotti, Katie Brooks, & Michael Delisle removed the drainage grate and saved all five ducklings & reunited them with their mother duck. Way to go dispatchers, always answering the call!!!!
Thank you Michael Delisle for being a great peer and recognizing one of your own!
​CONGRATULATIONS to Audra Taurozzi with Hernando County Sheriff’s Office (FL) Communications!!!
Over the last 3 years Audra has overcome many challenges in not only her personal life, but her work life. Audra went from a TC III (Phones, Fire, and Teletype) in our agency to an assistant supervisor. After acquiring the assistant supervisor position, Audra immediately went into the role of acting supervisor with no official training. Audra has shown tremendous leadership qualities and capabilities throughout this time and has always tried to make decisions that were best for the entire department, not just herself. Our agency is hugely understaffed, however Audra keeps a positive attitude and outlook.
Thank you Sara-Jean Wilcox for being a great peer and recognizing one of your own!
Director of Communications of the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, Daryl L. Recker, reached out to Gold Line Support with this photo from her award presentation. In attendance was himself, the agency's Sheriff, Chief Deputy, Senior Administration Officer, and even their Station dog, Rose. Gold Line Support is so proud to honor our newest Sunshine Dispatcher and loves that the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office displays this honor and pride as well.
CONGRATULATIONS to Chloe West with Tulsa County Sheriff's Office Communications!!!
CTO, Chloe West designed and implemented the TRECC onboarding, training, and mentoring program since promoted to the position in 2018. CTO West was given full reins and moved off the floor in 2020 to develop a comprehensive training academy for all new employees along with full responsibility for regular continuing education of staff. CTO West’s development of the TRECC training academy was completed in 2021; immediately implemented and tested with her first full class of thirteen new recruits. CTO West graduated thirteen team members and placed them into the mentorship program where those employees continued their development. CTO West has had a direct impact on employee retention, team member development, ongoing training, and education through the creation of the TRECC academy. West has a desire to train public safety telecommunicators and keep them engaged in learning and development. All graduates of the academy shared their positive experience and felt prepared for their new role in TRECC. This has greatly impacted the operations and stability of staffing at TRECC.
CTO West was provided the opportunity to participate in the OK911 Training Committee where her involvement has been an asset providing guidance on statewide training. West also successfully implemented and trained the organization on software for tracking of training and onboarding. West’s drive for the training and development of Public Safety Telecommunicators is impeccable. CTO Chloe West as of 2021 was the youngest CMCP in the world according to Ty Wooten. CTO West is an APCO PST and LEC Instructor.
Thank you Ken Stewart for being a great peer and recognizing one of your own!
CONGRATULATIONS to Gary Hill with Warren County Communication Center!!!
Gary is a passionate person for this job! He goes above and beyond taking the time to train the dispatchers. He changes anything negative in the center into a positive impact! He spends a ton of time training others. He works the desk even though he is an administrator. Gary began working in this center as a dispatcher and even now as a Captain, 25 years later, still loves the job!
Thank you Tammy Hill for being a great peer and recognizing one of your own!
CONGRATULATIONS to Sylvia Allen with the Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office!!!
“I have watched Sylvia struggle since she walked in the dispatch door a few years ago. If there was an award for most improved, it would be hers.
She is the perfect example of hard work paying off. I don’t mean training and learning. I mean she has dedicated herself to working on her personal life harder than anyone I know. She has learned how to juggle life as a single Mom and constantly strives to strengthen her relationship with God every single day. She has found satisfaction and fulfillment in life.
Because of this, her confidence now shows at work. She is working with a greater ease every single day and has learned to become a fantastic hype girl for her entire Dispatch team.
Sylvia is the perfect example of making all the puzzle pieces of life fit together.
Sylvia is humble and hungry for life. As one of the youngest hired in the office, she’s teaching all of us about hard work and dedication. She’s a crucial part of our team.”
Thank you Allison Green for being a great peer and recognizing one of your own!
CONGRATULATIONS to Sara Hall with the St. Joseph County 911!!!
“Sara is absolutely Amazing! She comes to work every day and fills many roles while she’s here. She’s a dispatcher, a scheduler, a call taker, an assistant supervisor, quality control, a trainer, and an amazing coworker and friend.
We work quite a bit of mandatory overtime at our center, and on top of that mandatory OT Sara frequently volunteers to work - including many of her days off.
Sara is a go-getter. She’s always happy to help anyone with practically anything, she rarely complains, and she’s just an all around great dispatcher.
