Today I went to two sessions: Imagine Listening - Your Worst Day is My Everyday and The Voices Behind the Incident: A Discussion Panel With the Dispatchers Involved in the Las Vegas Shooting.
Imagine Listening was put n my Ricardo Martinez II, the man behind the IAM911 movement. He has a podcast focusing on Public Safety Telecommunicators that is a must hear for anyone wanting to know what our job is truly about. Some of the stories are heart-breaking, some funny, and some just make your cringe. Today he played some audio and then invited the audience to share stories.
Many of us left the session with wet eyes. It was very emotional.
So what did I go to next? The Las Vegas Fire Communications Center panel discussion. WOW! They started out by playing a montage of 911 calls accompanied by video footage. The room was dead quiet as a packed Ballroom of Dispatchers watched and listened. Then the Dispatchers stood up one-by-one and shared their take on the night's event and how they have coped since then. Each one received a raucous round of applause and a standing ovation at the end. To hear about what they handled in that short amount of time was crazy.
I left the conference after that to meet with my son and daughter-in-law. We spent a nice afternoon at the Lion Habitat Ranch. Then we went out to lunch. Denise wanted to check out Zak Bagan's Haunted Museum. We went ahead and took the tour. I have to admit, there were a few parts of that tour that truly creeped me out.
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are full days. The vendor area open up and I have a request to bring back swag.
For any of you at APCO reading this, I have signed copies of the Dispatching History book with me. Find me and say hello. Maybe you'll walk away with a free book!
Stay safe out there!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.