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Health & Fitness

Meet Chad Almond, SPD 9-1-1 System Coordinator: "If I can't fix it, I make sure to get it fixed."

The Smyrna Heroes Gala introduces SPD 9-1-1 Systems Coordinator Chad Almond. Don't miss this year's Gala 9.8.12 at historic Brawner Hall!

The Smyrna Heroes Gala is proud to introduce the community to meet yet another Smyrna "Hero," this time, 9-1-1 System Coordinator Chad Almond. It is for heroes such as Almond that the Smyrna Heroes Gala generates revenue to benefit the Smyrna Public Safety Foundation (SPSF, www.smyrnapsf.org), which supports both our local Fire and Police Departments as well as the community at large. Don't miss out on this year's Gala 9.8.12. For tickets and more information, see www.SmyrnaHeroesGala.com

Chad Almond came to Smyrna’s Police Department fresh out of high school 24 years ago. Over those years he has seen many changes in the way the SPD handles 9-1-1 calls and all the technical aspects of communications within the Department.  He’s the 911 Systems Coordinator, a position he worked up to over the years and, in some respects, actually built for himself as technological improvements both increased and complicated communications for the Department.

Almond started as a Dispatcher. “I was always nosey,” he explained. “If something didn’t work, I tried to fix it.” Over the years he became better and better at fixing problems, which led to his position of being responsible for the technical aspects of the communication systems and making sure they work. His responsibilities run the gamut of the SPD from 911 calls to internal communications to the mobile terminals in the individual mobile units and beyond.

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He loves his job, and it shows. His face lights up as he talks about the many changes he’s experienced and worked with over the last 24 years. Getting outside technical support when he needs it is probably his biggest frustration. “I don’t like having a problem in front of me that I can’t resolve,” he reported; and he hates to wait on someone else’s time schedule for addressing the problem.  So he watches and learns when he must call IT in to help, and the next time he sees that problem, “I can fix it and save the City a few bucks.”

He enjoys working with the various officers and their complaints about the system. “First I have to recognize what [the officers’] abilities are,” he explained, “and go from there” in resolving the issues they bring to his attention. He explains to them “what the system can do” and how the officer can use it.

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Almond is solidly connected to the community and has a long history of donating his time and talents to different causes. He organizes charity events, for example, particularly motorcycle rides to benefit injured officers, to fight cancer, Huntington’s disease, and other notable causes.  He’s currently working on 2 different rides. “I get caught up in the middle, the excitement of people coming together,” he reported. “I want to help people in their times of need.”

Thank you Chad Almond for your boundless enthusiasm and skills in helping our community. 

#SmyrnaHeroesGala, www.SmyrnaHeroesGala.com, twitter.com/SmyrnaHeroesGala, facebook.com/SmyrnaAuctionforHeroesGala.com 

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