Within the Trenches

Recording live from the 2016 Indiana NENA/APCO Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana it's episode 104 of Within the Trenches, sponsored by Indiana NENA and INdigital - A leader in Next-Gen Core Services. In this episode, show regular, Rob "Big Mac" McMullen joined me to talk about anything and everything we could think of. I can't even begin to mention what all we talked about but shout outs go to L...

Welcome to Within the Trenches and this is episode 103. This episode is sponsored by INdigital - A leader in Next Gen Core Services.  Last week for episode 102 I spoke with Lloyd out of Canada and he shared his 911 story and touched on mental health and dispatch wellness as well as how he started Dispatch Monkey. If you missed that episode please make sure to go and listen and share.  The Sons/Dau...

Welcome to episode 102 of the Within the Trenches Podcast, a podcast based on the experience of being a 911 dispatcher. The show is going strong and while stories are the main focus of the podcast, 911 companies and organizations are coming on the show to talk about what they are doing. The way I look at it is that if I can supply dispatchers with some free training through the podcast, why not? O...

Welcome to episode 101 of the Within the Trenches Podcast. Last week I posted the 100th episode of the podcast and in that episode I took a trip back in time to how everything started out and what’s to come. I played clips from episodes 1, 6 and 12 and I hope you enjoyed them because they were so much fun to record. Since that episode I have received many emails for the Sons and Daughters of Dispa...

Episode 100! Man oh man I can’t believe it. It’s been one crazy ride and I wouldn’t change a thing. Welcome to Within the Trenches, a podcast based on the experience of being a 911 dispatcher. I have interviewed dispatchers from all over the United States including Ireland, Canada and Australia. I have also interviewed 911 leaders, directors and 911 pro companies and organizations such as the 911...

Welcome to episode 99 of Within the Trenches. I have come a long way and it is hard to believe that my next episode is going to be number 100. I am planning something great for this landmark episode so stay tuned! In this episode I did a recap of episode 98 that included some of my admins. I also gave an overview of a couple of videos we watched and I made sure to give a shout out to Heather of Ab...

Welcome to episode 98 of Within the Trenches. A lot has been going on lately and I can’t make any announcements yet but as soon as I get the green light I will do so. Now along with that there are some big things coming up and I know the National NENA conference is a few months away but I can’t help but mention that the podcast will be better than ever. I’m working on a scholarship for one lucky d...

Welcome to episode 97 of Within the Trenches. A few days ago I received numerous tweets and Facebook messages asking if there was going to be a Halloween themed show. I thought about it and thought about it and finally decided I would do one. I was trying to figure out what I was going to do and a good friend of mine told me about some creepy and scary 9-1-1 calls she heard from a YouTube channel....

I am a firm believer that every person we meet, we meet for a reason. Whether it is good or bad, a blessing or a lesson, there is a reason. A few years ago I reached out to someone who would help shape the rest of my career. Although the good deed was small it changed everything and made a big impact on my life. When I was in the last part of my dispatch career I was working on my Masters in New M...

Welcome to another episode of Within the Trenches. It has been almost a month since I posted the last episode but I’m back and ready to go with a long list of guests. Today’s episode will feature 911 news stories along with some tapes and a written guest blog. I’m joined today by show regular Rob “Big Mac” McMullen, Director of Vigo County 911 and 2nd VP of NENA. He’s joined by episode 94 guest Jo...

Hello and welcome to episode 94 of Within the Trenches. I am back from the national NENA conference that was held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver and this will be the last episode of a series of episodes that were recorded there. It was an excellent week of networking, learning, presenting and podcasting. In this episode I got the chance to speak with Jordon and Tiffany, dispatchers wi...

Hello and welcome to episode 93 of Within the Trenches. I am back from the national NENA conference that was held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. It was an excellent week of networking, learning, presenting and podcasting. In this episode I got the chance to speak with Andrew, an instructor with Public Safety Training Consultants.  This is a very short and sweet episode that I hope yo...

