2026 Telecommunicators Appreciation Celebration and Outstanding Performance Awards

On Friday, April 10, MARC will honor 911 emergency dispatchers and calltakers across the Kansas City region for providing life-saving emergency services and coordinating complex emergency response. The 2026 Telecommunicators Appreciation Celebration (TAC) and Outstanding Performance Awards (OPAs) honors telecommunicators who consistently perform above and beyond the call of duty, demonstrate exemplary individual and team performance in a critical incident, conduct outstanding training performance and have made a significant contribution to the field of public safety over a minimum of 20 years.

Everyday Hero Award

• John Hilton, Gladstone, Missouri, Police Department

Outstanding Individual Performance in a Critical Incident - (two to five positions):  

• Cari Terpening, Riverside, Missouri, Police Department

Outstanding Individual Performance in a Critical Incident - (six or more positions):  

• Jennae Eastin, Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department

Outstanding Training Performance 

• Brianna Stanley, Shawnee, Kansas, Police Department

Outstanding Support Services Excellence 

• Carter Wetherington, Johnson County, Kansas, Sheriff's Office

Outstanding Team Performance in a Critical Incident (two to five positions)

• Angie Cooper, Robert Stotts and Sydney Horne - Shawnee, Kansas, Police Department

Outstanding Team Performance in a Critical Incident (six or more positions) 

• KarLeigh Pottberg, Morgan Livengood and Kristina Pearson - Independence, Missouri, Police Department

Outstanding Public Service Answering Point Leader

• David Ross, Johnson County, Kansas, Sheriff's Office

Lifetime Achievement Award 

• Tim Kobe, Prairie Village, Kansas, Police Department
• Jamie Taylor, Lee's Summit, Missouri Police Department (posthumously)

Serving 11 counties, MARC is the coordinating agency for the Kansas City Regional 911 System. The regional 911 system handles more than 4.5 million 911 and administrative calls each year, and includes Cass, Clay, Jackson, Platte and Ray counties in Missouri, and Atchison, Johnson, Leavenworth, Linn, Miami and Wyandotte counties in Kansas. Committees and task forces comprised of local government representatives coordinate the 911 system.