County 911 Dispatcher Nominated for National Award

A Sequoyah County 911 dispatcher has been nominated for a national award, which will be determined by votes cast by the public. Meghan Smith was nominated for the award by David Slaughter, Sequoyah County 911 Coordinator.

In his nomination Slaughter wrote, "In the short time Ms. Smith has worked for me, she has gone from a part-time dispatcher, and now supervisor. Ms. Smith has become an ETC instructor, EMD Certified, and CPR instructor, all while working full time here and at two additional part-time jobs. She is also OLETS certified. She has delivered more than one baby over the phone, has instructed citizens to perform CPR over the phone, has followed the EMD protocol giving emergency first aid over the phone, and has received several oral commendations from the fire chiefs in our area for her abilities. With her college degree and her work ethic Ms. Smith could work anywhere and command a high salary, but has chosen her career here. And with all her accomplishments Ms. Smith is only 24 years old. No one could perform any better. 

Smith is one of 40 finalists for the fourth annual Smart Telecommunications Award, and one of 10 in the central region. The award is sponsored by Smart911, which will announce a national winner and four regional honorees. 

Smith asked for help to win the award on her Facebook page stating, "I'm excited to announce that I was nominated for Dispatcher of the Year on the national level and I've been selected as one of the top 40 finalists. Now I need the help from my family and friends to please click on the link below and voter for me! By winning this award Smart911 will donate $1,000 to the charity of my choice. I am very honored to have been selected as a finalist. Now please help me by voting." Slaughter encouraged, "Go vote for Meghan and help us out!"

The voting closes at 5 p.m. April 3. To cast a vote, visit https://www.smart911.com/sta. On the Smart911 website, the company announced, "For the past several weeks, 9-1-1 call-takers and dispatchers (telecommunicators) in the United States have been nominated by their colleagues and citizens for the fourth annual Smart Telecommunicator Awards. Online voting is now open for the 40 finalists who have demonstrated leadership, performance, compassion for callers, ability to inspire co-workers and overall contributions to their Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). Smart911 will name the national winner and four regional honorees during National Public Safety Telecommunication Week (April 12-18). The national winner will receive $1,000 to be donated to the charity of their choosing, while the regional honorees will receive $500 to be given to charity of their choice. The Smart Telecommunicator Award was created and is sponsored by Rave Mobile Safety's Smart911, a national public safety service. It is conducted in partnership with the Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologists (iCert) and the Denise Amber Lee Foundation. Smart911 allows citizens to create a free Safety Profile online for their household that includes information they want 9-1-1 and response teams to during an emergency. When a citizen makes an emergency call, their Safety Profile is automatically displayed to the 9-1-1 call-taker, allowing them to send the right response teams to the right location with the right information.

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

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