Valley Communications Center honored professionals who are dedicated to protecting and serving South King County during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, which takes place annually the second week of April.

Valley Communications – which provides emergency communications for nine police departments, 13 fire departments, King County Medic One and SCORE and the regional correctional facility in South King County – fields thousands of 911 calls each month which require immediate response from police, fire and medical customers for the protection of life and preservation of property.

On April 9, Valley Communications presented the annual King County Emergency Medical Services awards. Holly Morgan, a communications officer with four years of service, received an award for sustained performance, and Christine Cox, a communications officer with two years of service, received an award for the exemplary handling of a critical incident.

Since 1991 when Congress created National Pubic Safety Telecommunicators, 911 communications centers across the country have celebrated with special events and festivities.

In 1976, the mayors of Auburn, Kent, Renton and Tukwila entered into an Interlocal Agreement to consolidate their police and fire dispatching services into one organization, Valley Communications. Federal Way joined as a partner-owner in 2000.