Hull is no stranger to the operation, moving up from the center’s deputy director role following the retirement of former Director Jeff Busch late last year.
Hull joined the center eight years ago, moving to Miami County from the Washington, D.C., area where she had attended graduate school at Johns Hopkins University and worked for Howard County government.
A graduate of Sidney High School, she attended Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky., where she studied political science and history. An internship at the YWCA and its legislative department took her to Washington.
The Miami County job opened at an opportune time. The Shelby County native was interested in returning to Ohio when applications were being taken for the position.
She worked as the center’s accreditation manager in addition to being the center deputy director. She was fortunate, Hull said, to work with Busch, who brought law enforcement experience with him from Montgomery County to the Miami County Center.
As an accreditation manager, “You have to know pretty much everything that is going on at the center, so that exposed me to everything,” she said.
Another plus was Busch’s management approach of including her in various aspects of center business from personnel matters to interacting with other public safety agencies, Hull said.
The Miami County center, when fully staffed, can have up to 18 telecommunicators, five supervisors, a public safety applications manager and a staff assistant, in addition to the director.
She called the center staff “phenomenal.” The telecommunicators answer the phone, never knowing what information or emergency need awaits them. They obtain as much information as possible from the caller while also tasked with communicating with the agency or agencies that need to respond.
Among other tasks are making inquiries for responders such as searching records or contacting utility companies that may be needed.
“These people are extremely valuable, and it is an extremely stressful job,” Hull said. “It is hard when you are only getting it (information) over the phone. You have to be creative enough to figure out what somebody is trying to say and being clued in, hearing something in background. You are hearing so much. It is taking multitasking, putting (information) together to where it is cohesive to people on the street. It is definitely a skill while also being quick and accurate.”
Hull is a Certified Public-Safety Executive from the Association of Public Safety Communications Officers, and an Emergency Number Professional from the National Emergency Number Association. She is one of five in Ohio to hold CPE status and one of just a few here to have both the ENP and CPE designations.
“When I graduated from Sidney, I knew I wanted to do something with public service, helping,” Hull said. “If you ask anybody who works here, you want to do a job that is fulfilling. I feel like for the vast majority of us, it is that larger purpose of doing good and doing good work.”
Contact this contributing writer at nancykburr@aol.com.
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