Dane County 911 Dispatcher Named Wisconsin Telecommunicator of the Year

April 14, 2010
Joshua Wescott, 267-8823 or 669-5606
County Executive

Second Year in a Row a Dane County Dispatcher has Received Award from International 911 Organizations

For the second year in a row a Dane County Public Safety Communications Center employee has been recognized as the Wisconsin Telecommunicator of the Year by international 911 industry associations APCO (Association of Public Safety Communications Officials) and NENA (National Emergency Number Association).

Tom “Pud” Prochaska received 2010 Wisconsin Telecommunicator of the Year award today during a luncheon held in Stevens Point in recognition of National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.

Prochaska started his career with the Dane County 911 Center in 1990, and currently serves as a Communications Training Officer and Acting Supervisor. Prior to that he had served as a Communications Specialist for UW Hospital and Clinics’ Med Flight Program. He has also served as a volunteer with Mount Horeb Fire and EMS.

“Tom’s decades of dedicated public service have helped make Dane County citizens safer,” County Executive Kathleen Falk said. “His professionalism and commitment to public safety exemplify the work our team of 911 dispatchers provide 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.”

Prochaska’s nomination was based on his day to day team work and leadership. His supervisor wrote in a recent evaluation; Tom continues to go “above and beyond what is expected for this department…his continued desire to be involved in all areas of this department is greatly appreciated.”

In a letter of recommendation for the award, Sgt. Patrick Grady of the Madison Police Department wrote in part, “Dispatcher Prochaska is my friend, my colleague and my lifeline. Thomas Prochaska exemplifies the knowledge, skills, and disposition required of a dispatch professional and does so day after day, incident after incident, year after year.”

Prochaska constantly displays a positive attitude and makes work fun! He is a leader in the communications center and is often called on by his co-workers to answer questions and come up with solutions to unusual situations. Tom’s knowledge of department policies, procedures and systems as well as those of many of our user agencies are exceptional and makes Tom the ‘go to guy’ for most tough questions.

Dane County 911 dispatcher Luis Bixler won Wisconsin Telecommunicator of the Year in 2009.

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