Within The Trenches

Hello everyone! Within the Trenches is back with episode 23 and this is a must listen. In this episode I went live on Spreaker and all went well until I forgot that the screen door was locked and my wife was trying to get inside but couldn’t. I had to go off the air for a short moment but everything came out great either way. This episode also included some highlights of the NENA conference last week in Lansing and the announcement of our involvement in the National NENA conference that will be held at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. We will have the privilege of podcasting along side Mark Fletcher and the Avaya Podcast Network. It’s going to be a great experience. With that said we are looking for sponsors. There is a large portion of the trip that is already paid but we need a little more for travel and hotel and in all honesty I am prepared to live out of my car for the entire week but if anyone would like to sponsor or donate to the show it would be appreciated. Right now w

Good evening everyone and welcome to episode 22 of Within the Trenches. This is the last episode of the NENA conference series that were recorded in Lansing, Michigan at the Lexington Hotel. The entire week was great and I definitely learned a lot. I also gave my own presentation on how I got into the 9-1-1 profession and how I created Within the Trenches. Despite my nerves I was able to give an excellent presentation and I am looking forward to the next time I speak at a conference. In this episode I was joined by my co-host Whitney. We had the pleasure of interviewing Sarah, Dispatch Operations Coordinator with Washtenaw County, Jennifer, a supervisor with Ottawa County Central Dispatch Authority and Bob, who is the NENA Regional Director with Intrado. In the beginning of this episode Bob told us that this is the 27th year that Michigan has had this conference. This is something I never knew and it was interesting to listen to him give the history of this conference and how important it is. We also touched

Good afternoon everyone! I am back again with another great episode from this weeks NENA conference in Lansing, Michigan. In this episode Mike of St. Joseph County Fire Dispatch in South Bend, Indiana, joined me along with Ron, Executive Director of Kent County Dispatch Authority and Nancy, Dispatch Operations Manager of St. Joseph County in Indiana. Episode 21 is jammed packed with useful information and a must listen. We touch on several dispatch stories as well as a mention of the Denise Amber Lee Foundation that Ron is a part of. One of the major points in this episode is a standardization of training for 9-1-1 professionals. For more information on the Denise Amber Lee Foundation please see the link below. As always you can email the show at thejcast@thejabberlog.com. Denise Amber Lee Foundation | Web | Facebook Episode topics – How each guest was introduced to emergency services 9-1-1 standards How 9-1-1 is seen as a profession 9-1-1 stories Odd names such as “Cop Shop”, “Actin’ a Fool” and “Done Fell

Good morning and happy Friday! This has been an amazing week for me. I had the chance to attend the 2013 NENA conference in Lansing, Michigan for 9-1-1 professionals. I attended some excellent classes and met some great people doing great things. In this episode I had the pleasure of speaking with Dee Ann, assistant director of Tuscola county 9-1-1, an ENP and one of the founding board members of the 911 Wellness Foundation. Also sitting with us for this episode was Jim Marshall with the 911 Wellness Foundation and also the director of the 911 Training Institute. This is an episode that you do not want to miss. The information in this episode is important for everyone and Jim even gets me with a Jedi Mind Trick by getting me to admit a few things. It definitely felt good to admit those items so thank you Jim and Dee Ann for helping me and those in our field. For more information on the 911 Wellness Foundation or the 911 Training Institute please follow the links below. Also if you would like to get a hold of

Good afternoon everyone! I hope you are having an excellent day. I am currently in Lansing, Michigan for the 2013 NENA conference. This episode is the first of a series that will be recorded here. I have been attending classes, meeting new people and for this episode I had the pleasure of speaking to Dee Ann, the assistant director of Tuscola County Central Dispatch. We had an excellent conversation and this is one that you can't afford to miss! As always you can email the show at thejcast@thejabberlog.com and make sure to 'Like' us on Facebook! Episode topics - How Dee Ann got into dispatch 9-1-1 calls that have stuck with her What an ENP is

Hello everyone! Whitney and I are back with an epic episode 18 of Within the Trenches. It has been about a month or so since Whit and I were together for an episode but we are back to hook you up with another excellent show. This week both Whitney and I have been battling some health issues but my minor cold and Whit's ear were unable to hold us back. On this episode we had the pleasure of interviewing none other than the very popular KMK of Diary of a Mad Dispatcher. KMK shared some awesome stories from her dispatch career including her very first 9-1-1 call and another call from a drunk who called in saying that he had fallen off a cliff but what he didn't realize was that there are no cliffs in the area he was in. Get ready to hear from the Mad Dispatcher herself and make sure to check her out on Facebook and her t-shirt store on etsy.com by searching "The Mad Dispatcher." As always you can email the show at thejcast@thejabberlog.com and 'Like' our new Facebook page! In this episode I said it was just Wit

