Weston County answers the call — Communications officers honored at state ceremony
Photo courtesy of Dave Larson Genell Rothleutner and Tonia Mills hold the Communications Team of the Year award they won with Alison Stephens (not pictured) at the Wyoming Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials annual award ceremony held in November in Casper.
Three communications officers from the Weston County dispatch center were recently honored by the Wyoming Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials at their annual awards ceremony, which was held in November in Casper.
Genell Rothleutner, Tonia Mills and Alison Stephens were awarded Communications Team of the Year, and Rothleutner was given the distinction of Communications Officer of the Year.
The three were nominated for the team award by the dispatch center director, Dave Larson. According to Mills, Larson was motivated to nominate the team, in part, because of numerous consecutive shifts covered by the team during a period when the center was understaffed.
“Taylor, our third dispatcher, moved to Lusk. So it was just Genell and I. So we worked May through September or October, with just two of us. … I did 37 days straight, 12-hour shifts with no days off … And Genell did like 32 with no days off,” Mills said.
A 2023 survey conducted by the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch and the National Association of State 911 Administrators revealed that staff shortages are a nationwide issue. “Work hours/schedule” was cited as the No. 1 reason why communications officers left the profession and was followed by “the stresses of the job and wages.”
Mills also pointed to the stress of the job as one of the greatest challenges.
“If it’s a 911 call, we’re talking to them on the worst day of their life. You call 911 because your wife’s not breathing, or your baby’s not breathing, or you’ve been in a terrible car wreck, … so we’re getting yelled at. … We’re trained very well, but we have to calm the people down so we can get the information and get the responders going,” she said.
Mills said that what motivates the communications officers at the dispatch center is a love for the community.
“We do our job for the community,” she said.
Mills, who received the Communications Officer of the Year award in 2023, nominated Rothleutner for this honor after their stretch of consecutive shifts.
“I nominated Genell because she stuck with me through the thick and thin of it, which was pretty bad towards the 37th day, you know,” she said.
Weston County Sheriff Bryan Colvard was effusive in his praise of the three.
“I’m extremely proud of them. … They’re turning into a phenomenal team. I’d put them up against anybody,” he said.
Colvard also mentioned the adoption of a new CAD system and the relatively recent establishment of the joint powers board, which splits management of the center between Newcastle, Upton and Weston County representatives, to underscore the deservedness of the award winners.