Each year, the second full week of April is dedicated to those who serve as public safety telecommunicators.
The Pella Dispatch office has had three new staff members join since January of 2014. Skyler Verros has been with the department for just over a year, and says he’s learned a lot about what it means to be the first person in contact with someone in need during an emergency situation.
“The most rewarding thing is helping people,” Verros says. “You’re that first line of defense, you’re there when people are having the worst days of their lives. You’re the one that they call.”
Shelly Sample says some of the toughest aspects of the job caught her a bit by surprise.
“I was very surprised by one of my 911 calls, when I came to work the next day and found the funeral card for the gentleman I had been on the phone with,” Sample says. “It really hit me harder than I expected.
The Pella communications staff consists of manager Marcia Slycord, Kaci Visser, who’s served for 12 years, Holly Smith for a decade, Verros, Heather Malone for 11 months and Shelly Sample who joined last July.