Illinois Valley Regional Dispatch receives 2 state awards

Illinois Valley Regional Dispatch in Peru recently was recognized at the state level by two organizations.

The dispatch was selected as a Prepared Center of Excellence. One center in each state receives this recognition. This award signifies IVRD is committed to bringing change to 911 response and is dedicated to pushing the industry forward.

“Your usage of prepared dedication to bringing cutting-edge technology to emergency response and partnership with our team are some of the reasons we’ve identified your center for this honor,” Prepared CEO Michael Chime of IVRD. “Thank you for all you do to make the world a safer place.”

Prepared is software that enables the 911 communication center to livestream, receive multimedia and receive a location from mobile callers in real time. This technology suite improves the dispatch’s ability to respond to emergencies in the community.

More information about Prepared can be found at prepared911.com.

The Illinois chapter of the National Emergency Association selected IVRD as the 2023 Team of the Year. IVRD was nominated and selected for this award for its handling of the Carus chemical fire Jan. 11.

Team members Rachel Sienkiewicz, Julie Dean and Carlie Brockman were given their awards at the Illinois Public Safety Telecommunications Association Conference on Oct. 24 in Springfield in front of an audience of more than 600 dispatch professionals from across Illinois.

During the awards presentation, INENA Awards Committee Chairwoman Tiki Schulte read the nomination submitted by IVRD Executive Director Brandon Miller-Guss.

“From the second this incident was received, it was handled with the utmost professionalism by these three individuals,” Schulte said, reading the nomination. “There is no doubt their immediate actions as the calls were coming in and subsequent actions, including the quick dispatch of first responders, prevented injury to employees, bystanders, citizens and first responders, in addition to the prevention of the fire spreading to nearby structures, which could have been catastrophic.

“This award is presented to the Illinois Valley Regional Dispatch Center with honor and appreciation of your professionalism and service to all agencies and individuals involved with the Carus chemical fire, Jan. 11, 2023.”

More information about INENA can be found at illinoisnena.org.

“Both of these recognitions are a testament to our entire team upholding our agency mission to provide exceptional emergency communications to all those who rely on us,” Miller-Guss said. “The men and women who handle emergency communications at IVRD are the unseen heroes of the emergency response system in the Illinois Valley region. They are the vital link between first responders and callers during the worst days of their lives.”