Woman recognized as dispatcher of the year
Kathryn Schmelzer cried when she learned of the award
She went from sprucing up dogs to enhancing the image of first responders in four Macomb County communities.
And now Kathryn Schmelzer, a 911 dispatcher with the South East Regional Emergency Services Authority ( SERESA), has been honored by Michigan APCO as the 2020 Telecommunicator of the Year.
The 30-year-oldMacomb Township resident has beenwith SERESA for the past two years and previously was employed in the same position in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Asked what her reaction was to receiving the award, Schmelzer answered: “I cried. I thought it was just too nice.”
APCO is the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials, an international organization committed to providing public safety communications and expertise, according to the group’s website.
A news release states the awarded is presented annually to a public safety communications professional within the state who has “demonstrated the highest levels of person and professional conduct and performance in the line of duty.”
Schmelzer, who is married to a police officer, was employed as a dog groomer before turning to public safety dispatching.
“Iwanted a change,” she said Thursday while standing in the lobby of SERESA’s offices on Common Road, across the street from the Roseville Police Department. “And I was looking to get into something where I’d be on my husband’s schedule or close to it.”
Dogs are still part of her life. She and her husband, Thomas Schmelzer, an officer with the Warren Police Department, have a pair of cocker spaniels. “They’re both rescue animals,” she added.
A union secretary, Schmelzer serves several roles at SERESA including certified training officer and operations team leader.
She was nominated for the award for a supervisor who said she strives to provide the “best possible level of service during each and every call she processes.”
One example of her selfinitiative took place May 22 when she played a role in having a shooting suspected arrested.
Schmelzer was one of the initial dispatchers who took a call about a shooting at a motel in Eastpointe. As other dispatchers took calls gaining additional information, she continued to question callers to gather more information. She learned the shooter had fled in a vehicle, so took it upon herself to initiate a computer search with a partial license plate query.
Within six minutes from the first call, she was able to obtain the suspect’s name, address and other information about the shooter, while also taking information on a separate fire. Information she provided to police resulted in the shooting suspect being arrested in Roseville.
Formed in 2011, SERESA is amunicipal consolidated dispatch center that provides dispatching services for police, fire and EMS in Eastpointe, Fraser, Roseville and St. Clair Shores. Together, the dispatchers handle tens of thousands of calls each year from the member communities’ 154,000 residents.
Staffing includes 21 fulltime dispatchers working 12-hour shifts, along with five supervisors, one deputy director and one executive director.
“Kathryn is well deserving of the award,” said SERESA Executive Director Cherie Bartram. “She’s a great asset to our team.”
Eastpointe Public Safety Director George Rouhib, who serves as chair of SERESA’s board of directors, said Schmelzer’s cool under pressure and thinking ahead are among the attributes that make her a top dispatcher. He said the award reflects on the quality of people SERESA has hired.
“If people actually sat in her chair and did her job for 10 minutes, they wouldn’t want it because of the stress it involves,” Rouhib said. “She’s very dependable, has great communication skills and knows how to calm people down and disseminate information to police officers and firefighters. She’s a true professional.”
Schmelzer will be honored at SERESA’s monthly board meeting onWednesday.