A dispatcher handles emergency calls at the Willamette Valley Communications Center, the area’s 911 system. (City of Salem photo)
The local government executive responsible for running the region’s 911 system has earned a lifetime achievement award, praised by peers for his devotion to emergency communications.
The Oregon chapter of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials gave the award to Mark Buchholz, who has been director of the Willamette Valley Communications Center – the local 911 system – since 1998.
Nominators wrote that Buchholz orchestrated the center’s change in 2002 from a “homegrown” dispatch system and paper maps to a more computerized method of handling emergency calls.
“Mark was at the forefront of technological innovation then and it continues today,” the nominators wrote.
The communications center services 29 police, fire and medical services, handling about 1,000 calls per day with a staff of 86.
Buchholz was described as a “down to earth” executive who can be a storyteller at dinner gatherings. On duty, nominators wrote, he pushes to improve public services.
“He’s not afraid to challenge those around him to do their best, and he frequently raises issues from a perspective that no one else has thought of,” the nominators wrote.
Mark Spross, director of the Woodburn-based METCOM communications center, wrote, “I consider Mark to be in a very special group of leaders who provide guidance, mentorship and friendship without you realizing how much they are helping you and our industry.”
Mark Buchholz, director of the Willamette Valley Communications Center. (City of Salem photo)
