On April 14th a good friend and co-worker passed away unexpectedly. I’ve written two posts about our last conversation and the bond that is built around work families. It’s been hard for us at work but I can’t even begin to imagine what his family is going through. I’m sure they are doing everything they can to manage but let’s help them do more then just manage. A fundraiser has been put together for the family. It will take place tomorrow May 2nd between 5p.m. and 8p.m. at Uccello’s of Wayland 700 W Superior St. Let’s do everything we can to fill Uccello’s to its maximum capacity and support the Tatrow family. I have provided the flyer that the Sheriff’s department created and I ask that you share this post with as many people possible in support of this fundraiser. Cheers!
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Within the Trenches – A New Kickstarter Project
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
(I am currently waiting for Kickstarter to approve my project as well as verify a couple other things but for now, here’s my story that goes along with my project. Also at the end it will say that the audio clip is on the bottom but for this post it will be at the top. Thank you.)
Hello there! My name is Ricardo Martinez II and I’m a 9-1-1 supervisor. What does a 9-1-1 supervisor do? Well, I do it all. Along with my co-workers, I work the line which consists of taking 9-1-1 calls, non-emergency calls, work the radio for EMS, Police, and Fire, and I run warrant checks, license checks and more. There’s a lot more to what I do though. When you call 9-1-1 I’m the first one to answer the call of service. Before you ever see the police, ems, or fire department, my voice is first thing you hear. When you have a crisis I’m the first one to talk you through it. If a loved one needs CPR or is in labor, I’m the one who is there to talk you through the procedure until help arrives.
There is a lot that I do but I’m not just a voice. I have taken almost every type of call you can think of and I have a story. My fellow dispatchers and those who work within the field of emergency services have a story. This is the basis of my Kickstarter project. Over the past eight months I have produced news stories for my Masters program and they were posted on my blog. They included the Color Run that was held in Grand Rapids, MI, the Street Performer Series in Holland, MI, ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, MI, and finally the Emergency Services Series. This series included mini stories that revolved around a local K-9 Unit, EMS, Law Enforcement, and 9-1-1 dispatch. The point of this series was to give the public an inside look into what these people do.
This Kickstarter project will do just that. The project will consist of a podcast where I will sit down with three other people who work within the field of emergency services and have them tell you, the listeners, their story. It’s a way for us to open up about our experiences and allow you to get another angle of the story. This will be about how we feel, what brought us to this profession, and why we do what we do. This is a project that I have wanted to do for a long time. I started with a video a couple years ago. It was an assignment for a class on digital storytelling and it featured the stories of two of my co-workers. Their story was not only interesting but it gave the public a taste of what we go through as dispatchers. I want to continue this project.
In order to do this I need your help. I am trying to raise $1,500.00 in order to buy the equipment needed to make this series a reality. The money would buy four microphones, headsets, a mixer, headphone amp, call-in monitor, and a producer license with Ustream. Each episode would be recorded and streamed live over Ustream as a weekly podcast. Within Ustream, those who are listening would be able to chat with us and we would engage the audience in order to make it interactive. If the show were to grow in popularity I would spring for a couple cams so that it would be more than just audio. As of right now though, I am only looking to make this an audio podcast with a live stream over Ustream.
I want to thank you very much for reading and for your consideration in helping make this project come to life. For a sample on what the show would be about I have added an audio clip that tells a survival story of one of my fellow dispatchers. This audio clip alone is what I want this project to be about. I want to tell our story about work, our life, and what we go through.
Thank you
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Opportunity – A guest blog post by Leslie Hennessee
Guest Blog Post Author –
Leslie Hennessee
Telecommunicator/CTO NewHanover, NC
1st recipient of the Within the Trenches Continuing Education ScholarshipLet’s be honest. I’ve been pretty excited since I found out I’d won the Within the Trenches continuing education scholarship. I live in a coastal, college town so summer starts in March. With the weather getting warmer – the calls are getting crazier. This was a good opportunity to step away and reframe things. I left work Friday, June 10 and packed for a flight that left Wilmington around 0700 Saturday morning. The 2016 NENA Conference was held at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis. The conference brought public safety employees and vendors- from telecommunicators to PSAP Directors; IT guys, network architects, and others – together to discuss the state of the industry and technological advancements in the field as well as future trends. Classes were offered in professional development, training, leadership/management, etc. Sunday’s pre-conference class, Cybersecurity in the PSAP, was by far my favorite. It took on different types of cyber threats that occur in today’s society and looked at methods PSAP’s can use to combat threats and keep their networks secure. Sunday night closed out with the Kickoff Celebration. Georgia St got shut down by NENA members and Wally and the Beavs! A food truck is one of my favorite things in the world. There was a diverse selection (I passed up barbecue for a killer Chicago style dog. I heard the OR Pulled Chicken was pretty good too.) It was nice to mingle with the crowd and get to know some faces. I was able to step out of my comfort zone and find some common ground with new people and gain perspective. We talked shop, television (there aren’t enough episodes of The First 48 to satisfy me), and compared how we do things. NextGen9-1-1 was a major focus. The technology that’s involved and the fact that we are soon going to be able to see videos, to add to the texts and voice we have now – it’s pretty impressive to see where things are headed. Keynote speakers included Jake Wood of Team Rubicon, Boston bombing hero Dr. Natalie Stavas, and Chief Rick Lasky, a career firefighter and chief who emphasizes the importance of family in public safety. To say it was inspiring is an understatement. I was able to take in classes to learn tips on how to work towards being a true leader – to lead by example. Stress management and resiliency also seemed to be common themes. It was good to learn some information I could take back for myself and share with my team. I managed to fit in a little fun here and there after classes too: an afternoon run downtown by Indy’s Canal Walk; Motorola’s reception at the Mavis Arts Center; A baseball game after the Young Professional’s mixer at Victory Field; a tour of Indianapolis’ Airport Authority AOC/EOC… the list goes on. One of the cool parts of the week was getting a chance to check out the vendors and exhibitors! Some of the products I use every day, that make my work easier, were on display. I saw some programs I wish I could get my hands on. An adult moment? Completely staring at a certain dispatch console setup: slick monitors, LED lights, stand/raised console and wishing I could have it (there was even a cup holder for my Venti blonde roast) Total furniture envy took over. INdigital’s own Indy car arcade game set up was a hit with members (made me wish I didn’t suck at video games. The Division makes me want to break things in my house). Even though they weren’t in their normal roles, people still stepped up to help others. The events that happened in Orlando occurred; it was heavy. At the blood drive, there was a line of folks waiting to donate blood. A white sign with a simple hashtag greeted those folks: #OrlandoStrong. The people at this conference save lives every day, why were these days any different? Opportunity. The word has presented itself so much lately. I was fortunate to get to attend a conference where I met folks that I aspire to be like. It made me realize how important what we are all out here doing REALLY is. We can have a broad reach if we work hard to educate people on the 911 system. This was my first but definitely won’t be the last. NENA 2017 in San Antonio looks pretty attractive! Here’s to Ricardo and the people at INdigital that made this possible – you’ve paid it forward. Time to keep it going.
To learn more about Leslie please listen to her tell her story on episode 111 of the podcast below.
