A Message from Chief Joseph Hoebeke to the Men and Women of the Hollis Communications Center

To My Brothers and Sisters of the Hollis Communications Center:

The second full week of April is annually dedicated to the men and women who serve as public safety telecommunicators.  It was first conceived by Patricia Anderson of the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office in 1981, and that agency observed it for three years.  Members of the Virginia and North Carolina chapters of the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials became involved in the mid-1980s.

By the early 1990s, the national APCO organization convinced Congress of the need for a formal proclamation.  Representative Edward J. Markey introduced the resolution to create “National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week.”  It was introduced in 1992 and 1994, and then became permanent. 

In the intervening years, it has become known by several other names, including “National Public Safety Telecommunications Week’ and “International Public Safety Telecommunicator’s Week.”

This year, Sunday, April 12, begins National Public Safety Telecommunications Week.  You, as our Telecommunications Specialists, are our first line of response to serve the community members in Hollis, Brookline, and Mason, and you provide us (law enforcement), fire, and EMS with the critical information needed to carry out the tasks and services we provide.  This is ever more obvious and important as we find ourselves in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Given the unique challenges associated with this pandemic, you once again find yourselves on the front lines with first responders, ensuring they have all the information needed to safely respond to calls for service. 

Without your efforts, we would not be able to provide all the needed services to our communities in a safe and effective manner.  Although your work is done outside of public view, I want you all to know that you are an ESSENTIAL resource for first responders and the public alike.  Simply stated, you are the first point of contact for members of the public seeking help in an emergency and it is your actions and words that will often times bring comfort and reassurance to those in need.

On behalf of the men and women of the Hollis Police Department and all those agencies in which the Hollis Communications Center provides service to, I would like to take this opportunity to THANK YOU for your dedication and the sacrifices you make in the performance of your duties.  To Dispatch Manager John Du Varney, Dispatch Supervisor Robert Dichard, Dispatcher Matthew Judge, Dispatcher Anna Chaput, Dispatcher Rick Nicosia, Dispatcher Kassidy Walker, Dispatcher Wesley Mansfield, Dispatcher Rick Todd, Dispatcher Norma Traffie, Dispatcher Bob Gavin, Dispatcher Chip Brisk, and Dispatcher Matthew Pervere, I thank you for a job well done. 

Thank you, and STAY SAFE and HEALTHY.

Respectfully,

Joseph R. Hoebeke

Chief of Police