April 12th Dispatcher Appreciation BBQ

In late February, I disseminated nomination forms for "Dispatcher of the Year" to everyone at our Comm Center, with copies going out to the Area Offices in all four counties for which we dispatch. The form listed all of our dispatchers' names and two thought-provoking questions to answer. (From past history, we knew we'd receive forms submitted with a name simply circled, but no narrative to support the nomination.)

They were:

• Please describe any particular incident(s) handled by your nominee during the 12 months from January to December 1999 that would warrant recognition as the Monterey Area COII of the Year. (Feel free to use the back of the sheet if you need additional space.)
• What positive qualities, skills, and/or attributes distinguishes this person from others?

Our Captain also wrote a memo to the other Areas to put an administrative stamp of approval on solicitations for donations - food, funds or other assistance - for the BBQ. By the first of April, the nominations and most of the promises for assistance were in and tallied. One interesting donation was delivered anonymously: a professional, heavy-duty vinyl banner, suitable for use year after year.