Letter to the Editor, The Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachusetts)

April 8-14 is National Telecommunicators Week. It is the week to recognize those women and men who are our dispatchers, 911 call-takers and in many cases our lifeline to emergency services. These individuals are talented, hard-working people who dedicate themselves to public service and safety.

These are the people who take the calls ranging from life-threatening emergencies to the person with mental illness who just needs someone to talk to. They are well-trained professionals who continually strive to be the best at what they do. They are there 24 hours a day every day answering calls, providing crucial information to the public-safety responders and providing help to those on the other end of the telephone line, no matter what the problem is. We have many unsung heroes in this world we live in and this unique group of caring, compassionate individuals fall into that category.

They do their jobs every day without recognition for the vital services they provide and the role that they play in keeping us all safe. So I would just like to say thank you to all of you who do this difficult job every day and to your families that support you and allow us to have your time on holidays and weekends and in the middle of the night to help keep all of us a little safer, knowing that when we dial 911, someone will always be there to take our call and get us help.

TOM GRADY

Pittsfield

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