DRPS Communications Excellence Award

DRPS Communications/9-1-1 Inspector Gord O’Blenes recently presented the second annual “David J. ‘Buzz’ Bezzant Memorial Award” to a 911 communicator in celebration of National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week. Inspector O'Blenes was joined by DRPS Chief Moreira and Deputy Chiefs Bertim and Yeandle for the presentation.

This year’s Communications Excellence Award recipient is Marci Galley, who demonstrated extreme skill and professionalism while dispatching three high priority calls simultaneously over a 90-minute period while working on the dispatch desk in December. She handled the incidents with great calmness and is commended for her ability to multi-task with ease, remain focused and stay on top of a great deal of critical information in a high-stress environment.

This award was created to honour David James “Buzz” Bezzant who worked as a telecommunicator with Oshawa Ambulance until he joined the DRPS 9-1-1 Communications unit in 1981. Working as a telecommunicator at both emergency services, Buzz was known throughout the Region of Durham for his “calm and caring” voice.  Buzz served his community for more than 34 years, retiring from DRPS in 2015. Buzz passed away in 2022 following a brief illness.

The David J. ‘Buzz’ Bezzant Memorial Award recognizes communicators that demonstrate outstanding skills and is presented annually during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. Recipients are selected by the DRPS Communications 9-1-1 Peer Recognition Committee.

Marci joined DRPS as a dispatcher 17 years ago and was fortunate to have "Buzz" as her supervisor until his retirement.

Congratulations Marci and thank you for all  you do.