Deputy Tehseae Batiste with the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office Communications Division was announced as the recipient of the Telecommunicator of the Year award for Louisiana Chapters APCO/NENA sat the Louisiana Chapters Symposium in Marksville April 26.
This award is presented to the telecommunicator who has contributed significantly to the profession of public safety dispatching and call taking through the prior calendar year. A candidate for Telecommunicator of the Year is more than a single incident; he or she is a continual example of excellence, exemplary performance on a consistent basis, substantial efforts made to better the profession through training or innovation, continual mentoring and teamwork that betters the organization. Batiste has shown all these qualifications and more.
NPSO Director of Communications LaQuita Collins and Supervisor Deputy Kimberly Green stated Batiste is very engaging and personable and is a genuine and skilled communicator. She has been an outstanding advocate for improvements to communication protocols between deputies and dispatch and is always looking for ways to improve her performance as well as the performance of her partners, shift deputies and trainees. She maintains a positive outlook no matter what the challenge of the shift is, and is dedicated to the service of the parish residents and building a supportive work environment for her co-workers and deputies she is tasked with helping to get home safely on a daily basis.
Along with being a 911 Dispatch Communicator for Natchitoches Parish, Batiste is also a wife and the mother of a very active six year old. She balances her demanding career that removes her from her home 12 hours a shift, at times nightly, and then return home at 5 a.m. where she maintains a well rounded, smart and loving child. She is teaching him his value and worth as a young man in a not so always loving and accepting society, then returns to her chair to do her part in ensuring safety of area residents so they can do the same for their children. She is always motivated by her ability to help provide safety and enhancement to her community.
Batiste always goes above and beyond to make her coworkers feel appreciated and loved. She makes sure her deputies know she is engaged in their life at work as well as outside of work.
There is nothing unusual in Batiste surprising someone with a baked goodie or treat, either bought or homemade, and sharing her customs of her home in Belize.
The public is most probably not thinking of a 911 Communicator when they see a deputy or firefighter at the scene of a tragic event in their life, but they are represented. The badge worn by a deputy is generally a symbol of their authority, but if you look closely, it is supported by a circle around the star or shield. That is 911, that is Batiste.
