This past week CenCom’s Executive Director Nichol Whitfield was recognized as the Director of the year at the IPSTA (Illinois Public Safety Telecommunications Annual) conference down in Springfield.
She was accompanied by 4 CenCom Greats!!
Tia and Nick represented us as Employee of the Quarter recipients
Matt Taught “Motivation Through Proactive Leadership”
Diana and Nick let loose at the Halloween themed banquet dinner!!
20 Years! WOW!!!!
On October 6th Carmen celebrated 20 years of dedicated service to CenCom, our member agencies and the citizens we serve.
Thank you for being an essential part of the CenCom team!!
10 Years! Where has the time gone?
On August 15th Tia celebrated 10 years of dedicated service to CenCom, our member agencies and the citizens we serve.
Thank you for being an essential part of the CenCom team!!
CenCom representatives Director Whitfield and Supervisor Vergin were just down in Sunny Anaheim, California accepting the award for our training program Recertification.
CenCom is committed to training and meeting the national standards, we are one of five agencies in the state of Illinois!!
CenCom just became members of the Missing Kids Readiness Program developed by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Employee of the Quarter
2022 2nd quarter April – June
Nick has been in public safety dispatch for 9 years, 8 have been at CenCom.
He knew since grade school he wanted to be a police officer. When in college after an internship he realized it wasn’t for him. He still wanted to stay in Public Safety, so he looked into dispatching and has been doing it ever since!!
Outside of work Nick likes to watch movies and binge T.V. to take him out of the real world for a little bit. He’s also crafty and can build things.
What do you like about being a dispatcher? “I like the feeling that I am helping someone on their worst day. I hope, by talking to me I can make it a little bit easier for them during that time.”
Congrats Nick!
Round Lake Area Exchange Club Above and Beyond Award Recipient, our one and only Nick Flood!!!
To Whom it may concern,
I am writing this letter to nominate TC Nick Flood for the Round Lake Area Exchange “Above and Beyond” Award. TC Flood has been a dispatcher at CenCom E9-1-1 since June 2014. In that time, he has grown to be an amazing dispatcher and public servant. Being a 911 dispatcher is the ultimate role in community service.
On people’s worst days, we are there to answer the call. We are rarely seen but always heard. Being a 911 dispatcher is not an easy job, and it takes a special person to do it. We hear the screams, we send the help, and often never know the outcome of the call. We work long hours, sometimes on little sleep. This can put a toll on your mental health.
TC Flood has gone Above and beyond to promote mental health wellness within in the communication center. During Telecommunicator week TC Flood planned theme days and helped arrange mental health services such as “Malachi the Comfort Dog” as well as “10-41 Incorporated” to visit the center for the dispatcher’s benefit. TC Week was fun and allowed our center to let loose, relax and get back to having some fun with dress up days.
TC Flood arranged positive affirmations to send out each day during the week. These messages included inspirational quotes and poems, as well as mental health resources that can be used by the dispatchers in the center.
Mental health is often overlooked within our profession. It gave a positive spin to have someone reach out and work on extending that help to some of the dispatchers that may not have known they needed it. These resources will be a help to our center moving forward in handling the stress that comes along with being the voice on the other end of the phone.
When you fly on an airplane, they tell you if the oxygen masks are needed, make sure to put yours on before trying to help the person next to you. That does not only apply to the oxygen masks on the airplanes. This should also be used in real life. To be the best dispatchers, we can be, to provide the highest level of service to the communities we serve, we need to put our mental health (put on our oxygen mask) as a priority.
At the end of the day, we need the ones that answer that 911 phone line to be 100%, physically and mentally. These resources will help ensure that CenCom dispatchers are taking care of their mental health.
TC Flood has gone above and beyond his duties, to ensure his co-works (his family) are taken care of. This in turn ensures the community is taken care of. TC Nick Flood is more than deserving of this award.
Employee of the Quarter
2022 1st quarter January – March
Martha has been in public safety dispatch for 21 years, 7 1/2 at CenCom.
She started because her dad thought she would be good at it, 21 years later she still loves her job!!
Outside of work Martha is a huge Blake Shelton fan, loves playing slots and spending time with her family.
What’s your favorite part of the job? “My favorite part is making a difference in our caller’s life. Just talking to our citizens through the tough times they are going through.”
Congrats Martha!!
NPSTW
April 10-16, 2022
Telecommunicators in the public safety community are honored every year during the second week of April. We are the unseen heroes who are always heard but rarely seen.
Employee of the Quarter
2021 4th quarter October – December
Tia Chinn
