EDWARDSVILLE - Edwardsville Police Dispatcher Shelly Thompson recently received the Blue Light Award from the Southern Illinois Police Chief’s Association (SIPCA), a significant honor.
Recipients of this award must demonstrate the virtues of the law enforcement code of ethics and must be loyal, dependable, and of high moral and ethical standards. All of those attributes describe Dispatcher Thompson perfectly, Edwardsville Police Chief Jay Keeven said.
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“Her recent Blue Light Award is well deserved with her commitment to many years to our police department and our citizens,” Keeven said. “Our staff would like to congratulate Dispatcher Thompson on her most deserving award and our appreciation for her continued service to the City of Edwardsville, its employees and our citizens.”
Thompson is in her 27th year with the Edwardsville Police Department and 36th overall working in the dispatching arena.
“I work with truly amazing people,” Thompson said. “The police officers are so giving of their time during their time off the job. I was honored and surprised with the Blue Light Award.”
Thompson admits there is a lot of responsibility in being a police dispatcher.
“I enjoy it when we can help people,” she said of her role with police. “Sometimes we are here helping people in their worst moment. It means a lot to be there to talk with people in those moments and help them.”
There is a lot of multi-tasking in a dispatcher’s role.
“You have to be able to concentrate when you receive calls and keep track of all the officers,” she said. “Police officers rely on the dispatchers.”
After some time, Thompson said a dispatcher can even recognize by the tone or a change in an officer’s voice of the seriousness of different situations.
Thompson is active in the Edwardsville Police Department’s Shop With A Cop Program, the D.A.R.E. program and her husband and she enjoy fulfilling the role of Mr. and Mrs. Claus at Christmas time for the police.
Thompson and her husband have four children and eight grandchildren. Her son, Rick, is an Edwardsville Police Officer and Thompson says her son practically grew up around the police force, making his career decision a natural choice for him.
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