The Orange County Emergency Communications team experienced a first at APCO 2021 for their center! Supervisors Holly Williams and Jessica Lohr along with Communications Training Officer Xiushka Gibson and Communications Officer Peggy Helmick were chosen to present their collaborative session on “Mentoring Tomorrow’s 9-1-1 Leaders.” The team traveled from Virginia to present this session. The team advised mentoring and coaching were important parts and a passionate topic for them to present.
The session was created after working to overhaul their center and its views on training the next level of dispatchers to someday be the next supervisors of their center. It was inspired by their CTO, Xiushka Gibson, who was looking to move forward in her career and, not knowing how to do that, found a mentor in her supervisor. Working together, Xiushka has excelled over the past two years into a leader in her center.
The presentation centered around topics such as: what is a mentor or coach and how to choose the right mentor for yourself if you are working to advance your career were among their discussion points. Tips and tricks for helping our younger dispatchers succeed in this industry were provided and there was great discussion throughout the session.
When asked, Holly said, “It is an honor to be chosen to present at APCO 2021. Our whole presenting team has been working on this project for months to ensure the best information was relayed to those in attendance. We truly believe that it is our responsibility to help mold and shape the dispatchers of today to be the leaders of tomorrow. We hope those in attendance took away a few nuggets of information to put into their centers and building up our mentees.”
“Assisting in class was exhilarating! It gave me the confidence and reassurance that I can do what I put my mind to. Knowing the attendees gained so many resources and tools to become mentors that we want to see more of in the public safety communications is absolutely priceless”, according to Peggy Helmick.
Overall, there was a positive review from numerous attendees after the session was over. The class facilitators hope that nuggets of information and food for thought was provided to all that attended.
