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NORCOM 9-1-1 dispatchers Rosa Antoine of Hubbard, Timothea Collingham of Dallas and Richard Wright were all awarded the Critical Incident Award Oct. 13 in Bend. Wright was also named the Telecommunicator of the Year and fellow Woodburn dispatcher Tobey Olson of Molalla (not pictured) received the Lifesaver Award.
WOODBURN — Four dispatchers from Woodburn’s North Marion County Communications (NORCOM) were recognized Oct.13 at the Oregon Chapter of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials and the National Emergency Number Association (APCO-NENA) Conference in Bend. This awards banquet, put on by APCO-NENA, is held annually to recognize 9-1-1 dispatchers (telecommunicators) across Oregon who go above and beyond their profession to make noteworthy contributions to their agency, community and profession.
Woodburn dispatchers Rosa Antoine of Hubbard, Timothea “Timi” Collingham of Dallas, Richard Wright of Canby and Tobey Olson of Molalla were all given awards at the banquet.
Antoine, Collingham and Wright all received the Critical Incident Award for their professional actions during the Dec. 12, 2008 West Coast Bank bombing incident in Woodburn. This award recognizes any individual, team or center who made an extremely noteworthy contribution to successfully handling a major incident beyond the average activity level.
“Rosa, Timi and Richard worked collectively and professionally as a team without allowing the forever-changing event in their lives and our community to affect their responsibilities,” said NORCOM Director Gina Audritsh.
Tobey Olson, of Molalla, received the Lifesaver Award for helping to save the life of another through proper instructions of providing CPR to a patient through instructions given over the telephone Dec. 21, 2008. This award recognizes an individual, team, or center that exemplifies commitment to service above and beyond the call of duty.
The Dec. 21 call that Olson took occurred during the winter ice and snow storm which required her to remain on the telephone longer than normal to provide emergency aid through CPR instructions while fire and EMS crews de-iced their vehicles and drove slower than normal to their call for aid.
Wright also received the Telecommunicator of the Year award, which recognizes a telecommunicator who made an exceptionally noteworthy contribution which impacted the statewide 9-1-1 system, is the highest achievement that a telecommunicator in the State of Oregon can receive. Wright, who was nominated by Audritsh, was selected above all other telecommunicators in the State of Oregon.
Wright has been employed as a telecommunicator and with NORCOM 9-1-1 for over eight years and currently holds his Intermediate and Advanced Certification and serves a trainer for the Woodburn agency.
“Rick (Wright) is known for his quick humor, making people feel welcome in the center and for always being professional,” Audritsh said. “Rick exemplifies leadership, integrity, trustworthiness, dependability and promotes the Telecommunicator Code of Ethics through study and example on a daily basis.”
Audritsh said Wright sets a positive, forward-thinking tone within the dispatch environment, using new and creative approaches to the ever-changing dynamics of the dispatch profession.
“Rick demonstrates respect and professionalism to callers, no matter what the nature of their call,” she continued. “He maintains a good balance between his family, personal time and his professional time. Rick is overall an excellent role model for public safety telecommunicators and an asset to the NORCOM team.”
