Who We Are

There are many resources in the 911 center. These tools include some cutting-edge technology in equipment as well as policies and procedures that address almost every circumstance. However, our most important resource, our assets would be our team members. 
These dedicated women have made a commitment to the citizens and responders of Chouteau County that cannot be matched. They serve the public, with honesty and dedication in the completion of their duties. All of them have worked nights, overnights, weekends, and holidays. They have missed their kids' birthdays, anniversaries, sports events, Christmas recitals, and more. Each one of them has worked overtime, and they all have pulled 12-hour shifts, sometimes more. They've stayed late to work that fire with their partner or to help work that call for the missing child, there is no such thing as "this is just a job" in dispatch. And they have all taken your heartache home with them at some point in time, and they all have said a prayer for you. They hear screams of terror and horrible tales of human suffering. They listen. They assist. They get help. They empathize with you, the callers, their community members, their neighbors, friends, and family. They cry. And They come back and do it again the very next day. Because THEY are 120% dedicated to THEIR careers and YOU.

1990

In August of 1990, Sheriff Paul Williams announced the emergency call number 911 was fully operational in Chouteau County. The 911 calls would ring into the Chouteau County 911 Center and an Emergency Dispatcher would answer the call. At the time with a few exceptions, the emergency number could be reached from any phone in Chouteau County. The exceptions are phone numbers with the prefixes 452, 277, 727, 352, 355, 724, and 728 Why? Because these folks boarded Cascade, Hill, and Liberty Counties and their 911 calls would automatically bounce into those counties. Just like today sometimes the calls still route into the wrong county and you the caller must be re-routed back to Chouteau County. Back then we served nine fire departments, six Quick response units, three ambulances, and the Fort Benton City Police Department.

Our Team

Kimberly Burdick, 911 Communications Director
She has been with the ECC for 33 years. She is the senior-most employee of the Chouteau County Sheriff’s office and began her career with the Chouteau County 911 Center in 1989. She has been a member of APCO since 1997 and was appointed as the National Executive Council Representative for Montana in 2004, being re-elected in 2009. She has been passionate about Public Safety devoting her time and career to serving the Montana APCO Chapter and National APCO. She's served as a member and of the Chapter Services Committee since 2003, Call Center Standards Committee since 2006 and is also on Pro-CHRT, NJTI, TERT State Coordinator. She served two terms as the Montana Chapters APCO Chapters President. 
Celeste Maxwell, 911 Communications Supervisor 
She has been with ECC for 13 years. She is a Crisis Intervention Stress Management and a Tactical Dispatcher. Along with her duties as communications supervisor, she is a certified EMHD (Emergency Mental Health Dispatcher), RPL (Registered Public Leader), and CTO (Certified Training Officer). Celeste started her career with the Chouteau County Sheriff's Office in 2009.
Lecia Kelly, Training Coordinator
She is the “OG” of the ECC just hitting her 20-year mark this year. She is a Crisis Intervention Stress Management and Hostage Negotiator trained by the FBI, and a certified Tactical Dispatcher. She a certified in EMHD (Emergency Mental Health Dispatcher), RPL (Registered Public Leader), CTO (Certified Training Officer). Lecia’s has profound knowledge when it comes to being a dispatcher and can benefit all dispatchers. She also serves on your local Search and Rescue. Lecia started her career with the Chouteau County 911 Center in 2002, In 2007 she was honored with the Montana APCO Telecommunicator of the Year. In 2019 Lecia was honored with the APCO 2019 Trainer of the year award.
Janet Sanders, Certified Training Officer
She has been with the ECC for 5-years. Out of all the dispatchers, Janet has the highest call volume. Whenever Janet is working it is never going to be a “quiet” shift. She is a CTO (Certified Training Officer) who trains new dispatchers in their new careers. Along with this Janet enters all the concealed weapons permits for Chouteau County into our system. Janet started her career with the Chouteau County Sheriff's Office in 2017.
Jessica Graham, Quality Assurance/Improvment Evaluator 
Jessica is a United States Navy Veteran who began her carrer with the ECC in 2019. In charge of Chouteau County 911 Emergency Communications Center Quality Assurance/Improvement. She ensures that quality standards are being met within the communications center. Working to make sure the quality of excellence, improvement, and maintaining the positive declaration that our service to our community is true and guaranteed. She is a CTO (Certified Training Officer), certified EMHD (Emergency Mental Health Dispatcher), and Tactical Dispatcher, and serves on the Montana Chapter APCO Board as the Eastern Ambassador. When she can she also volunteers on your local Search and Rescue. 
Alicia Davidson, Public Safety Telecommunicator
Our newest Public Safety Telecommunicator to our ECC. Our rookie. Alicia went through over 500 hours of training, with her trainer along with that she also had to complete CPR training, CJIN training (Criminal Justice Information Network), EMD (Emergency Medical Dispatch) training. She also completed FEMA training before finishing her training. Upon being released from training one of Alicia’s first solo shifts was Summer Celebration Weekend of 2022. She handled it like a pro. Alicia will be heading to Montana Law Enforcement Academy (MLEA) Public Safety Communicator Basic in October of this year. We are all very PROUD of Alicia.