Springfield area dispatch centers celebrate national public safety telecommunicators appreciation week

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - This week, 911 dispatchers are being celebrated or the work they do. This week is National Public Safety Telecommunicators week, and local agencies are taking the opportunity to thank the people who serve the community every day.

Dispatchers at the Springfield-Greene County 911 center will be recognized for the work they do with a proclamation from Springfield Mayor Ken McClure and the Greene County Commission.

“911 workers are in the shadows,” says Kris Inman, Director of the Springfield-Greene County 911 Center. “You don’t see them, you don’t much hear from them. So this is a week when we kind of pull those people out of the shadows a little bit, get them into the spotlight. And it’s kind of a nice way to recognize the unbelievable work that they do every single day.”

The Springfield-Greene County 911 center received 280,000 911 calls in 2021. The center dispatches for 13 fire departments, nine law enforcement agencies, and receives the initial 911 calls for medical emergencies for CoxHealth and Mercy hospital.

Even though the call volume may not be the same, dispatchers in other counties in the Ozarks are doing great work as well. So dispatchers at Christian County Emergency Services have been given meals the last couple of days, and dispatchers are being recognized in Dade County. Police departments, including the Kimberling City Police Department, are saying “thank you” as well.

“It’s an important part of the public safety world, but it’s not a part that gets called out much,” says Inman. “You start to realize when you do this job that’s not really something that you seek or something that you expect. But when you get a pat on the back, it’s really special.”

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