Sheriff’s Office Names Dispatcher Of The Year
(From the Seneca County Sheriff’s Office)
When Amy Turner graduated from the University of Toledo with a criminal justice degree, she wasn’t sure what area of law enforcement she wanted to specialize in, so she applied for a corrections officer position at the Seneca County Sheriff’s Office to get her foot in the door and see her options. By the time she left the interview with Chief Deputy Charles Boyer, she had found her life’s calling as a dispatcher.
“It was Chief who got me this job,” Turner said. “When he sat down to interview me, he said a dispatch position just opened. I interviewed for just that. He said I thought you’d be a perfect fit.”
Chief Deputy Boyer was right. In the little over a year that Turner has worked at the Seneca County Sheriff’s Office, she has developed into an extraordinary dispatcher. On March 24, Seneca County Sheriff Fredrick Stevens presented her with the 2024 Dispatcher of the Year Award.
“I was surprised to receive the award because I’m so new,” she said.
Her peers in the Sheriff’s Office were not surprised because they were the ones who voted to name her Dispatcher of the Year. They praised her skill and her personality in their nomination forms, saying things like she is “always polite,” “always has a smile on her face,” and is “eager to help in any way that she can.”
One peer recognized her commitment to her work when they wrote, “Her attitude reflects her passion for her job,” and another said she “always goes above and beyond.” One person summed up her impact on the office when they wrote, “Everyone loves working with Amy.”
And Turner loves working with them.
“Everyone is like a family here,” she said.
Turner had a strong foundation for the work even before she entered college.
“I grew up in law enforcement. My dad was a deputy in Hancock County,” she said.
Although she grew up in the world of law enforcement, Turner was still surprised by the work inside the dispatch department. Dispatchers juggle many duties at once during very stressful situations when people’s welfare – and sometimes their lives – are endangered.
“I was surprised by how much really goes on in there that people don’t see,” she said. “You are often multitasking – answering the phones, talking to the caller, listening to fire, EMS, and deputies on the radio. You are sometimes doing three or four things.”
Dispatchers are often the forgotten helpers in an emergency. They are the foundation of assistance that connects a caller to the First Responders who will help them, but once the dispatcher hangs up the phone, it is natural for the caller, in the midst of their fear, to forget that someone calmed them and guided them through the first moments of trauma.
“It’s a very rewarding job because I know I’m someone’s first point of contact. I’m helping them in one of their worst moments of life,” Turner said. “People don’t see you, but knowing you are helping them is reward enough.”
By Sheri Trusty, Public Relations/Community Engagement Coordinator