Trade show floors can be intimidating and a bit overwhelming. After all, APCO 2016 is one of the largest, if not the largest, trade shows for public safety professionals all year. And, whether you’re a Supervisor, Director, Dispatcher, or Manager, odds are that you’ve got a pretty busy week planned for Orlando, FL. Hustling from one session to another, and obviously coming back to your agency with some key take-aways! Trust me, we know the drill.

So, let us help you by telling you why you shouldn’t come by Xybix’s booth at APCO:

Early on the morning of June 12, 2016, a terrorist entered the gay nightclub PULSE in Orlando, FL and unleashed unimaginable hate on the lives of 49 innocent victims. He wounded 53 others and changed the lives of every person, family and the nation with this unmitigated reign of terror. The PULSE nightclub attack is now the worst mass shooting in United States history.

Many people I know use walking as a way to de-stress, burn energy and get moving. It’s a simple activity and you already know how to do it. Walking is easy on joints and requires little to no additional equipment. Recently, treadmills and bikes have been added to many 911 dispatch centers and the question arises, how much walking do you need to do to lose weight?

The struggle is real to eat healthy! This is especially true now that I've made my 2016 New Year's Resolutions, and intend on keeping them. I like comfort food that will not land on my rump! So I started to think of a few healthy ways that I am eating right for the new year. Being a foodie at heart and coming from the food industry prior to Xybix, I thought I could share a few dishes I enjoy and hope you will too:

As a child, like most, my favorite Holiday was Christmas! I always looked forward to running into my parent’s room Christmas morning to let them know that Santa had arrived. At times, we woke them up so early that my Mom and Dad would tell my sister and I to go back to bed. I guess 3 am was a little early for them. And yes, I do remember sitting in bed from 3 to 7 am wide awake in anticipation and those four hours literally felt like eternity!

Not only is dispatching one tough job on you physically, but during the Holidays it can be especially difficult, when it seems like everyone else has time off, but not you. As dispatchers, you are still stuck working those long shifts and crappy hours no matter if Santa is coming or not. (Quick note, I am not a dispatcher nor could I do your job, but I have heard a lot of good ideas.) 

Here are a few ideas that could help give you a little boost this holiday season: 

Now that we’re in the mid-swing of the holiday season a lot of us are dreading stepping on the scale. But there’s some good news; according to Doctor Deborah Balfanz the average American gains only one pound over the holidays. That averages out to about 100 calories per day over a month long period.

Giving gifts to public safety and 911 this holiday season? Here are some cleaver and fun ideas to get you in the holiday gift-giving mood. Selecting a gift for someone can be tough, so I’ve come up with what I think are four common categories of persons’ in the 911 dispatch world and what he/she might like.

With Thanksgiving all around us, we are called to be thankful and grateful. We all have things we are grateful for in our personal lives, but what about work? So I started thinking what here at Xybix am I thankful for? Some are the traditional things to be thankful for and others are a bit of a stretch. But either way, I figured I’d share my list with you, in hopes that you too can find something to be grateful for in your lives either at work or at home. As hard as I tried, I can’t rank these in any particular order, here are the things I am thankful for:

Motivation and overall morale in the dispatch center are difficult to maintain and with the encroaching holidays, one thing is for certain, 911 dispatchers are called to be at the top of their game. Holidays can be a very busy time for 911; burnout, sickness and just genuine lack of motivation can be huge problems causing 911 centers everywhere to struggle. Nothing can replace giving up time with family or friends over the holidays. So, what can you do to help motivate and maybe inspire your dispatchers this holiday season?