When emergencies happen in Green County, one of the first voices people hear is often not a deputy, firefighter or paramedic at the scene, but a calm voice on the other end of the line. National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week offers a chance to recognize those 911 dispatchers and call takers whose work is measured not only in calls answered, but in moments of fear, confusion and, sometimes, survival.

The annual observance is held during the second full week of April and honors the men and women who answer 911 calls, dispatch help, relay critical information and help coordinate emergency response behind the scenes. In a profession that often goes unseen, the work is both constant and consequential: more than 217 million calls are made to 911 in the United States each year, according to federal communications data.