A Hometown Neighbor Receives Outstanding Honor

Cumberland County, Tennessee is very blessed to have some of the top notch medical service responders. I am always one to brag about how fast these men receive the call and take the challenge of going out and answering the call. Without missing a beat, these firemen and EMTs do an outstanding job in what they do. Even though they are going out and doing the handy work, there is always someone else that we tend to forget about--the dispatcher.

One of the men I go to church with, Marty Davenport, is one of these people. He is one of about 25 dispatchers at the Cumberland County Emergency Communication Center who take every phone call imaginable and pages these situations out accordingly. I am referring specifically to Marty Davenport because he received an outstanding award. He was chosen as 'Dispatcher of the Year" for the 2011 year. Some qualifications of this award are that of the following: one must have a gentle and kind character when taking calls, one must attend work on a normal basis and not miss excessively, and one must show a positive attitude at work. Marty was chosen for this award by his peers at work.

When asked about how he felt about the award, Marty replied, "I was shocked. There are a whole lot more people in that place that deserve it ten times more than I do." If you can not tell already, Marty is a very humble person and he deserved it more than anyone I know of. Marty also replied with, "I get my patience from my mom and my hard work habits from my dad. I go into work, knowing there is a job to be done, and do it to the best of my abilities." Not only is Marty a dispatcher at work but he is also the TAC Dispatcher. This means, he corresponds with the FBI. It is definitely not an easy task but he does it flawlessly.

Marty Davenport is a resident in Crossville, Tennessee and has been here for about 10 years. His father, Glen Davenport, was born and raised here years ago as a kid. He attends church at Cumberland Cove Baptist, where his father, Glen, preaches and mother, Helen Davenport, both attend. Marty has a wife and two grown kids. Not only is Marty a great dispatcher but he is also a volunteer fireman and his son, Karl, just graduated from fire school. I am proud of Marty and his accomplishment. He is a hard worker and our county sure is lucky to have him serving on a regular basis.