To the Editor:

As the director of the Newtown Emergency Communications Center, (NECC) I would like to take this opportunity to publicly acknowledge the work of the telecommunicators at the NECC during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.

Each year during the second week of April, the telecommunications personnel in the public safety community are honored during this weeklong event. These men and women are the "unsung heroes;" they are the faceless voices who are with you when you are at your most vulnerable, the most angry or scared - when you need help the most. People do not call back to say thank you to the dispatchers who have calmed them when a loved one has been hurt or injured, helped the caller through first aid or CPR and also dispatched the ambulance to them, or when they made sure you safely exited your home when the fire started, or made sure you were okay when the accident happened while dispatching the police to your location quickly. This being done while phones are ringing, someone may be at the lobby window, and responders are broadcasting on the radio. (My staff can multitask with the best.)

The dispatchers work weekends, holidays, and some strange shifts, and no one ever says they want to grow up and do their job, but they are there doing it by choice, and they are comforted by the integrity, challenge, and purpose of their career.

The staff is always there, the calming voices in the dark. Staff is constantly training to hone their skills, and the technology that they use is complex and is always changing. These are nine exceptional individuals.

I am honored to be their director, and I hope that you are proud of the work that they do behind the scenes, helping to keep you and your loved ones safe, just as they keep our other responders - police, fire, and EMS - safe until they can get to you and back home again.

Sincerely,

Maureen A. Will, RPL

Director, NECC

3 Main Street, Newtown         April 2, 2018