For Connie Thomaschek’s Public Safety journey, answering the call has taken many forms. From the fire service and EMS to 911 communications and public safety leadership, her career has spanned multiple disciplines and more than three decades of service. Today, she brings that experience to Caliber Public Safety, where she continues supporting the people and agencies that serve their communities.
Today, Connie serves as a Customer Success Manager in Client Support at Caliber. But long before she began helping customers navigate public safety technology, she spent 32 years on the other side of the conversation, as a firefighter, EMT, dispatcher, and eventually a leader of a 911 communications center.
Her career is a story of service, resilience, and the relationships that can open the door to a new chapter.
Catching the Public Safety Bug
Connie’s journey into public safety began when she was just 16 years old.
She started volunteering with the West Milford Volunteer Fire Department in West Virginia. At first, there were limits to what she could do, but Connie quickly pursued the training and certifications that would allow her to become more involved. She became a state-certified firefighter, completed search and rescue and other emergency response training, and eventually earned her EMT license.
By the time she was 20, Connie had found her next calling: the 911 communications center.
“I caught the bug early,” she said. “I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”
Her interest in dispatching grew from listening to the communications center while working in the fire service. She was fascinated by what happened during the busiest moments and wanted to be part of the team coordinating the response.
That interest led her to the Harrison Taylor County 911 Center in West Virginia, where she would spend the next three decades.
The “Storm Queen”
Working in emergency communications meant that no two shifts were ever quite the same.
Some of Connie’s most memorable moments came during the busiest and most unpredictable calls. In fact, her coworkers eventually gave her a nickname that reflected her ability to handle the pressure.
They called her the “Storm Queen.”
Whenever severe weather moved through the area, Connie somehow seemed to find herself working the fire and EMS console.
“It seemed like every time we would have a really, really bad storm that affected our area, I was the one working,” she recalled.
When call volume surged and the workload became overwhelming, Connie was someone her team knew could handle it.
But some of her most memorable calls weren’t about storms.
One Christmas Eve, a woman called 911 because she was going into labor. The family lived far enough away that the ambulance couldn’t arrive before the baby was born.
Connie stayed on the phone and talked the woman and her husband through what to do.
The baby arrived before the ambulance reached the home.
It was the kind of call that stays with a dispatcher long after the shift ends.
For Connie, it was also a reminder of why the work mattered. Sometimes, the person on the other end of the phone is depending on you to help them through a moment they have never experienced before.
Thirty-Two Years Behind the Console
Over the course of her 32 years in 911, Connie eventually became assistant director and then took responsibility for running the communications center.
Her career gave her an intimate understanding of what dispatchers need from the technology surrounding them, and what can happen when that technology doesn’t work the way it should.
She wasn’t simply using public safety systems. She was responsible for helping an entire communications operation function.
That firsthand experience would later become one of the most valuable things she brought to her work at Caliber.
After retiring from 911, Connie wasn’t quite ready to leave public safety behind. She joined Frontier Communications on the 911 sales side, continuing to work with the industry she had spent her career serving.
An Unexpected Opportunity at Caliber
Connie had known Brad Thompson through her years attending industry conferences and working within the public safety community. Their paths crossed regularly, including at an APCO conference in South Carolina where Connie was representing the company she worked for prior to joining Caliber and Brad was representing Caliber.
Those relationships would eventually lead to a new chapter in Connie’s Thomaschek’s public safety journey.
After spending more than three decades in fire service, EMS, 911 communications, and public safety leadership, Connie was ready to continue her work in the industry in a new way. She wanted to remain connected to public safety and use the experience she had gained throughout her career to help agencies and the people behind them.
Then Brad reached out.
Caliber was looking for someone to join the team as a Customer Success Manager, and he thought Connie would be a strong fit.
Connie interviewed for the position and was eventually offered the role.
For her, the opportunity was about more than starting a new position. It gave her a chance to bring her years of public safety experience into a role where she could continue supporting the people and agencies she had spent her career serving.
“I was very grateful that he had remembered the situation I was in and thought enough of me to recommend me for this position.”
Joining Caliber gave Connie a new seat in public safety, but not a new mission. She could continue using her experience, relationships, and understanding of the industry to help customers navigate the technology they depend on every day.
Bringing Her Experience to Every Customer
Today, Connie’s public safety background is one of the most valuable tools she brings to her customer relationships.
When she introduces herself to a new customer, she often shares her history in 911.
The response is immediate.
“As soon as I tell them that I was in their shoes at a 911 center for 32 years, they appreciate that so much because I can understand what they’re going through and where they’re coming from.”
That shared experience changes the conversation.
Customers aren’t talking to someone who only understands public safety from a software perspective. They’re talking to someone who understands what it feels like to sit behind the console, manage a busy shift, respond to unexpected challenges, and depend on the systems around you.
“I know exactly what they’re going through and I’ve been there, done that,” Connie said.
That experience helps build trust, particularly with new customers who are navigating change or facing challenges with their systems.
For Connie Thomaschek’s public safety journey, the relationship starts with understanding.
A Team That Goes Above and Beyond
Connie’s appreciation for public safety extends beyond the customers she serves.
When asked about her experience at Caliber, she immediately turned the conversation toward the people around her.
“The amount of talent and experience and just generally great people that I work with is just incredible,” she said.
She went on to describe a team that is always willing to help and willing to go above and beyond for customers.
“It’s just an awesome team to be a part of.”
That sense of teamwork has become an important part of Connie’s Caliber experience. After more than four years with the company, she still sees many of the same people she knew when she first joined.
And that continuity matters.
The relationships Connie built throughout her public safety career didn’t disappear when she joined Caliber. In many ways, they became the foundation for the relationships she continues building today.
A Higher Caliber of Service
There was another recent moment that made Connie pause and reflect on the people around her.
During a Friday company call, she was surprised with the Higher Caliber Award, an honor recognizing employees for their contributions to the organization.
Rather than immediately focusing on her own accomplishments, Connie talked about how humbled she felt to receive the recognition while surrounded by so many talented people.
“I look around at all these people that I work with, and they are so outstanding and amazing to work with and can do such great things,” she said. “And I actually get an award. It’s like, wow.”
Her humility says something about Connie’s approach to her career.
With years of public safety experience herself and more than four years with Caliber, she still sees herself as part of something bigger: a team of people working together to support the agencies that serve their communities.
Experience That Makes a Difference
Connie’s Thomaschek’s Public Safety journey is more than a career history. It is knowledge she brings with her every day.
With her years in fire service, EMS, 911 communications, and public safety leadership, she understands the realities behind the technology Caliber supports. She knows what it means to sit behind a 911 console, manage a communications center, and make decisions when the pace is fast and the stakes are high.
That perspective is valuable to Caliber customers. When Connie works with an agency, she can draw on those experiences to better understand where customers are coming from and what they need from the systems they rely on. Her background helps create a connection between the technology and the people using it.
That is what makes the people behind Caliber so important. The experience they bring from public safety doesn’t stay in the past; it becomes part of how they serve customers today.
For Caliber, having people like Connie on the team means customers have partners who understand not only the technology, but the mission, pressure, and people behind it.