Humbled - Part 2

I’m sure we have all come to a point in our lives where we have said, “Am I doing the right thing? What if this fails? Should I quit?” It happens to the best of us and believe me, I had my fair share of doubts. We all go through it but if you surround yourself with those who support your dream, and really a common goal and positive attitude, you will go far. Cut out the vampires that seek to suck the life out of your dream and ultimately, YOU. When you stop waiting for opportunity and start creating your own, you come in contact with people who later on turn into your support group. You might not know it at the time, but you feel it. For me, it started in Michigan and continued in Charlotte, North Carolina, and beyond.  

National NENA 2013

I left the Michigan NENA conference in Lansing with mixed emotions. On one hand I did something that I never imagined doing. The goal has always been about raising awareness of what 9-1-1 professionals do and the types of calls that they take. That they are not just answering the phone, they are fully invested in the call along with the person calling for help. I want to do this through the power of storytelling, to have those who are tuning into the podcast to imagine listening to a call like this and experience it through the voices of those who live them. I was doing this, but I never thought I would speak at a conference to share it, let alone be asked to participate at a national conference and record with attendees.

I was really nervous. Doubt and concern set in, but I shook it off. It would come and go but I had to remind myself that there was a reason for all of this, and it had to be good. There were only a few weeks in between the Michigan conference and Nationals. I was securing sponsorships to assist me with travel and food and people stepped up to help me. I felt blessed but again, I was scared because I didn’t want to let anyone down. Finally, the day came when I would leave for Charlotte, North Carolina. I worked at 1 p.m. – 1 a.m. shift and as soon as I was done with work I traveled south. I drove straight through except for one stop. I was so tired. I remember hitting the rumble strips a couple times. Luckily there was a rest area several miles away. I turned the A/C on high and turned up the music so that I could stay awake. I jumped up and down in my seat as I drove to stay awake and thank God, I made it. I closed my eyes and set my alarm.

When I woke up, I woke up in a panic. I had overslept by about an hour. I took off freaking out. I was worried that I wouldn’t make it in time to set up and I prayed that the day would go smoothly. Guess again. When I arrived at my hotel the system had crashed. I lost my room, so I tried to secure another one in the area, but they were sold out. I was upset and swearing up a storm in my car. Why was this happening? Was this a sign? Do I not belong here? I tried one last hotel, and not only did they have a room, but I was able to check in at that moment. I crashed out for about an hour and a half and woke up to head over to the convention center to set up. I had never been to this area and I didn’t know where to park. When I finally found a spot, I was a few blocks away from the center. I had a lot of equipment with me, so I started to walk. That alone was a very humbling experience. I’m dragging my case and people are passing me by, some of them honking and chuckling. I can laugh about it now, but it sucked. When I arrived at the entrance, I noticed that there was a spot where cars could park to drop off items. I was sweating, pissed, and I learned a lesson. But it did not stop me.

Building a support system

I started setting up my equipment and once I finished, I spoke with Mark Fletcher, or Fletch. At the time he was part of Avaya and had been podcasting on Public Safety Tech for some time already. He and I had spoken a little before the conference and he was a big help in the beginning. He even hooked me up with his good friend Spyder Harrison to do my very first intro for the podcast. I am forever grateful. This conference is where I met so many people that would become my support system, co-workers, and business partners. There was something really special about that first National NENA conference. I recorded almost 18 hours’ worth of episodes and my transition to the private sector as an Industry Partner in 9-1-1 started that week. And one specific connection is one that I never thought would turn into what it is today.

A week or so before I left for the conference, I was watching Dateline. That evening the episode revolved around a detective’s daughter. She had been kidnapped, her sons left at home, and her husband in a panic as he arrived home and unable to locate her. The search was on. Calls came in and the detective’s daughter, Denise, was one of those calls. I watched, drawn into this story. I could feel their pain but also the pain that a profession that I love so much let them down. It let Denise down. I was fully invested in this story. I thought about what I would’ve done different and hoped that I could one day make a difference in this profession the way that Denise’s husband Nathan was now doing with a foundation in her name. I remember looking through the booklet to see what classes I would like to attend while I was there, and I saw that Nathan would be attending and presenting on training standards with a panel of guests. Two of those guests were April Heinze, and Brian Tegtmeyer.

I left my booth, running to the session. I sat right up front because I wanted to be one of the first to meet him, and hopefully, secure an interview. He spoke, sharing Denise’s story, and played a video that left no dry eyes in the room. After the session I walked up and spoke to April. I had known her for a little while already as she was a big part of Michigan NENA, and a Director at a dispatch center back in Michigan. I was so nervous, but the introductions began, and I asked if he and the rest of the panel would be interested in doing an episode on training standards while sharing Denise’s story and they said yes. When I left the room, I basically did a backflip. It was in my head, but I was so excited and when I walked down the stairs, I about bit it. I almost fell and I think that was someone telling me to chill out, celebrate your win but stay humble because you could screw up the interview. But it all went well, and I was able to get a picture afterwards to capture the moment.

When I say that my support group started there, I really meant it. Brian and I have become good friends. I am connected to him through his work with NENA, and the IPSTA conference out of Illinois. April and I have known each other for years and she has been one of my biggest supporters. We eventually became co-workers for a few years and even after she left for National NENA, we have been good friends. I briefly spoke with Rob McMullen at the conference. I remember him walking by and he said hello. I told him he should take a card and he said he had one and that we would talk soon. He and I have done a lot of work together through the podcast and my time at INdigital. I even met Doug Showalter. It was very brief, but he and I were in a documentary called, “Hotline.” They had a segment on 9-1-1 dispatchers and call takers and he and I were chosen to be in it. From Mark Fletcher to Mark Grady, yes, this is where the support group started on the national scene. And then there is Nathan Lee.

I felt blessed to meet him, hear Denise’s story, and have an introduction to the work he was doing. I followed the foundations progress after that. I saw him more and more at conferences as I traveled for INdigital. We talked about how we could help each other, and I wanted more than anything to help their mission. Well, it’s 2020, and although it has been one hell of a year, there has been a lot of good. And for this part of the story, Nathan and I became good friends. I consider him a brother and when I went solo we partnered up on several different ventures. I often think back to that first meeting in North Carolina. Everything happened the way it was meant to happen. I think we all met for a reason and we have kept in touch ever since. It’s interesting how the connections we make in life can shape our future.

I’m proud of the accomplishments but I don’t forget the struggle that came before it and it doesn’t stop here because sometimes there are obstacles to success. Sometimes things don’t work out the way you want them to. You try and try to spread the word on what you are doing but you fail. Sometimes those obstacles finally reveal themselves and it’s something you don’t like because you realize that the obstacle is you…