Seldom do we see their faces. They don’t get the recognition of other safety forces, even though they are certified and trained to respond. They are the voices on the other end of a 9-1-1 emergency telephone call.

They are dispatchers.

This month, Melissa Kessler, a dispatcher with South Summit County Central Dispatch, was recognized for her outstanding work during an emergency.

Kessler, a certified Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD), was presented Ohio’s top award to an individual dispatcher.

Kessler was on duty when an emergency call was mis-routed from Stark County to the Green office. The caller hung-up, but there was enough previous communication to determine that a baby was being born. Kessler immediately contacted the home from which the call originated. An answering machine picked up and Kessler identified herself. She informed the family that paramedics were on the way and she instructed the family, if further help was needed, to call her.

Sixty seconds later, an excited, new grandmother called Kessler.

“Melissa dealt with the family in a reassuring way,” said Karen Gregorcic, the center’s dispatch manager.

Kessler has four children of her own. She talked to the grandmother, using emergency protocol, to help the family through the unexpected birth and post-birth.

“I’m glad everything worked out for them,” Kessler said of the family.

“It was such a heartwarming story with a happy ending, I nominated Melissa for the Gold Star Award,” said Gregorcic.

With nominations across the state, a central committee within the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officers and the International and the National Emergency Number Association selected the Ohio Telecommunicator of the Year.
Gregorcic said this is the first time a member of the South Summit Central Dispatch has received a state-wide award.

Kessler said she attended the state luncheon and was pleased to be nominated.