Sabrina Novak, a 9-1-1 telecommunicator for Butts County E-911 is among a select group of national finalists in the Smart Telecommunicator Awards, a program that recognizes and rewards 9-1-1 telecommunicators for their contributions to their 9-1-1 agency and community.

Over the past several weeks, colleagues and citizens have nominated 9-1-1 call-takers and dispatchers (telecommunicators) across the United States. The annual awards program now in its’ 5^th year has received hundreds of nominations nationwide, and today finalists were announced to kick off an online public vote to determine winners.

The public can review the finalist submissions and vote online at www.smart911.com/sta from Monday, March 28 through April 1, 2016 at 5:00 pm EDT.

This year’s deserving nominees once again illustrate the lifesaving services that 9-1-1 telecommunicators provide, their dedication, and the stressful situations they encounter.

Novak, who has been employed with Butts County since 2011, currently serves as her department’s Training/CAD Manager, meaning that she trains all new telecommunicators in how to become proficient, professional telecommunications officers, as well as keeping the veteran operators trained and up-to-date on all the newest protocols and procedures. She was nominated by her Director, Sonia Sands, and recently received notification that she had made it to finalist status.

According to Sands “Sabrina holds a very important position in the field of 911. Sabrina is the Training/Cad Manager for Butts County 911. It takes a special person to be a 911 Dispatcher and it takes an even more special person to train people to become 911 Dispatchers. There is an abundance of information that has to be learned and a skillset that has to be instilled into potential employees seeking to become a 911 dispatcher. Sabrina is thorough in her responsibilities of training new hires to do what it is that she loves and has a passion for. When and if Sabrina ever has to be utilized to work shift work due to staffing shortages she never complains and is an all-around team player when it comes to the department. When working in the radio room Sabrina is efficient and proactive in the way she handles herself and that is something to be admired. Sabrina is the agency primary TAC and makes sure everyone stays current with their certifications for GCIC (Georgia Crime Information Center). Sabrina enjoys visiting the local school system to educate children on the do’s and dont’s when calling 911. She gives 110% of herself in everything she does for communications with dedication and professionalism. Sabrina is an all-around, well rounded employee and deserves to be a “Smart Telecommunicator”.”

The Smart Telecommunicator Award was created, and is sponsored, by Rave Mobile Safety’s Smart911, the acclaimed national public safety service, in order to highlight the instrumental role telecommunicators play in public safety. Smart911 will name a national winner and four regional honorees during National Telecommunicators Week (April 11-15). The national winner will receive a donation of $1000 to the charity of their choice, while regional honorees will receive a $500 donation to the charity of their choosing.

Citizens are encouraged to create their Safety Profile with Smart911 today to have their information immediately available to 9-1-1 and to receive emergency notifications. Smart911 is private and secure, is only used for emergency responses, and only made available to the 9-1-1 system in the event of an emergency call. Smart911 is currently available in 40 states and more than 1,500 municipalities across the country, and has been credited with positively impacting emergency outcomes including a missing child in which the girls photo and physical description were immediately available to 9-1-1 and responders, as well as a heart attack victim where an address and medical notes allowed responders to be dispatched to his location quickly.

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Media Contact: Michael Brewer