The City of Lawrence Police Department has named Adriene DeRolf the Telecommunicator of the Year for 2022.
DeRolf works at the Lawrence Public Safety Communications Center, which receives 911 calls and dispatches first responders, such as police, firefighters and ambulances.
During a ceremony honoring DeRolf, Fishers Fire Department Chief Dino Batalis noted that she has worked for the city six years and has taken on increasing responsibilities.
“She has shown her dedication to the 911 Center through consistent effort in the areas of training and policy development,” Batalis said. “Adriene has shown professionalism and patience, whether she was training for months at a time or challenged daily. She succeeded in presenting herself in a professional manner even when faced with extreme adversity. Adriene finished the journey without complaint.”
Batalis said that DeRolf’s efforts at the often-tedious job of revamping and creating new standard operating procedures has not gone unnoticed, and that policy writing is not an easy task.
“Adriene DeRolf is very good at her job and she goes above and beyond,” he said. “She has a lot of patience, which is a great assist to have for this type of job. Adriene is a good person to talk to about dispatch in general; she has a vast knowledge of it.”
Also there to present DeRolf with her award were Lawrence Mayor Steve Collier, Deputy Mayor Dave Hofmann, Chief of Staff Cori Korn, Deputy Chief Gary Woodruff and Director of 911 Communications LiAnn Wolfe.
According to the city’s website, Lawrence Public Safety Communications Center has 15 full time and three part time telecommunicators. Its 911 Center received 80,869 incoming calls in 2022.
The center offers non-emergency services, as well, including dispatching officers for home checks if residents are going to be out of town for more than three days. For more information, call the center’s non-emergency line at 317-545-7575.
