By David Slone
Times-Union
WARSAW — Initiative is defined as the ability to assess and initiate things independently.
At Thursday’s Kosciusko County Council meeting, Sheriff Jim Smith and Chief Deputy Chris McKeand recognized 911 Communications Director Amanda See for having the initiative to get her Emergency Number Professional (ENP) certification through National Emergency Number Association (NENA).
“This week, one of our leaders in the department – Amanda See, who oversees our dispatch center – did something that only 2,000 people in the United States and Canada since the early ’90s have completed. And the funny part is, we didn’t even know she was even doing this, but she took it upon herself and took the ENP course, and it took her some time, and she told us it was probably the absolute hardest thing she’s ever done in terms of the test, but she was committed to do it,” Smith said.
He happened to stop in her office one day and See got emotional but Smith didn’t know what was going on at that point.
“She was just happy that was behind her and she did this,” he said. “She’s very humble about it. Would never come up here and probably tell you about it.”
He said he was telling the council about it for her because it only makes the department look better and he is super proud of See, who was not at the meeting.
“Very proud of the hard work of all of our leaders, but that’s something that stands out,” Smith said.
Asked for more information about the ENP program by Council Vice President Kathy Groninger, McKeand said, “The way it’s been explained to us is that it not just encompasses being a dispatcher, it encompasses the dispatch side of it; the 911 side of it, which is understanding the technical side of the telephone – trunking system, how the 911 calls in, things like that. How it’s routed. The fact that we’re an overflow site for our region. She has to understand all those technical aspects of how that works, not to mention 911 now has the texting and also has a Skype function that it’s moving toward, and you have to show proficiency there. Professionals can handle all those different areas and problem solve to make sure it works.”
McKeand said Kosciusko County and its management team now have someone with that certification, which “makes us proud.”
Smith said, “We’re very fortunate to have the leadership that we have. It makes my job easier than it could be.”
“Great people,” agreed McKeand.
You can learn more about the certification here.
