By Audrey Fraizer
The Closing Luncheon at NAVIGATOR has evolved into a celebration of leaders.
Brett Patterson received the Dr. Jeff Clawson Leadership Award and preceding that presentation was the recognition of this year’s 43 graduates of the Communications Center Manager (CCM) Course, of which 26 attended the conference.
Jay Fitch, founder of the company Fitch & Associates that with the IAED sponsors CCM, acknowledged the wealth of leaders gathered at the luncheon tables and the caliber of the program now entering its 12th year.
“The course has gained a reputation for its unsurpassed ability to develop the best leaders for our industry,” he said.
Fitch turned the podium over to Gary Bell, operations manager, Dane County (Wis.) Public Safety Communications, who was chosen by CCM classmates as recipient of the annual CCM Leadership Award. In 2012, the award was named in honor of David M. Connolly, Sr., supervisor for the Brookline (Mass.) Public Safety Department when he died unexpectedly in October 2011.
Bell said he was honored by the award and, as recipient, was the torchbearer for their collective experience.
“Trust, relationships, and appreciation are the three words that immediately come to mind,” he said. “These experiences [shared at CCM] created strong bonds and allowed each one of us to grow personally.”
Bell also said the class asked him to thank IAED Associate Director Carlynn Page, who helped develop the course; Jay Fitch, for assembling the outstanding team of CCM instructors; and David Nelson, D.Min., for his ability to create connections and build confidence.
CCM offers both online and onsite sessions required to complete the course. It’s held yearly and includes a fall session with two weeks, staggered, onsite in Kansas City, Mo., along with a distance education project. The next online session begins Sept. 9, 2013, with the onsite sessions scheduled for a week in October and the second week in December.
