During National Telecommunicators Week, it’s a time to highlight those individuals who work “behind the scenes” as first responders.

Dallas Chargo is a full time dispatcher for the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, as well as a part time dispatcher for the Greene County Sheriff’s Office. He started as a jailer for Greene County in 2008 and later that year started training as a dispatcher. He then worked full time with Greene County from 2010-2014, before becoming full time with Carroll County and transitioned to part time with Greene County. He says working in two counties gives him a better sense for his job as a dispatcher.

“You really get a good perspective. I mean there’s different ways of doing things. I’ve taken stuff where I’m like, ‘Oh, I really like the way that we do this in Carroll (County)’ and I brought it to Greene County. And there’s stuff in Greene County I’m like, ‘Oh, this worked really well for us’ and been able to implement it in Carroll as well.” 

Chargo explains the challenges that can happen with being a dispatcher.

“One of the most difficult things for me is scheduling, I mean it’s a 24/7 job, it’s nights, it’s weekends, it’s holidays. I mean it’s hard to have a normal life outside work sometimes. And then there’s also been calls that have been emotionally hard. Anything with a child is difficult for the dispatchers, the responders, and certainly with families and stuff for the people involved.”     

He adds he enjoys his job and likes helping those who need assistance.