We work a thankless job, rarely acknowledged by the public. In addition to this, we sometimes forget to thank our especially helpful coworkers who are always there to lend a hand. Sara is one of those we forget to thank, and that’s why I feel she deserves this recognition.”
Thank you Kory Ingole for being a great peer and recognizing one of your own!
From Mike Wheatley
While enroute to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati, OH my 14 year old daughter had an allergic reaction to a walnut. Being from Souther Indiana more than an hour away from home on Interstate 71 in Northern KY my wife called 911 for help as she got on Interstate 275 to get around downtown Cincinnati. She wanted to be on the phone with someone in case our daughter got worse.
Enter Melissa Martin from Campbell County (KY) Consolidated Dispatch Center. Melissa stayed on the phone for quite a while with my wife until she arrived at Cincinnati Children’s. Melissa helped my wife stay calm during, what must have been a much longer drive that day.
My daughter was treated in the ER with no further complications and was able to see the doctor she had an appointment with.
After speaking to the director, Marci McNay, I found out that this is but one example of her work.
It was a sweet experience nominating AND today hand delivering this with my wife and daughter (daughter didn’t want to be in the pic) this Sunshine Award to Melissa Martin.
Congratulations and thank you from the Wheatley’s and Gold Line Support!!
CONGRATULATIONS to Laura Cain with the Kenton County Emergency Communications Center!!!
Laura exemplifies being a Sunshine to the Center. She’s always present with a smile and has a happy greeting to her co-workers whenever in passing or shift change. Laura is a CTO and has lately been working on simplifying training materials for different learning styles. She’s always there for her team in picking up coverage if days are needing switched, assists in welcoming and developing new hires and does an over the top job of making sure our center is well kept clean making sure our center shines!
I can come to Laura with any task and she will always accept without hesitation. I appreciate all she does for our center and for our citizens.
Thank you Ian Byren for being a great peer and recognizing one of your own!
CONGRATULATIONS to Chris Fain with the Kern ECC!!!
“Chris is a team player extraordinaire! If there's an assigned OT spot that is hard on a coworker, he will quietly offer to take it for them if possible. He's the first to volunteer for public education events, to take trainees, to teach in training academies, and to generally fill in wherever and whenever needed. His positivity is a breath of fresh air in our center. I wish we had 10 of him!”
Thank you Tracey Halvorson for being a great peer and recognizing one of your own!
CONGRATULATIONS to Sharon Owens with the Seminole County Fire Department!!! She was nominated by two of her coworkers! What an awesome support system?!
It is my pleasure to nominate Sharon for the Sunshine Dispatcher Award and to express my deepest appreciation to her for going above and beyond her daily job duties and functions. She consistently assists in completing tasks and gets involved in projects while still maintaining the Training Academy for our newly hired operators and continued training for our team. One considerable assignment of many that she assisted with in the past year was ensuring all equipment functionality was ready to go at our Back Up 911-Dispatch site in order to temporarily relocate our team. This assignment was required to begin a critical furniture project at our primary site, which she also played a role in. She not only assisted with the transition, but she consistently monitored and remained available for our staff 24 hours a day for staffing needs and/or equipment issues in a provisional. She should also be specially recognized for doing an astounding job during a catastrophic event that occurred during this time for leading the team while ensuring 911/CAD equipment was working and ready for operations during the urgent transition of centers. She does not miss a beat when it comes to volunteering and demonstrating energy, passion and commitment to new projects presented to her. Sharon also works collectively with the Communications Center Manager on any complicated budget matters, projects, and recruitment. She remains positive while going the extra mile and consistently comes in with a smile on her face ready to take on the day. Because of these things and so much more I feel this person is most deserving of the Sunshine Dispatcher Award.
Thank you Beth Dann and Keri Miller for being great peers and recognizing one of your own!
CONGRATULATIONS to Yasmina O'Neill with the Osceola County Sheriff's Office!!!
Throughout our careers in public safety some of us are lucky enough to find a peer, supervisor and/or subordinate that makes your day a bit better. Supervisor Yasmina O'Neill does just that. As her supervisor I have the pleasure of witnessing her mentor, inspire and congratulate others on their journeys. She leads a team that others want to be a part of. Her operational abilities are great, but her emotional intellect is even greater making her one of our brightest stars!
As a wife and mother of three, Supervisor O'Neill works hard and plays even harder! She is constantly volunteering to work on agency related committees and recently became a Critical Incident Stress Management team member. She has been called out on several officer involved incidents and has used her connections to bring the Communications Center staff into these briefings when they would have otherwise not been included. Supervisor O'Neill is the perfect representation of a Sunshine Dispatcher.