Hello everyone, I am back this week for episode 17 of Within the Trenches. This is the last of a series of episodes that were recorded at the Mini-C conference in Boca Raton Florida. In this episode I sat down with four of Palm Beach State College 9-1-1 Dispatch Academy's finest. The conversation I had with Lisa, Myrnett, Wayne and Kimberly was excellent and refreshing. Their insight and experience going through the academy brought me back to when I first started. My beginning wasn't as elaborate but it definitely brought me back. Thank you very much for sitting with me and sharing your experience. I have dubbed you the Fearless Four. Good luck on your finals and I know you will do great things. I want to thank Tom of the Cool Kids of 9-1-1 for inviting Within the Trenches to be part of this and everyone involved in the Mini-C conference and those who were guests on the show. On behalf of Whitney and I, we appreciate it more than you know. If you would like to know more about the Palm Beach State College 9-1

Good evening folks! I am back again with a new episode of Within the Trenches. This episode is a continuation of the series of episodes that I recorded this past week at the Mini-C conference in Boca Raton Florida. In this episode I had the privilege of speaking with Cheryl who works with Palm Beach County 9-1-1 Management and is a part-time 9-1-1 dispatcher. Cheryl was great to talk to and she finished off the interview with an excellent message for the public. It's something that everyone needs to hear because when you make a 9-1-1 call there is specific information we need so her message is one that is very important. As always you can email the show at thejcast@thejabberlog.com and make sure to 'Like' us on Facebook!   Episode topics - How Cheryl got into dispatch How long she's been doing it Next Generation 9-1-1 Memorable call - Home invasion where callers mom was shot and the little girl on the phone was also shot w/Cheryl on the phone Message for the public

Good afternoon! This episode of Within the Trenches features Sabrina of West Palm Beach Dispatch Operations. We had an excellent conversation before recording and it was nice because we were able to get to know each other better. After only a few minutes of talking to her I felt as though we knew each other all our lives. This is a must listen episode that everyone can learn from. Make sure to check it out, share and as always, you can email the show at thejcast@thejabberlog.com.     Episode topics - How Sabrina got into dispatching The interview process Line of duty death Dispatch education/training

Good evening! Last week was rather busy with my root canal, 22 hour drive to Florida and graduation. I'm very happy to say that my family and I made it through everything with no problems, but last weeks episode had to be postponed. I'm still on vacation in Florida and just yesterday I had the privilege of attending the 4th Annual Mini-C conference in Boca Raton. I was initially invited by Tom of The Cool Kids of 9-1-1. He and I had been talking about promoting each others work and he mentioned this conference. It was promoted on Jabber Log and afterward he said it was too bad that Whitney and I couldn't be there during the conference. Well, it just so happened that I was going to be in Florida so I attended and recorded four great episodes.   This episode features Al, a 12 year volunteer with Boca Raton 9-1-1. He recently turned 95 years old and had much to say about 9-1-1. It was a great conversation! Episode topics - How Al became a volunteer The need for more 9-1-1 public education The need for more 9-1

Hello everyone! Whitney and I are back again this week with episode 13 of Within the Trenches. A few episodes back we spoke with Cheryl of Yakima, Washington and she was not only a dispatcher but she is part of her centers critical incident stress management (CISM) team. It was an interesting and informative show and since it went so well, we wanted to bring this week’s guest on to add to the topic of CISM. This week we spoke with Matt, operations manager of the communications center in Kent County. It's one of our larger areas in western Michigan and he reflected on one of his first emergencies while attending an explorers program as a teenager with a local fire department. He also touched on the importance of CISM and we spoke briefly on a call he helped us out with when we were dealing with a loss of our own. A big thanks goes out to Kent County for allowing us the opportunity to have Matt on the show and to Matt; thank you for everything you do! It's appreciated more than you know. As always you can emai

Good evening everyone! Whitney and I are back with episode 12 of Within the Trenches. We postponed our interview for this week because of some issues I was having with an infected tooth and some minor oral surgery but we pulled through. This weeks episode is a bit longer than the last few but it's definitely worth it. I can tell you that it's amazing and you are really going to dig it! In this episode we share four different 9-1-1 tapes involving the wonders of bees, handcuffs, shrimp fried rice and child discipline. Whitney and I add to the tapes with our expertise and humor so this is a must listen. We also answer a couple listener questions about why we continue to ask questions after we've been given the initial information and what we do if we take a call with a language barrier. We also touch on The Call, a new movie starring Halle Berry where she plays a 9-1-1 operator. A new flash contest is mentioned and we share an excellent deal from Success Communications, Inc. Their conference called 9114911 is

Good afternoon everyone! Whitney and I are back with episode 11 of Within the Trenches. This week we spoke with Cheryl, a dispatcher and Critical Incident Stress Management, (CISM) team member with SunComm in Yakima, WA. This was an interesting episode because we were battling with the Internet, our friend and foe. We dealt with some issues over Skype and the audio was cutting in and out but after some good editing, you can't even tell that anything messed up. Despite the technical difficulties this episode was excellent and Cheryl shared some great stories with us. We touch on PTSD and below you can follow some links that will take you to the articles we mentioned within the show. On behalf of Whitney and I, we thank you for being so open with us and our audience. Personal stories can be hard to share but helping others learn from it is one of our ultimate goals with this show. If you want to reach Cheryl for all things CISM, please send us an email and we will get you in contact with her. Coming up next we

