Tooele County Sheriff Office’s Lt. Regina Nelson was recognized for her work leading the county’s dispatch operations at CenturyLink’s 911 Utah Summit.
Nelson was the first recipient of the newly created Utah Public Safety Person of the Year, which focuses on the efforts of emergency call takes and dispatchers, during the telecommunication company’s November meeting. CenturyLink chose Nelson due to the extra effort she puts in on the job to assist other dispatch organizations around the state, especially with the implementation of new systems.
“Regina goes above and beyond the call of duty every day and provides tremendous service to the people of Utah,” said Jeremy Ferkin, CenturyLink vice president of Utah Operations, in a release. “Often times the critical role that emergency call takers and dispatchers play is overlooked, which is why CenturyLink established the Utah Public Safety Person of the Year award.”
For her part, Nelson said it was nice to be recognized for her work with Tooele County dispatch and assisting other agencies. She has been with the sheriff’s office since 1989 and trains dispatchers working toward their certification.
“It was an honor to receive it,” Nelson said of the award.
Tooele County Sheriff Paul Wimmer highlighted Nelson’s efforts to keep officers safe by following proper dispatch practices, in comments from a news release.
“Regina is very well respected throughout the state of Utah for her progressive thinking in dispatching and over the years has established herself as a true expert in the field,” Wimmer said.
Tooele County dispatchers were also recognized for their contributions by the Association of Public Safety Communications Officers in October for their work the night of the July 19 fire in Tooele City. Sgt. Heather Prescott and dispatchers Jennifer Clough, Veneta Arvanitas, Alexis Fawson and Lore Maloney received the Incident of the Year award at the APCO banquet.