Thank you Modesty Adams for being a great peer and recognizing one of your own!
​CONGRATULATIONS to Almonde Rivera with the Gold Cross EMS!!!
Almonde is always so pleasant and polite to every caller that calls into our agency, for both emergencies and general transports. She’s very organized, dependable, and just a breath of fresh air. We don’t have a lot of recognition at our agency, and as the Director, I would love to see SGT Rivera recognized for her hard work and positive attitude.
Thank you Stephanie Duponts for being a great leader and peer and recognizing one of your own!
Jennifer took a call from a mother who found her 2 week old baby not breathing. Jennifer remained calm while providing the mother with CPR instructions. Before units arrived she heard the baby start to cry! Units on scene said it was a near SIDS episode that was prevented by early CPR.
Jennifer took this call after a busy week in the center, including spending the night for hurricane coverage 2 days prior.
Thank you Holly Hrindich for being a great peer and recognizing one of your own! And congratulations Jennifer for saving that baby's life!
CONGRATULATIONS to Naomi Cook with the Sandwich Emergency Communications Center (MA)!!!
Naomi strives to bring out the best in every co-worker. She has genuine concern for the health and welfare of her co-workers and promotes healthy eating. She does whatever she can to make the work environment as pleasant as possible; even if it means her taking double shifts so that a co-worker isn’t subjected to forced overtime. She is an active member of the County peer support team and responds whenever needed regardless of day or time.
She is a true asset to the department and the COMM center.
Thank you Jennifer Scott for being a great leader and peer and recognizing one of your own!
CONGRATULATIONS to Brandon Lowe of South Sound 911!!!Brandon has been with our agency for almost 4 years. About a year ago, Brandon started to slip into a place of negativity. The decline of his attitude was brought to his attention by his leadership staff. Almost immediately, Brandon set into motion a mindset shift that none of us could have expected.Brandon began his mission to build comradery by making a point to greet each and every one of his peers in the morning with a handshake and a, "I'm glad you're here." This small act of kindness and appreciation sure went a long way. Soon after, others started doing the same thing. Soon after, the leadership staff started to notice the vast improvement in Brandon's attitude.
As a result, he was invited to attend the 2022 National APCO conference on behalf of the recruiting department in Anaheim, California.While there, Brandon attended many courses on attitude and teamwork. The one that resonated most with him was called, "Change the Culture, Change the Game." His after-conference assignment was written about this course and distributed to the entire agency. He spoke on many takeaways from the training that he found to be valuable. But what makes Brandon different is what he did (and continues to do) since he returned.
Upon his return, Brandon came up with the idea to do "Team Building Sunday" every week. This was no small feat as our agency is large, to the tune of 1.5 million calls for service a year. Every week, Brandon coordinates with his teammates on ideas for a group meal. Every department on the floor usually pitches in and collectively contributes and shares the meal on Sundays. To go a step further, Brandon always acknowledges those who participate with a written peer commendation in the Guardian Tracking files. His dedication to bringing the group together and lifting each other up is commendable.
In a world where it is so easy to lose yourself to negativity, Brandon rose above the pull. He committed to make positive change, not only in himself, but also to those around him. For these, and many other reasons, I think Brandon Lowe is worthy of the Sunshine Dispatcher award.
Thank you Brandy Clift for being a great leader and peer and recognizing one of your own! These positive accomplishments sound amazing!
CONGRATULATIONS to Liliann Aguirre with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office!!!
“Lily is a happy person, which spreads across the center when she is working. She genuinely cares about people and is willing to step in and assist anyone as necessary both at work or in their personal lives. Lily’s compassion to those who call into the center allows them to feel understood and heard. She strives to learn new things daily and is an asset to our team.”
Thank you Susan Loftus for being a great leader and peer and recognizing one of your own!
CONGRATULATIONS to Nicole Browning with the Breadly Beach Police (NJ)!!!!!!
Message From Gold Line Support President:
Nicole Browning was my first introduction to the often-overlooked yet essential role of a 911 Dispatcher. She welcomed me into Bradley Beach, NJ - an otherwise tranquil town that can become bustling in the summertime. As I learned the nuances of this important job, she embodied dependability and organization with her kind-hearted guidance every step of the way! Her mentorship has been invaluable as I embark on another phase in public safety communications; it is only fitting to recognize a such incredible teacher for all they have contributed!