Senior Dispatcher Steven McAninch was selected as the “Emergency Communicator of the Year” by the New York State Sheriffs’ Institute. Sheriff Joseph A. Gerace nominated McAninch for the award. The following is the NYSSA nomination criteria:
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATORS AWARD: To be given to an employee assigned to the Sheriff’s Emergency Communications Center who during 2017 performed either an act of exceptional valor or heroism or has shown an exceptional pattern of career achievements and conscientious devotion to duty.
McAninch was recognized for his 34-year career at the Sheriff’s Office. He has been a supervisor for 14 years. He has been involved in many areas of the 911 center including the development and operation of the agency’s Computer Aided Dispatch system (CAD), the oversight of response plans for fire and EMS, testing and implementation of the new county-wide public safety radio system and the upgrade of the 911 system to “Next Generation” 911.
Additionally, Steve was recognized for a July 27th, 2017 incident in which he received a telephone call from Facebook Security in Dublin, Ireland reporting that a young woman had threatened suicide. McAninch was able to locate the woman through his knowledge of technology and he transferred the information to the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office. The woman had attempted to overdose. She was located and taken to a hospital for treatment. Facebook featured the story in a video and published the video on their platform.
Sheriff Gerace stated: “I am extremely proud of Steve. He is a huge asset to public safety in Chautauqua County. He is very well respected by the police, fire and EMS personnel he works with. Steve is an expert in emergency communications and we are blessed to have him.”