After 22 years in public safety, Donald Winsock currently serves as the emergency communications supervisor for Shift 2 in the Office of Emergency Management for the Arlington County (Va.) Communications Center.

Donald Winsock’s introduction to the public safety industry began at a young age. While growing up, he spent a lot of time at Firehouse #5 in Hanover Township, Luzerne County, Pa. Exposure to that environment likely fueled his inspiration to become a firefighter. At 18, he joined the Hanover Township Fire Department, and he is still a member. He attended Pennsylvania State University for two years and later obtained a bachelor’s degree in Fire Science Technology from the University of Maryland through the distance-learning program. 

Winsock worked as a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician (EMT), and he was a particularly active from 1989-2001. He served as a dispatcher in Hanover Township from 1996-1998. In 1988, the county implemented a 9-1-1 dispatching system. “I was actually there the day they opened their doors,” Winsock says. 

With his experience and college degree in hand, Winsock continued to work in the public safety arena. He currently serves as the emergency communications supervisor for Shift 2 in the Office of Emergency Management for the Arlington County Communications Center in Arlington, Va. He began his career in Arlington as a dispatcher in 2001. In 2007, he was promoted to assistant supervisor, as such he maintained work schedules, ensured professionals on the floor had what they needed, assisted in managing large-scale incidents and provided training. 

In 2009, Winsock was promoted to his current position of emergency communications supervisor. In this role, he oversees comm center operations for the shift. He supervises 11 individuals and is responsible for making notifications to other county officials concerning significant events, working directly with police and fire departments to mitigate emergencies. He also handles all the duties of the assistant supervisor. The position has its challenges, but Winsock is well versed in handling them. 

“One of the things, for me personally, is the challenge of dealing with changing situations. The whole idea is each call has to be handled in a timely fashion. You have to do creative things to get people assistance,” he says. 

He acknowledges that he has to be very familiar with the county to provide directions and other important information. “One of the big challenges is the amount of transient people here,” he says. He explains that, even with a good address system that has well marked streets and GPS, people frequently don’t know their location. Consequently, he has to know the county to be able to locate people when they call in an emergency. 

Winsock admits that he loves to help people. “I like the thrill and the rush you get when things need to be done quickly,” he says. “I like roller coasters and fast rides, and I think I get the same thrill out of doing the job. I like the challenge that every time you get on the radio to dispatch a call or get on the phone, there is a possibility you’ve never dealt with [that situation] before. The challenge of not knowing what the problem is and figuring out how to solve it keeps me going,” 

His work involves interaction with other agencies and jurisdictions, which includes multiple police departments, such as the Fairfax County (Va.) Police Department; the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C.; U.S. Park Police; as well as others within Arlington County, such as the Office of Emergency Management (OEM). He interacts with the police and fire departments daily, usually several times per day. 

Winsock’s agency engages in substantial resource sharing with the neighboring Fairfax County Police Department and the city of Alexandria Police Department. For the past three to four years, tabletop exercises have been conducted through the OEM. Potential situations that could occur in Arlington and surrounding jurisdictions are arranged, and Winsock, along with others, sets timelines and determines how to handle the scenarios. 

Winsock is obviously good at what he does. In 2010, he was awarded the Line Supervisor of the Year Award by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International Virginia Chapter. The nomination was forwarded to the association’s national level, and he placed fifth. 

Winsock acknowledges the job’s stress. “It’s extremely stressful — especially managing other people,” he says. He maintains that one needs to have a “morbid sense of humor” to survive on the job. Humor, he believes, aids in dealing with stress and helps blow off steam after a demanding shift. In addition, he relishes going home to his family. Winsock, who is 40, has been married for three years. He has a two-year-old son, and his wife is pregnant with their second child — a boy, due April 2011. 

Off duty: Winsock lives in Bristow, Va., and has a two-hour, round-trip commute. His younger brother is a police officer in the Wright Township Police Department, and his younger sister is a pharmacist in Pennsylvania. His father was a police officer for a few years in Pennsylvania, and both his parents are living. He is an avid all-terrain vehicle rider, and enjoys golf and fishing. He says he looks forward to engaging in sports with his sons in the future. 

Winsock doesn’t hide the fact that he loves his job: “I do really enjoy my job every day. I enjoy coming to work,” he says. 

In retrospect, would he follow the same path again? “I absolutely would do it all over again,” he says. 

About the Author
Karen L. Bune is a victim specialist in the domestic violence unit of the State’s Attorney’s Office for Prince George’s County, Md. She serves as an adjunct professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., and Marymount University in Arlington, Va., where she teaches victimology. 

Bune is a consultant for the Training and Technical Assistance Center for the Office for Victims of Crime and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U. S. Department of Justice. She is a nationally recognized speaker and trainer on victim issues. She is board-certified in traumatic stress and domestic violence, and is a fellow of The Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress and the National Center for Crisis Management. 

She is a 2009 inductee in the Wakefield High School (Arlington, Va.) Hall of Fame and received the Chief’s Award from the Prince George’s County Maryland Police Chief in 2009.