Paige Willett
Citizen Potawatomi Nation
Working as an emergency dispatcher requires a big ability set, and multitasking sits at the prime of the record as one of the most useful and important for dealing with intense conditions day by day.
Citizen Potawatomi Nation Police Department dispatcher Joan Nevin is aware of that effectively after taking 1000’s of telephone calls all through her greater than 10-year profession. In October 2022, the Oklahoma Public Safety Conference named her the state’s 2022 Telecommunicator of the Year at its annual occasion.
The award acknowledges “a 911 call handled exceptionally by a 911 telecommunicator,” in keeping with the OKPSC web site.
“(Winning the award) is and was an honor. I just did what I had to do in an unfortunate situation,” Nevin stated.
The group held the occasion at the Marriott Tulsa Southern Hills lodge in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“We just had dinner, and they presented awards for different things. There are agencies from all over Oklahoma — people from agencies, dispatchers. So, it was really cool,” she stated.
CPNPD Major Lee Minick nominated Nevin for the award, recognizing her capability to stay calm and assume shortly on her toes whereas serving to residents on what is usually the worst day of their lives.
Nevin enjoys helping group members, and CPNPD’s jurisdiction covers all of Pottawatomie County. The division grew to become the dispatch for 26 companies all through the county in 2018, all besides the City of Shawnee. Nevin labored for CPN throughout the transition interval, which she referred to as “a big learning curve.”
“It involves a lot of multi-tasking as quickly as we can. It is a mentally taxing job,” she stated.
During her shift, she sits in entrance of seven laptop displays and 4 keyboards. The police division dispatches for hearth departments and metropolis and tribal regulation enforcement models. They take calls starting from grass fires to home disturbances.
“It is always something different. No two days are the same,” Nevin stated.
“Usually when something happens, it’s a multitude of things all happening at once. So, you just have to be able to try and keep it all straight. It gets hectic. It gets crazy.”
Nevin started dispatching for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Police Department in 2013. Previously, she labored as an emergency medical technician after attending EMT coaching in the Nineteen Eighties. She lately returned to high school to reinstate her license. Her mom was additionally an EMT, and Nevin enjoys being ready for any medical scenario.
“It’s just good to have behind you,” she stated. “You can never have too much knowledge.”
The Telecommunicator of the Year Award is the most prestigious commendation Nevin has obtained throughout her time as each an EMT and a dispatcher.
“I’ve done some (medical) pursuits where I’ve gotten some, but nothing to this magnitude,” she stated.
Nevin appreciates the recognition, and her focus stays on every caller on the different finish of the line, second to second.
She plans to proceed dispatching after finishing her EMT coaching.
Find out extra about the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Police Department at cpn.news/police.
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