Volume 5, Number 4 |April 2022
Celebrate National Telecommunicators Week, April 10-16
Council to recognize staff
at April 11 meeting
All DEC employees are encouraged to attend the Richmond City Council meeting on April 11 to be recognized during NTW Week. Please wear your uniform polo shirt and BDU pants and arrive by 5:45 p.m. at City Hall's Council Chambers.

Thanks to everyone who has participated in NTW fund-raisers throughout the past year to help make this year's NTW food, games and prizes possible!

Please see the schedule, and be prepared to participate!

Enter APCO contest for NTW

Submit your ideas about the superpowers telecommunicators need or already have for the chance to win $100. And be creative! APCO will award bonus points for video and photo entries. Enter by April 18.
 
ECO gets to meet caller she helped through long ordeal
Ashley Marlow got the opportunity on March 10 that many other ECOs wish for but don't often get. She met the 911 caller she helped through a 37-minute long call, while an unknown, armed man remained on her front porch. The caller showed Marlow locations in her home that were significant, as they discussed the event, cried and hugged several times. The caller thanked Marlow multiple times for helping her to stay calm. Marlow, who was working the final hour of her 16-hour shift when she took the call, thanked the caller for providing all of the needed information and being patient. Both said the meeting was very helpful to processing what happened. Program and Operations Manager Felicia Roane arranged the meeting through the CISM team and Richmond Police Department.
39th BDA trying out new training schedule

Students in the 39th Basic Dispatch Academy are working 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. in a new rotation meant to help provide more practice and get them acclimated to their new positions while still in training. The students have four weeks of academics and testing, four weeks with a trainer, three months on the operations floor and then return to the academy for four weeks of radio training. Graduation is scheduled for Aug. 12. Five of the students will be joining the C Platoon, and five will be joining the D Platoon, according to Program and Operations Supervisor Cherise Cobb.
There will be some overlap with the 40th BDA, which starts in June. If everything works out, this schedule will become the new norm for the academy, Cobb said.
Budget proposal includes additional pay, funds for DEC
Mayor Levar Stoney's Proposed Annual Budget for Fiscal Year 2023 includes a 5 percent pay increase, additional funding for DEC employee appreciation and training, as well as help for HVAC, mechanical and electricity improvements at the emergency communications center. Richmond City Council is holding work sessions and making amendments to the budget, which must be adopted by May 31. Stay tuned to learn what makes it through the adopted budget.
City of Richmond introducing new branding changes
The City of Richmond is launching a new brand that uses the blue and red "bateau man" seal for all official city uses. A new logo, called the "R-mark," will be introduced soon for use on all external outreach materials. The city will introduce these changes to all staff in the coming month and has provided guidelines that departments are to follow. For DEC, this means that we will continue to use the DEC patch ONLY on uniform items. All forms should use the approved seal with our department's name as pictured here. More information, templates, usage examples and events will be coming soon.
Please follow these Bateau man seal branding guidelines when using the seal for our department.
The seal and the guidelines are located in the City Branding folder on the DEC PR server here: \\dec-file-02\DEC PR\City Branding 2022
Congratulations to new COR-Connect committee member
The City of Richmond has developed a new Employee Relations Committee, COR-Connect. The committee is meant to connect employees with each other and leadership, so that they are heard, seen and valued.
Representing DEC on the new committee is Emily James, who was nominated and chosen by her fellow employees.
Games & Puzzles

Each monthly newsletter will feature a different game or puzzle. Email your completed puzzle by April 17 to be entered into the random drawing for a prize. Make sure your email has the subject line "April puzzle answer."
Good luck!
Richmond DEC | 804-646-5911 | www.richmondgov.com/EmergencyCommunications