She does more than she is asked, provides field officers more information than she is provided, and is always ready to fill in shifts that others cannot.
And now, Aileen Gomez can call herself one of the state’s top dispatchers.
Gomez, 34, was recognized in January as Duty Officer of the Year for the Florida Wildlife Commission. She won the honor over 71 other FWC dispatchers throughout the state.
“I was in shock when I got “dispatcher of the year’ for our center,” Gomez, a St. Petersburg resident, said. “But winning it for the state is awesome. It gives me good feelings.”
A press release announcing Gomez’s honor noted her “teamwork”and her “respectful, courteous, patient demeanor” when talking with callers. “When she is working, she always goes the extra mile to ensure the officers in the field have the most current information,” the release said.
“She really cares about her job,” says Darla Wormuth, duty office supervisor for the FWC’s southeast region. “And when someone really cares, they do a really good job at it.”
Wormuth, who nominated Gomez for the honor, says it’s not unusual for Gomez to make two or three extra calls in her effort to answer a caller’s question. She’ll gather extra details for field officers before passing on a request to officers in the field.
“I try to do a little more than just give officers the call,” she says. “I try to look into, ‘Does this person have a history with us?’ I really care about our officers’ safety. That should be our top priority, and that’s something you should hear from every other officer in public safety.”
Gomez has been with the FWC for six years and also spent six years with the Florida Highway Patrol, where she was both a dispatcher and a community service officer.
She says a lot of people misunderstand the role of the FWC and assume its only responsibilities are to enforce hunting and fishing laws. In reality, she says, most of the agency’s time is spent helping to search for people who are missing.
Her entire office, for instance, was called to help the Coast Guard search for Patrick Mullins, a Manatee County teacher whose body was found Feb. 7, about 10 days after Mullins’ empty boat was found by the Sunshine Skyway Bridge miles from his Palmetto home.
Gomez works overtime almost every week and has been essential in filling shifts at a time when many people are leaving her profession. She credits a supportive girlfriend for making it easier to step up when she’s needed.
Gomez also has plans of her own beyond her dispatcher job. She is attending classes to prepare for a career in education and aims to focus on special education.
“I feel like I have the patience for it, and if there’s one way this job has helped prepare me to teach, it’s patience,” Gomez says. “You have to be a very understanding person to help those kids.”
