 Good afternoon. My name is Wendy Royal. I'm the new interim director of Columbia Richland 9-1-1. We're here today to kick off National Telecommunicator Week, which will begin Sunday, April 9th through the 15th. Being a 9-1-1 telecommunicator is a very unique experience. We are the first, first responders. We're just behind the scenes. Not only are we assessed to the citizens of Columbia, but to our other user agencies such as police, fire and EMS. With National Telecommunicator Week approaching, I want them to know how important and special each and every one of them are. And without their hard work and dedication, we cannot be great. If you are one of our user agencies, and you are working any time next week, please stop by to show your appreciation for one of our call takers or telecommunicators. All we need is a simple thank you, and that would be great. Hi, my name is Audrey Peschol. I work here at Columbia Richland 9-1-1 Communication Center in Columbia, South Carolina. I've been a telecommunicator here for about nine years. Our role is to primarily coordinate between callers and first responders. I dispatch for four different agencies that is Richland County EMS, Columbia Fire Department, as well as Columbia Police Department and Richland County Sheriff's Department. As a telecommunicator, we answer non-emergency and 9-1-1 lines. We coordinate between first responders and callers to make sure that we respond them to your home safely at all times. Hi, my name is Tia Fry, and I'm a shift manager here at Columbia Richland 9-1-1. I've been with our agency for 16 years. 9-1-1 is one of the first points of contact when you're having an emergency. I want to share with you some of the dos and don'ts of calling 9-1-1. When calling 9-1-1, please be patient with the call taker. Allow them to ask necessary questions. If you accidentally call 9-1-1, do not hang up. Remain on the line and let the call taker know that it was a mistake. This allows the call taker to quickly move on to the next emergency call without taking the additional step of calling you back. Attempt to know where you are. If you do not know where you are, rest assured we have tools and means to attempt to locate you. And most importantly, stay on the line. Do not hang up the line until you are instructed to do so by the call taker. Do remain patient while the 9-1-1 dispatcher asks you questions. When answering the questions, give clear details as to what is going on so the dispatcher can effectively get you the help you need. Following these dos and don'ts of 9-1-1, you'll be allowing dispatchers and call takers to focus on what is important and get their job done.