Local Florida Forest Service Personnel Receives Statewide Recognition

By job title, they are called 'duty officers', but after being recognized for outstanding service to the residents of the seven counties that they serve, six Florida Forest Service individuals can now also be called "state award winners"!

The dispatch center for the Chipola Forestry Center of the Florida Forest Service is located in Bonifay and the duty officers-also affectionately called 'dispatchers'-that work from there were recently recognized with an "Excellence in Forest Protection Award" specifically for their exemplary public and customer service.

This group of five women and one man consists of Tina Sadler, Connie Johnson, Jim Pridgen, Starla Peters, Tracy Register, and supervisor Marci Glover.  They are in most cases the link between the services that the Florida Forest Service provides and the members of the public that is served by the agency in seven northwest Florida counties-the MOST of any Forestry district in the state of Florida: Bay, Walton, Gulf, Holmes, Calhoun, Washington, and Jackson counties.

Besides answering all phone calls on a variety topics ranging from issuing burn authorizations for landowners to taking wildfire or smoke reports from the public that come in to the dispatch center, they also dispatch all Florida Forest Service wildfire suppression units throughout all seven of those same counties during wildfires.  These dedicated duty officers dispatched crews to 465 fires for 5,108.5 acres and issued 5,358 burn authorizations last year.

The nomination for this award for their outstanding work ethic as a team was submitted to the state office by the Holmes and Washington counties Forest Area Supervisor, Donnie Sellers. 

"I get to see firsthand the stressful conditions they work in and I would rather be out on the fire line, not to mention the phone calls they handle with landowners for authorizations, information on burning, and explaining why they can't burn on the days when we have restrictions,” said Seller. “The job I am describing is done by only six people counting the supervisor, who dispatch for seven counties including forty six rangers and they do all of this in a professional and courteous manner."

Statewide, the Florida Forest Service protects more than 26 million acres of Florida's natural resources, homes and business from wildfire.  On average, it protects the state from 5,026 wildfires per year, resulting in 203,000 acres burned, 3,054 homes threatened and 38 homes lost.

For Florida Forest Service media interviews and photo and video opportunities, contact Brian Goddin-Wildfire Mitigation Specialist/ Public Information Officer: Florida Forest Service (Chipola Forestry Center) at 625-6621.  To report a suspicious fire, call 547-7083.  For more information about the Florida Forest Service, including wildfire information, or recreational opportunities, visit the Florida Forest Service website at www.fl-dof.com.  The Chipola Forestry Center of the Florida Forest Service consists of 7 counties including Bay, Walton, Gulf, Holmes, Calhoun, Washington, and Jackson counties. Special Note: Effective July 1st, 2011, the Florida Division of Forestry returned to its original name, the Florida Forest Service!