Good morning everyone I hope you are having an excellent Saturday. This past Wednesday Whitney and I sat down with two different dispatchers to record episodes 10 and 11. This way we can post one this week and post the next this coming Wednesday. It gives us some time to contact more people and come up with new things to do on the show. We are currently working on topic driven episodes with Whitney and I, answering listener questions and we were recently given the green light from Dispatch Magazine On-Line to utilize their library of 9-1-1 tapes. These new in-house episodes will be live and will give a new element to the show. This episode features Brody, a 9-1-1 dispatcher out of Harvey County 911 in Newton, Kansas who adds a little flare to the profession by talking to us about some of his tactical dispatch experience. As always you can email us at thejcast@thejabberlog.com and if you want to get your hands on some official Within the Trenches merchandise, you can either hit The Jabber Log Store tab above

Good morning! I hope you are ready for a few stories from America’s hat. This week on Within the Trenches, Bobbi of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) joined us for episode 9 over Skype. Her stories and training were not only interesting but if I had started out my dispatching career in her center I might have gone insane. I mean, think about it, “911 where is your emergency?” “I have a bear in my yard!” Or “An avalanche just slammed down in the area!” Yeah…that would have been pretty crazy but I’m sure it would have been fun and an experience to take a call like that. The episode was fully balanced with humor, seriousness, and all around AWESOME! As always you can email us at thejcast@thejabberlog.com and we are currently seeking sponsors for the show. We are also seeking more people to participate and we do have an open call event on Facebook so make sure to check that out. We are looking for people that bleed dispatch and want to share their experience and story with not only us but also all of our l

Hello everyone! Whitney and I are back with episode 8 for our back to back episodes week of Within the Trenches. In this episode we chat with Dan, Director of Chilton County E9-1-1 in Alabama. Our topic of discussion takes us back to April 27 2011 when a swarm of tornadoes destroyed the surrounding area. Dan has a very extensive background in emergency services so it was very interesting to get his feedback and explanation on certain topics. We even touched on how an area in Montana and the upper peninsula of Michigan suffered a problem when their respective EAS systems were hacked to express and warn of the dangers of a zombie uprising. Can you imagine going through that? This episode was definitely informative and in good fun. For more information on Chilton County E9-1-1 follow the links below and stay tuned for next weeks episode when we chat with Bobbi, a dispatcher with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Chilton County E9-1-1 | Web | Facebook | Twitter

Good evening folks! Whitney and I are back again with 1 of 2 new episodes of Within the Trenches. This week we Skype’d with Joshua of West Bloomfield Township PD in Michigan. The topic of this episode is one of great importance. No dispatcher or anyone out in the field ever wants to hear, “Shots fired. Officer down,” but it’s something that some of us have heard throughout our years of duty. If you’ve ever dealt with this then you know that a debriefing or speaking to your peers will help move on for the most part. Joshua shares a story with us that will pull at the strings of your emotions. Thank you very much for sharing this with us and helping others get through tough times. Also within this episode a great organization is mentioned. The organization is MI-C.O.P.S., which stands for Michigan Concerns of Police Survivors. According to their official website, “Reaching out to survivors and co-workers, Michigan Concerns of Police Survivors (MI-C.O.P.S.), an all volunteer organization, is a chapter of Concer

Good evening folks! Whitney and I are back with episode 6 of Within the Trenches. This week was a little different for us in the sense that we were pretty slap happy up until the beginning of the show. Crystal and Jen, of Ottawa County Central Dispatch Authority, joined us to tell their story and experience in 9-1-1. All four of us work the night shift and for Whitney and I, we worked from 4:30 p.m. – 4:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. – 5:00 a.m. As for Crystal and Jen, they both worked from 7:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. so we had a few hours to kill after our shift. As you can tell we are all crazy for staying up but for anyone who works night shift you have to be just a little crazy to do what we do and work the hours we work. As Whitney and I waited for them to arrive we worked on our mic checks and I wish I would have kept the recording for bloopers because we were so out of it from lack of sleep that we began to sing and display our beatbox abilities. The entire episode was a great experience and getting the chance to mee

Good evening folks! It’s about 00:39hrs and I am finally getting the chance to post episode 5. This episode was not only fun but it was extra special. Announcements were made, thank you’s were given and there was a special guest. First off this is an open invitation for any emergency services dispatcher in any state or country that would like to take part in this show. On behalf of my new co-host Whitney and I, we would love for you to be a guest. This show is all about you and your story. It doubles as a form of public education but really, this is a way for you to express what 9-1-1 means to you and so that you can share your experience on this unique job. This week on Within the Trenches, a special guest dropped in. That guest was WZZM 13′s own Angela Cunningham. She dropped in to do a story on Within the Trenches and even sat in on episode 5. We touched on how the show is evolving, funny and odd moments during 9-1-1 calls and how some people need to drive a little slower when driving in snow. We also touc