Mount Pleasant police dispatcher named Regional Telecommunicator of the Year

Photo by Lou Antonelli

Eric Hall with his Regional Telecommunicator of the Year award, which was presented by ATCOG 911 Coordinator Rea Wahington.

By LOU ANTONELLI
Editor-in-Chief
Eric Hall, senior communications officer with the Mount Pleasant Police Department, was presented with the Arkansas-Texas Council of Governments (ATCOG) Regional Telecommunicator of the Year award last Thursday, Jan. 31.
Hall received his award at the January meeting of the ATCOG executive committee, held at the Titus County Extension Office.
Rea Washington, the 911 Operations Coordinator for ATCOG, said Hall was the unanimous choice in this year’s selection process.
She introduced Mount Pleasant Police Lieutenant Cory Gable, dispatch supervisor for the police department, who read from his letter nominating Hall.
“Eric has been a Telecommunicator with the Mount Pleasant Police Department for 11 ½ years,” he began. “Eric holds a Master Telecommunicators license. Eric is one of three Senior Communications Officers (shift supervisor) with this department.
“On top of his regular duties that include answering 911 calls and other telephone calls, dispatching for the Mount Pleasant Police Department, Mount Pleasant Fire Department and numerous other county wide fire departments, he also serves as n intermediate level/relief telecommunications supervisor for the agency. Eric is the agency’s Telecommunications Associate Trainer as well, and a certified peace officer.
“Eric conducts himself professionally and courteously, not only with the citizens he serves, but also with his peers, co-workers and supervisors. Eric is a person on integrity on duty as well as off duty.
“Eric is active in the Titus County community in which he lives. He serves on the Talco Volunteer Fire Department and is involved in other community functions such as coaching youth baseball, and serves as a youth leader at the church he attends.
“Eric is not one to complain. He constantly volunteers for extra assignments and is one of the first to step up and fill in when staffing is short. He is very knowledgeable in his job duties and looks for ways to broaden his knowledge and skills through training, forums and experience.
“Eric has attended the TEEX Enhanced All Hazards Incident Command Course at Texas A&M University at College Station, and is FEMA incident response trained. He is also trained to run communications in the Titus County/Mount Pleasant Emergency Management Center.
“When I was put in charge of telecommunications, although I had over 16 years of law enforcement experience, I really knew nothing about the interworking of a telecommunications center. Eric was my go-to person and continues to be today.
“When communications equipment or new technology is introduced to the Mount Pleasant Communications Center, Eric is the person who handles training other personnel on the equipment. He is routinely called on by the Chief of Police to sit in on meetings to provide his expert guidance related to the Communications Center and communications technology.
“Eric has a very calm demeanor is very good dealing with high stress situations. His demeanor is reflected through his training of others and leadership. Eric thinks ‘outside the box’ and points out issues that others, including supervisors and command staff, may not have.
“For example, in December of 2018 we had an armed robbery at a local convenience store. Our agency is in the process of converting to a digital radio system and the transition is only partial at this time. During the course of dealing with the call, Eric realized that our primary police channel had not yet been tied into our recorder. He also knew the new system would only keep the recording for a period of time.
“Eric had the wherewithal to make copies of the police radio traffic that would be needed for the criminal case. Had Eric not done this, it would have most likely been lost.
“Based on the image of Eric that I have provided, it is evident that he is an asset to our department and the community we serve,” Gable concluded.
Hall was then presented with his Regional Telecommunicator of the Year by Washington.
ATCOG includes nine counties in the Northeast Texas.

Photo by Lou Antonelli
Mount Pleasant Police Lieutenant Corey Gable reads his nomination letter for Hall; Titus County Judge Brian Lee listens at right.