It was time again to recognize a telecommunicator who deserves recognition for they’re above and beyond service to the public. The Larry Lindsey Award given by the Mississippi Chapter of the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials recognizes those who strive for greater service as a telecommunicator. The award acknowledges exemplary professional conduct, ability, and overall contribution to the field of telecommunications. The award was created in honor of Larry Lindsey, a founding member of the Mississippi Chapter of the Association Of Public Safety Communications Officials International (APCO). Lindsey was also a major force behind the creation of the State of Mississippi Board Of Emergency Telecommunications Standards And Training (BETST), the regulatory agency that certifies emergency telecommunicator in the state and governs their ongoing education and growth.

This year 2006 the APCO-MS Chapter has several telecommunicator that have gone above and beyond in their field of public safety. Among these were our public safety professionals, many of whom stayed on duty saving lives, while everything they owned, was being destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Many worked long hours while knowing that they had lost all but the clothes on their backs. They made an incredible sacrifice, to come to work not knowing what the outcome of the hurricane would be.

Hurricane Katrina made landfall on August 29, 2005 with top sustained winds of about 125 mph. During the path of the storm, Hurricane Katrina managed to gain strength and climb to a Category 5 hurricane with winds topping at 175 mph. Hurricane Katrina to this day remains to be the third largest hurricane to hit the United States.

Everyone that works in the public safety field knows that when you have bad weather coming, it is going to be a very busy and hectic time with power lines down, trees blown over, car accidents, etc. You can only imagine in your worst nightmares what it would be like with 175 mph winds forcing down on you and 20-foot waves of water, massive flooding, and total destruction. Theses telecommunicator went above and beyond the line of duty by taking charge of the situation at hand and performing their duties as a public safety official to the fullest. For their exemplary performance in the field of telecommunications, the APCO-MS Chapter of Public Safety would like to award all these telecommunicator the 2006 Larry Lindsey Award for their dedication, compassion, and hard working efforts in the field of public safety. The following names of the telecommunicator that were on duty the night of the storm that hit the southern part of our state is listed below. Congratulations for a job well done.

Hancock County Sheriff’s Office

MARIE BILBO

LINDA COY

ANITA FOWLER

ANNA HUMPHREY

TRACY LADNER

ROSE LUCIANO

JANELLE PIAZZA

BEVERELY POL

HOPE ROCHE

DEANNA THOMPSON

DAWN THORTHON

Waveland Police Department

MARGIE FAUCETTA

JUDY FRANK

PAULINE RUHR

DENISE STEPHENSON

Bay St Louis Police Department

ERIC CROUCHET

CANELLIE KREMENTZ

SUE PORTER

CLEMENTINE SHEPPARD

Harrison County Sheriff’s Office

JULIE BEITH

MARY JO COOK

AMY COOKSEY

BECKY CROSSGROVE

JULIE FARMER

CINDY GILLESPIE

HELEN HUGUET

PHYLLIS KENNEYBREW

MICHAEL KNAPP

WANDA MARTIN

TAMMY MOORE

JACKI ONEAL

MICHELLE PETERSON

CAPT WALTER PITTS

MONICA TILLMAN

JONNINE TROCHESSETT

Pass Christian Police Department

GLORIA SANDERS

Long Beach Police Department

AMY JOHNSON

DEBBIE KORTE

RICHARD LENORMAND

DONNA McARTHUR

CRYSTAL PITTMAN

DERRICK ROWE

KEVIN SMYTH

Gulfport Police Department

ANGELA BARNES

JEREMY BENNETT

LYNN BOZEK

TARA BUSBY

BRENT CHAPUIS

CHRISTY FARNER

DONNA FOX

JOE GARRET

CANDICE LOPOSSER

DEBRA MALLEY

ERIC McNIGHT

CASSIE NECAISE

JASON NORTON

CINDY ROE

CHRISSY SCHULTZ

DORIS SCHULTZ

STEVE SERRATO

FELICA WATKINS

Biloxi Police Department

APRIL COPELAND

DESIREE DUFRENE

STEPHANIE FORBES

HEATHER GRAF

JASON HAMILTON

SHERI HOKAMP

BRANDY KROHN

GENA LEA

LOUISE LESTER

FREIDA MOFFETT

ANGIE MYRICK

DONNA NEWSOME

THERESA REDDY

MELISSA RICHMOND

SABRINA SPEARS

BARBARA STANLEY

RAMONA WOLFE

JoETTA ZAPATA

BRENDA ZORICH

Jackson County Sheriff’s Office

KATINA ASHLEY

WENDY BAILEY

DENICE FAIRLEY

CHARLOTTE KILLEBREW

DONALD LANGHAM

JOHNNY NEWELL

ROBBIE O’BRYANT

SHELTON O’BRYANT

MARGARET PINTER

JULIE PORTER

SONIA ROSS

CATHY SUNDAY

DONNA WITTERSHEIM

Ocean Springs Police Department

JAMES CATCHOT JR

TARA GOODWIN

JEREMY MILLER

DONNA STASKO

Gautier Police Department

KENNETH ADAMS

TRACI WEBB

Moss Point Police Department

OTILDA ALFORD

LAKELIA DAVISON

GLORIA LETT

MONIQUE LEVERETTE

SANDRA WANSLEY

Pascagoula Police Department

CORRINA CLARK

TIFFANY COLLIER

CATHY DUBOSE

CRYSTAL GASPARD

DALLAS RICH

JULIE WATKINS