Dispatcher receives regional award

By WAYNE QUESENBERRY/Staff

A Bland County Sheriff’s Office dispatcher was among those recognized recently by the Southwest Virginia Regional Emergency Medical Services Council. Michele Willard, a 13-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office, was named Outstanding Telecommunications Dispatcher for the region.
“I was just proud and excited to be nominated,” Willard said Tuesday morning. “I knew I had been nominated but I never expected to win.”
According to Gregory Woods, executive director of the Southwest Virginia EMS Council in Abingdon, the award was presented to Willard for her outstanding dedication and service to emergency medical services. It also recognized her focus on EMS dispatch capabilities, polices and procedures reducing response times.
“I’ve always had a good working relationship with the rescue squad,” noted Willard, who handles all EMS and fire calls through the county’s 911 central dispatch on her shifts. “I’ve always worked well with all the departments.”
Woods pointed out nominations are received each year from the region’s service area of 13 counties and three cities. A committee, he said, screens the applications and chooses winners from those best meeting the criteria.
The Southwest Virginia EMS Council is a regional non-profit organization incorporated in 1979 that provides technical assistance to EMS agencies, providers and other stakeholders in the region. It also provides an array of services, including EMS testing, continuing education and EMS planning.
Regional winners, Wood said, are eligible for the Governor’s EMS Awards through the Virginia EMS Symposium by the Office of Emergency Management.
“I already have my invitation,” Willard said. “The symposium will be in Norfolk in November.”
Rutger Allen of Bastian won the organization’s Outstanding Contribution to EMS by a High School Senior last year. The 19-year-old Bland High School graduate is a member of the Bland County Rescue Squad with advanced EMT training.
“I’m trying to get a job in the EMT field,” Allen said this week.
Wayne Quesenberry can be reached at 1-800-655-1406 or wquesenberry@wythenews.com.