MOUNT VERNON – In recognition of April's National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week, Knox County 911 has chosen Ronda Reynolds as its Dispatcher of the Year.
The dispatch staff submits nominations for the award each year. Laura Webster, operations director for Knox County 911, said Reynolds was chosen by her peers for her helpfulness, willingness to pass on knowledge and presence as a great positive influence among the dispatch team.
"Ronda is a newly named supervisor," Webster told the Mount Vernon News. "She has been here for five years and has already moved up to that point in her career."
Reynolds said she was in absolute shock to hear her team had chosen her for the recognition.
"I couldn't believe that it was happening," she said. "I felt very honored. I just didn't even expect it."
Reynolds enjoys being a dispatcher thanks to her natural call to be of service to others, despite the challenges that often come with her line of work. She went to college for business management and has some social work in her background, but she found her passion on the dispatch side of the 911 line.
"I wanted to help people, and I knew this was a way I could help people," she said. "I was not sure if I could do the hands-on help that people needed, and this was the best path for me."
While there have been some technology changes in the field during Reynolds' five years of tenure, she feels the career is pretty stable because the mission is clear: Help the people who need it.
In fact, people need dispatchers more than ever. Reynolds and Webster noted an uptick in call volume in recent years — especially last year. Mental health crises including drug overdoses, suicide attempts and domestic violence are at record highs with isolation from the pandemic still ongoing.
Being the person on the phone who knows what a caller in distress needs in a split second is often a challenge. Being a lifelong native of the Knox County community, hearing on the line the voice of a childhood friend, a neighbor, an old coworker or just a familiar face from around town can hit hard for a local dispatcher.
"This is my community," Reynolds said. "I've grown up around here, I've worked around here, so I have taken calls from people that I know on a personal level. Those always stand out because they've got a really high stress level knowing your caller."
Reynolds is tasked with trying to remain a neutral voice on the phone even when the caller recognizes her, but she also noted that even a call from a complete stranger can linger. Dispatchers are only human — which is why Reynolds' advice to people going into her line of work is to remember that this is not the job for someone just looking to get a paycheck.
"You need to be dedicated," she said. "This stays with you, and you're going to have bad days and bad calls, but you're also going to have good days. You can do a lot of good in this job."
Webster said Reynolds has what it takes.
"She's very dedicated," Webster said. "She's positive. She finds ways for her peers to deal with the stress. She's a good servant-type leader. [...] Even though we do handle some of these bad calls, she seems to always be able to find the good somewhere."
