Rutherford County - TN Rutherford County is recognizing and honoring telecommunicators in the county for National Public Safety Telecommunications Week. 

Part of this week’s celebration includes recognizing the Telecommunicator of the Year, Kayla McCoullough. She is a Communications Officer II/Communications Training Officer and has been with Rutherford County since 2019. McCoullough is part of the training team and helps instruct and guide new employees. 

Communications Supervisor Suzie Cunningham describes McCoullough as a dedicated, kind, hardworking employee with a positive attitude with a calming presence for responders, callers and coworkers.

 Cunningham has worked for the dispatch center and has been with the team for nearly 23 years.

“Being a 911 dispatcher is never boring, but it can be very challenging and rewarding,” Cunningham said. ”The golden rule is to treat every caller like a family member and take every emergency call seriously. People go through life wondering if they made a difference. 911 dispatchers never have to wonder.”

Public Safety Director Chris Clark said, “We are fortunate to have a great professional team to answer 911 calls.  It’s the first voice people hear when they call for help.  We could not do our jobs without them.” 

The dispatch team would like to thank the following donors for the well wishes, food, snacks, and desserts provided this week. 

Donors:

BJ’s Brewhouse

Through the Grapevine

Slick Pig BBQ

Rick’s BBQ

Zaxby’s

Crumbl Cookies

Nothing Bundt Cakes

Donut Country

Sam’s Club

Walmart

The week, sponsored by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International. is celebrated annually and honors the thousands of men and women who respond to emergency calls.  The telecommunicator must take the information accurately, quickly and relay it to the appropriate response personnel.

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