NENA2023 Conference Reflections

Rosalind Phillips

Conference Reflections

Grapevine, Texas

y first time attending, and it was experience. The event was well nd volunteers were professional t that a lot of hard work and to make it a success.

d I took advantage of attending learning information; I had the minded people and engage with ompassion for public safety and problems our agency is tackling anager, McCord, and Supervisor, his year's conference and did an and knowledge. I was happy to om Memphis

ItrulyenjoyedseeingmyCPEclassmates Wemet forlunchtoenjoyeachotherandalsodiscussa majorissueatouragencies(STAFFING) Imet severalpeoplewhowereveryniceandhadgreat ideasthatIplanonsharingwithourbureau I attendedasessiononWellnessthatmademe thinkmoreaboutmestayinghealthyandtaking careofmyself.ThisjobwillbehereevenwhenI’m not.Thiswellnessclassalsostatedthatourvital functionsareinterconnected.Whenourbodyis workingoptimallythesefunctionsalsolivein harmony:

H-Hormones

I-ImmuneSystem

D-Digestion

D-DetoxPathways

E-EnergyProduction

N-NeurologicalandBrainFunction

IalsoattendedManagerMcCord'sandSUPVErica May’spresentationsthatwereveryinformative Bothpresentershadtheiraudienceengagedand excitedontheirtopics GREATJOBECBSTAFF!!!

Finally,Ienjoyedwakingupat05:30every morningtoworkoutwithDewanda,PatandJulia.

~Margaret

CHICKEN OR STEAK?

Who's that?

I totally enjoyed the NENA conference. It was very interesting and informative to hear from others in the industry. I visited numerous classes and, of course, the expo center. I was able to see firsthand our new CAD system that's coming in the near future. My takeaways were basically that there's a nationwide shortage in the industry. I went on a tour of one of the PSAP and there was a board that showed how much overtime each dispatcher worked during the pay period. One lady had over 100 hours of overtime. WOW!!.. I also visited one session in which the instructor advised that, although their dispatchers make over $90,000, they still have to live in government subsidized housing. I also learned that some com centers allow their dispatchers to work from home. One of the speakers left a phrase with us saying be better and not bitter. Yes, we have some issues at our center, but I heard stories from other dispatchers that made us look like the top echelon in the business. Although we were there to learn, we also had fun. I had a chance to hang out with my manager Stiger, supervisor Garrett, and Dewanda who took me to a nice steak restaurant for my birthday. During the expo visits, each visitor was given scratch off tickets that allowed you to win a prize. Margaret and I won!! The prize included a NENA bag filled with a several items such as pins, mugs, books, license plate covers...etc. Overall, the conference was interesting, informative and inspiring.

-Pat Wright

Theoverallorganizationoftheconferencewasoutstanding.

Theconferenceorganizer,NENA,hadanappwitheventsandsessions,allowingyou tomakethemostoftheconference.

Thehotelwestayedat,GaylordTexan,wasbeautiful.

ItrulyenjoyedtheNENAawardrecipientscelebration,alongwiththespeakerwho oozedthe"CHANGEENTHUSIAM"thatshespokeabout.Theentireconferencewas aboutthechangesthataregoingonnowandsomethataresoontohitourPSAP.

WehadanimpressivetimewithNGA(NextGenerationAdvance).Welistenedtothe speakerthroughasmallspeakerwithheadsetsthatdrownedoutthebackgroundnoise. WewereabletoheareverythingthatwassaidaboutAIsoonmovingintothePSAPS countrywideifthey'rereadyforthesetupanditiscompatibletooursystemthatis alreadyinplace.Thisisincludingadvancedtranscriptionthatwealreadyhaveinplace!!!

IevenvisitedavendorcalledROADSIDESOSWRECKERSthatintroducedustoasystem wherethewholewreckersystemthatweusewouldberemodeledbyautomaticcalling ofwreckersfromourrotationlist,directlydealingwiththewreckercompaniesweuse. Whenwreckersaredisregarded,they'llhavetocheckinw/thesystem,bypassingus havingtodotediousjobofcalling,disregardingandstartingover........Nowthatexcites meandIknowitwouldbewelcomeforECB!!!HINT/HINT

ThehighlightofourtriptoNENAformewaswitnessingourhometownofMemphisbe representedwell.OurCharlieshiftECBManagerJesseMcCordandourCharlieShift SupervisorEricaMaytaughtsegmentsintheconference.McCordspokeonDiversityin theWorkplaceandMaytookour3P:Present,ProfessionalandProductiveallthewayto theGrapevine.#PROUDMEMPHIAN

JuliaRobinson,CTS

"McCordspokeonDiversityintheWorkplaceandMaytookour3P: Present,ProfessionalandProductiveallthewaytotheGrapevine."

#PROUDMEMPHIAN