Communication Center director drawn to a career in public service

As she headed off to college, Beth Hull knew she wanted to find a career in public service.

She believes she has found just that in her work at the Miami County Communication Center. After eight years as the center’s assistant director, Hull was named earlier this year as first interim and, more recently, the permanent center director. The appointments followed the retirement of Director Jeff Busch.

A native of Sidney, Hull graduated from Sidney High School in 2010 and attended and graduated from Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky. where she studied political science and history.

Once she decided to not pursue law school, she moved to Washington, D.C., securing an internship with the YWCA and its legislative department. The internship included going to Capitol Hill where she learned the “back end of everything legislative,” such as working to ensure passage of bills.

She attended graduate school at Johns Hopkins University for a master’s degree in government with a concentration in security studies and worked for Howard County Government’s Corrections in the audit department. There she learned “the back end of everything auditing.” She said she liked the work and the great staff she worked under but also had a desire to move back to Ohio.

That desire led her to apply for an opening in accreditation and as well as administrative assistant at the Miami County center in Troy. After a couple of interviews she, “thankfully got the job, which allowed me to stay in public safety.”

The Miami County Communication Center manages all 911 calls and dispatches all county police, fire and Emergency Medical Services. It has 18 full-time telecommunicators (dispatchers), five supervisors, a public safety application manager, a staff assistant and the director.

Hull’s work at the center was with Busch, who previously worked for the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, who was at the center for 13 years.

As accreditation manager working with Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), Hull said, “You have to know pretty much everything that is going on at the center, so that exposed me to everything.”

She also was fortunate to work with Busch, who she said always included her in center business allowing her to learn various aspects of the operation. That business included union negotiations, personnel issues and interacting with various agencies, among others.

“I was always extremely appreciative. I know that is not always the case,” Hull said of the approach used by Busch.

Hull called the center staff “phenomenal,” saying that many people do not know the tasks they perform on the job during 12-hour shifts. The telecommunicators answer the phone, never knowing what information or need awaits them. They take the call, obtaining as much information as possible while also tasked with communicating 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. 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,” Hull said. “You are hearing so much. It is taking multitasking, putting it (information) together to where it is cohesive to people on the street. It is definitely a skill while also being quick and accurate.”

Technology has driven many changes at the center, and will continue to do so in the future, providing continuing challenges for the center. The goal is to “keep us on the highest level of services that we can provide,” Hull said.