The Decatur Police Department sends along this announcement from Smart 911…
DECATUR, Ga., April 15, 2015 – April is National 9-1-1 Education Month and the second full week is traditionally celebrated as National Public Safety Telecommunications Week. This year a local dispatcher from the City of Decatur is receiving national acclaim. Jeremy Pickett was voted the Southeast Regional Honoree in the 4th annual Smart Telecommuncator Awards.
The Smart Telecommunicator Awards aims to recognize and reward 9-1-1 telecommunicators for leadership, performance, compassion for callers, ability to inspire co-workers and overall contributions to their Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). Last month 9-1-1 call-takers and dispatchers (telecommunicators) across the U.S. were nominated by peers and individuals, and forty finalist entries were then selected for an online public vote. After thousands weighed-in, Pickett was named the top winner for his region.
According to the nomination submitted, Pickett is a model employee who provides relief and reassurance not only to the community, but to the police officers and fire fighters when they learn he is the 911 dispatcher handling a call. From providing emergency crews information before they even ask, to using Smart911 profiles to provide access notes, to helping to respond accordingly to an individual with autism, he is trusted and respected by his peers. The Smart Telecommunicator Awards are conducted by Smart911, the acclaimed national public safety service, in partnership with the Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologies (iCERT) and the Denise Amber Lee Foundation.
One national winner and three other regional honorees were also announced. To read about the other winners, please visit: www.smart911.com/sta In addition to the Smart Telecommunicator Award, Smart911 will present a donation of $500 to each winner’s charity of choice and $1,000 to the national winner’s charity. Pickett has selected the Wounded Warrior Project.
This is also a good time to remind residents to sign up for Smart 911 for emergency alerts if they haven’t already. The system replaced CodeRed back in February.
Photo courtesy of DPD
Well done!
Congrats Mr. Pickett– and thank you to all of our dispatchers!
w00t! We are fortunate to have an excellent crew of dispatchers in Decatur. Every time I have called the 911 thingie, a human being has answered, has been polite, and has made sure that he/she got all the necessary information.
Congratulation, Mr, Pickett, and thanks.