Hello and welcome to episode 92 of Within the Trenches. I am back from the national NENA conference that was held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. It was an excellent week of networking, learning, presenting and podcasting. In This episode I got the chance to sit down with show regular Rob “Big Mac” McMullen the newly elected 2nd VP of NENA. This was a fun episode to record and in it w...

Hello and welcome to episode 91 of Within the Trenches. I am back from the national NENA conference that was held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. It was an excellent week of networking, learning, presenting and podcasting. In This episode I got the chance to sit down with show regular Rob “Big Mac” McMullen the newly elected 2nd VP of NENA, Ty Wooten, Education Director of NENA and Br...

Hello and welcome to episode 90 of Within the Trenches. I am back from the national NENA conference that was held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. It was an excellent week of networking, learning, presenting and podcasting. In This episode I got the chance to sit down with Matt, Founder of Agency360 and sponsor of the show for the month of June. Matt shares his story from dispatch, to...

Welcome back folks! This is episode 89 of Within the Trenches. In this episode I got to speak with guest regular Rob McMullen, director of Vigo County 911 out of Indiana and current North Central Region Director of NENA. We chat and listen to 9-1-1 calls including one on the late great American Dream Dusty Rhodes. We also share some information on our upcoming class at the National NENA Conference...

Good afternoon and welcome back for episode 88 of Within the Trenches. In this episode I got the chance to speak with Theresa, a dispatcher and trainer with Greenville City PD in Greenville South Carolina. We go back and reflect on her dispatch career from the beginning up to present time as a trainer. We also dig deep into her training style and how her CTO program through Agency360 has streamlin...

Hello everyone! This is going to be an epic episode 87 of Within the Trenches. It has been a little while since the last episode but I’m back and ready to go. Agency360, a new sponsor for the month of June, sponsors this episode. I will be sitting down with them in the coming week to record an episode with them and talk about the awesome things they are doing for dispatchers with their training pr...

Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of Within the Trenches. This will be the last episode in a series recorded at the 2015 Indiana NENA/APCO conference and expo a few weeks ago. I had a great time there and I hope everyone who was on the show or attended my class enjoyed it too. I met a lot of new people, visited with good friends and just had an all around good time. There is never...

Hello folks and welcome back to another excellent episode of Within the Trenches. This is the podcast where you will learn, laugh and understand what 911 dispatch is all about. The point of the show is to give a true experience and look into the lives of those behind the mic. They are the true first responders and the most important people you will never see. In doing this podcast I have made it m...

Good morning! The wait is finally over! I must admit that it was hard for me to hold off posting this episode until today. I wanted to post it so that all of you could enjoy this but I had to separate the episodes to make it last. So without any further ado, welcome to episode 84 – Don’t be nervous. You will get the title once you hear the episode. This episode was recorded during the 2015 Indiana...

Ahoy hoy! I’m back with episode 83 of Within the Trenches. This episode is part of a series of episodes I recorded at the 2015 Indiana NENA/APCO conference and expo. I had an excellent time there and this episode added to the fun. In this episode I finally and I mean finally got the chance to sit down with Ty Wooten, NENA Education Director who I have been trying to get on the show for almost a ye...

Good afternoon and welcome back to another episode of Within the Trenches. Episode 82 is part of a series of episodes that were recorded last week during the 2015 NENA/APCO conference & expo. In this episode I got to speak with Amanda and Yvonne, dispatchers with Lafayette PD and part of this years Teamwork Award recipients. Both dispatchers shared their 911 story as well as their reaction to the...

Good afternoon and welcome back! I have been M.I.A. and I apologize for that. Life and work takes over at times and I have to step back from the podcast but I’m here and I have brand new episodes coming your way. Last week I was at the Indiana NENA / APCO Conference & Expo. I was there for the show and I had the chance to speak on stage and tell my 911 story. It was an excellent time! I got to spe...

On February 16, 1968, the first 9-1-1 call was made. This is a very important date so today I present to you episode 80 of the podcast. I'm posting it ahead of episode 79 because I can't wait to share this story with all of you. Every event comes with stories and today’s date marks an event that started a lifetime of stories from those behind the mic. I have to say that it's crazy to think that th...