Newest Lincoln telecommunicators make 911 Communications center fully staffed for the first time in decades

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A common theme at the Lincoln Emergency Communications Center Academy graduation on Wednesday was the concept of family.

The ceremony welcomed the class of seven new telecommunicators into the family of all the other first responders who keep Lincoln and Lancaster County safe.

One graduate says he’s ready to answer the call to serve.

Jacob Zeleny moved to Nebraska from Texas; after tonight’s ceremony, he says he’s feeling pretty good about what’s ahead.

“It’s the whole thing of serving others before self and making sure that others are getting what they need,” said Zeleny.

“Being that reassuring voice saying, ‘hey, I have medical on the way, they’re almost there to you, and I can see when they’re about to arrive,'” he said.

With the graduation of this newest class, Lincoln’s Emergency Communications Center is now fully staffed for the first time in over 20 years.

This means that Zeleny and his colleagues can now help provide even more support to the community than ever before.

“It feels reassuring to know that we are reaching the number of people that we would need in order to run the center at full capacity. I have a lot of pride in it because I like to serve people,” said Zeleny.

The graduation ceremony was held at Southeast Community College, and attendees included their loved ones, law enforcement officials and city leaders.

All seemingly sharing in Zeleny’s pride.

Matthew Harwell, the emergency communications operations manager, says being at full capacity is an exciting place to be for many reasons, both practical and in principle.

“The support we have for our team members to continue to lessen some of the needs for things like overtime and filling those roles, but at the same time, it also is the support that we continue to give to the community,” said Harwell.

After seven weeks in the academy, the telecommunicators will next move on to one-on-one training with a communications officer.

Following that, they’ll soon take calls from the public and earn specific qualifications, such as dispatch for law enforcement and Emergency Medical Technician certification.

“Our role is to not only support the citizens who are calling us in times of crisis or need that help, but also those field responders to get them to the right places,” said Harwell.

Although the center is now fully staffed, the Lincoln Emergency Communications Center is still accepting applications from those interested in joining the team.