News Details

City to Honor First Ever 911 Operator of the Year

A 20 year veteran emergency telecommunications operator will be honored next week as the first-ever recipient of the City’s Telecommunications Operator of the Year.

Kelley Gruca will be honored at an April 9 ceremony at Aurora Police Headquarters, 1200 E. Indian Trail. She started her career as an Aurora 911 operator on October 7, 1991.

Gruca was chosen by her co-workers for the award that coincides with National Telecommunicator Week which is sponsored by the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International (APCO). The week celebrates and honors the thousands of men and women who respond to emergency calls, dispatch emergency professionals and equipment, and render life-saving assistance to the citizens of the United States.

“Kelley is the epitome of a true professional”, said Aurora Chief of Police Greg Thomas. “911 operators are under an immense amount of stress because they are the first line in getting emergency help to people who are in extreme duress. It is impossible to project how many lives she has touched over her 20 year career and she is truly deserving of this honor.”

Saying he is proud of the work of all of Aurora’s emergency operators, the Chief explained that, all too often, their roles are overlooked or misunderstood in the eyes of the public. “The job is so much more than answering a telephone and dispatching assistance”. They also have to call for additional help depending on the ever-changing circumstances of a particular incident, run driver’s license and wanted checks, call tow trucks, and perform a multitude of other duties—and most of the time—they’re performing all of these on more than one emergency call simultaneously.”

Thomas said that Aurora’s 911 operators regularly receive department commendations for saving lives and performing other outstanding acts. “There have been numerous instances of our operators having to instruct or talk someone through administering CPR over the telephone before emergency responders arrive on-scene which has led to lives being saved.”

The approximately 30 operators in Aurora’s 911 Center handle police, fire, and ambulance calls for Aurora and North Aurora. Last year, they answered over 98,000 calls to 911 and around 161,000 non-emergency calls.

The April 9 event will take place at 3 p.m. in the Community Room of the Aurora Police Headquarters.

Location: Aurora Police Headquarters, 1200 E. Indian Trail Road, Aurora, Illinois