Detective Sergeant Scott Mick, St. Clair Township Police Department, gives retiring dispatcher Stephanie Kimbrew a hug and congratulates her on her retirement. (Photo by Kristi R. Garabrandt)

EAST LIVERPOOL — East Liverpool dispatcher Stephanie Kimbrew recently spent the last day of her 30-year long career with the East Liverpool Police Department receiving visits from multiple police officers and firefighters who dropped into the dispatch room to wish her well, with some bringing her gifts and flowers while she continued working and taking calls.

The East Liverpool Police Department held a retirement party for her with a cake and food.

She ended her shift walking out of the dispatch room with Police Chief John Lane and her son Rylan Childs, who also works as a dispatcher for the East Liverpool Police Department.

As she walked from the East Liverpool City Hall out to the parking lot she was greeted by cheers and applause from approximately 100 police officers, current and retired, firefighters, members from First Class Towing, an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper, family and friends and members of East Liverpool’s administration.

Kimbrew took her time making her way through the crowd laughing, talking with and hugging as many people as she could as she made her way to her car for her final drive home from work.

Those gathered to walk her out included staff of First Class Towing, members of the Glenmoor and Calcutta volunteer fire departments including Calcutta VFD’s K-9 Solace, East Liverpool police officers and firefighters, St. Clair Township Police Department officers including Chief Brian McKenzie, Liverpool Township police officers including Chief Jarod Kinemond, East Liverpool’s city administration and staff, and more.

The parking lot of East Liverpool City Hall was filled for the joyous occasion.

Kimbrew, who worked as a meter maid before joining the dispatch team, has only ever worked for the City of East Liverpool. She joined dispatch in 1994.

Kimbrew started her career as a dispatcher by knowing former dispatchers Debbie Ficus and Beth Dillon, through her mother Jeanette Kimbrew working in the income tax office.

Kimbrew said she would come down after getting out of school when she was in high school and always came to talk to the dispatchers. After high school she would sit in the dispatch room and talk to the dispatchers and started to think that would be an interesting job.

Once she was done with high school, Kimbrew received a call from Dillon asking if she was interested in dispatching and encouraged her to come try it out.

“I came and tried it out and, well, here I am,” Kimbrew said. “I fell in love with it. There are certain people that can do this job. It’s not an easy job.”

When asked what advice she had to give to younger or newer dispatchers, she said she really didn’t have much to pass on as they all learn together.

“We train and while we are training them, they are training me,” Kimbrew said of the other dispatchers. “The younger ones are getting more knowledge. They are getting into newer technology than what I had when I started. I just wish them well and I believe in them; they are the very, very best crews.”

When asked about memorable calls, Kimbrew said, “All of my calls have made a difference, there is no special one. I just make sure when I dispatch the officers out to give them the correct call and the information I am getting from the caller.”

She recalled years ago talking to a man who wanted to take his life.

“He just needed somebody to talk to and he told me, he said, ma’am, you know your voice calmed me down to where I can think, but that’s probably why God kept me, my voice of reason a calming voice,” she said.

Kimbrew noted some of the changes she has seen over three decades, especially technology coming in more and more.

“When I started here there was none of this,” Kimbrew said, pointing to computers, monitors and other equipment. “When I started here, we had reel tapes we had to change every shift.

When Kimbrew started dispatching it was for the city’s police and fire departments. She doesn’t know what year dispatching for St. Clair Township Police Department was added or when they started getting 9-1-1 calls. Dispatching for Calcutta and Glenmoor VFDs is also done through the East Liverpool’s dispatch.

When asked what she enjoyed most about her job, she said she couldn’t answer that and that she just liked coming to work, the people, the employees and the challenges.

“I’m a people person, so when I hear somebody on the other end that just wants to give it up, I’m thinking I can help them either through a private prayer or just talking to them,” she said.

She also said that when it comes to the officers, she doesn’t see their badges, she just sees them as family, and she notes the family changes from time to time. She recalled working when Lane’s son, who is now an officer with a son of his own, was born.

“I am happy for her, and I hope she has a happy retirement,” Lane said. “We worked together for a long time. It’s nice to see her make it to the end; not many people get to do that, so I am happy for her.”

Lane noted that there were times when they had lost children and couldn’t find the parents, they would bring the children into the police station, and they would snuggle right up to Kimbrew.

“We are going to miss her, she’s part of the family. The times she would start singing was annoying, but we are going to miss it,” Lane said. “She was here when I got hired. We’ve been working together a long time.”

Lane is moving a part-time dispatcher to full-time to fill the vacancy created by Kimbrew’s retirement, which will leave the department with one part-time dispatcher, and Lane is hoping to hire one or two more for part-time.

Officer Flisha Kelsey, who brought Kimbrew flowers, said that Kimbrew was the first face she saw when she came in to to apply to be an officer.

Kimbrew said she plans to start her retirement by taking it easy, taking care of herself and enjoying it. She will be heading on a cruise to Cozumel, a retirement gift to her from her cousin.

“I’m excited about that, but other than that I’m just going to take it easy,” Kimbrew said. “Who knows, I might pick up a part-time job down the road, something where I don’t have to be on the phone, something more relaxed.

“To my fellow dispatchers, it’s not goodbye, it’s see you later. I wish them well. My fellow officers, I just pray for them because the job is not easy. I hope and pray that each one of them, including dispatchers, will be able to go home each night and be with their families. I want to thank the city for allowing me to be employed here for that long.”

kgarabrandt@mojonews.com