Jefferson County 911 Dispatch Chief Travis Williams is retiring after 24 years of service with the agency, having started as a dispatcher and worked his way up the ranks to the top job.
While Williams’ official retirement is in June, it effectively started in October 2024 when he began using his accumulated days off.
However, he said he will be happy to help his successor, John Whitehead, who will take over as chief in April.
Whitehead, who previously worked for Jefferson County 911, will be paid $150,000 a year. Williams’ current annual salary is about $126,000.
Dave Bieser, the assistant chief, has been filling in since Williams left last fall.
Williams
Williams, 56, of Cuba said 911 handles calls for almost every emergency response agency in the county from its headquarters at the top of a hill in House Springs or from its backup center in Cedar Hill.
“We do all the fire and ambulance entities and most of the police,” he said. “That’s 31 police (including the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office), fire and EMS entities.”
The Pevely, Crystal City, De Soto and Festus police departments handle their own dispatching.
“Everything included, it’s 35 agencies we work with,” Williams said.
When he became the 911 Dispatch chief in 2011, the agency was dispatching for a total of 26 police, fire and ambulance departments or districts.
Williams started his career in emergency response at the Cuba Fire Department, where he eventually rose to the rank of chief.
“I was with the Cuba Fire Department from when I was 16 until I was 30,” he said. “It’s a volunteer department. I also worked for the Cuba Public Works Department. I did whatever needed to be done for the city of Cuba. I then worked as a dispatcher for Crawford County Dispatch.
“I’ve worked at Jefferson County 911 Dispatch since 2000. I was a dispatcher first, then promoted to a supervisor. In 2007 my old boss, Brenda Shular, promoted me to chief of staff.”
The board would change his title from chief of staff to assistant chief.
When Shular left, the board made Williams interim chief, and in October 2011, he officially became the chief.
Williams said he did not go to school to learn about emergency response communication, but instead learned on the job.
He said he is proud of his service with Jefferson County 911 and highlighted some significant accomplishments during his time at the agency.
“We passed the half-cent sales tax in 2009 (to add funding to the agency) and later re-upped it (when voters approved a ballot measure eliminating a sunshine clause that would have reduced the sales tax to a quarter-cent in 2019). The citizens overwhelmingly approved eliminating the sunset clause.
“That became a fight we eventually had to take to the state Supreme Court in which we ultimately prevailed. That was important because we had made promises to our citizens and our public safety partners that we would provide a level of service, and we needed the additional revenue to keep that promise.”
Williams also said another important development was the $31 million project to upgrade the county’s emergency radio system, including building giant radio towers around the county to get the system to meet an unfunded federal government mandate.
He said the agency also developed the backup center in Cedar Hill and renovated the main center in House Springs while he’s worked at the agency.
Longtime 911 Dispatch board member Dave Kennedy said he has been impressed with Williams’ leadership.
“I was elected to the board in 2004,” Kennedy said. “I’ve seen Travis in several different situations since he took over for Brenda Shular. He was at the forefront of building the radio system, the same for the backup center and with the rehabilitation of the main facility. All three of these came in under budget, which is amazing.
“He was very good at making sure things happened. The board really appreciates it.”
Williams said he believes he will leave Whitehead with a top-level 911 dispatch system.
“If somebody calls 911, you want them to talk to somebody who knows what they’re doing,” he said. “I think we have one of the best 911 centers in the state of Missouri as far as personnel, technology and training.”
Bieser said he has enjoyed working with Williams.
“I’ve worked with Travis my entire career of 23 years here,” Bieser said. “He gave me my chance to be assistant chief. I appreciate the chance. We were able to accomplish a lot together.”
Williams said dispatching is an important career and can be gratifying.
“I would recommend this line of work to anybody,” he said. “You’re not going to get rich doing it, but it’s a very satisfying job. It’s a job that’s stable. People are always going to be calling for emergency services.
“As a dispatcher, you’re helping people, but in a controlled environment. You don’t have to run into a house on fire.”
Williams said he has been fortunate working with and for good people who care about emergency response communications.
“I’m very proud of the people I’ve worked with, the administrators and staff,” he said. “I put some smart people around me.
“I’m going to give a shout-out to the Board of Directors. I was always blessed with a great Board of Directors.”
Williams said other than spending time with family, he has no particular retirement plans.
“I’m just going to take it easy,” he said.
Incoming chief
Whitehead, 54, of Byrnes Mill, takes over as the 911 Dispatch chief on April 7.
The 911 Dispatch Board of Directors voted unanimously through an email vote on Feb. 5 to approved hiring Whitehead as the agency’s chief. The board plans to ratify the vote at its next regular meeting set for Feb. 20, Bieser said.
John Whitehead
The agency received 24 applications for the position, he said.
“We are excited to welcome John Whitehead to the role of chief,” board chairman John Scullin said in a written statement. “With his proven leadership in the field of emergency services and deep understanding of the needs of our community, we are confident he will continue to advance our mission of providing exceptional service to those who need it most.”
Whitehead said he is familiar with Jefferson County 911 Dispatch.
“I worked here from 1995 to the 2000s,” he said. “I was a dispatcher, and when I left in 2003, I was operations manager, now called the assistant chief, under Brenda Shular. I then went into the private sector and worked for Intergraph, which is now Hexagon, as vice president of sales for North America.”
Whitehead worked for Intergraph-Hexagon for 20 years and spent time at Utility Inc. as its chief revenue officer. He most recently served as senior vice president and general manager for Comtech Inc.
He holds a master’s degree in public service and administration with a concentration on homeland security from Texas A&M University.
Whitehead said his main task when he starts the new job at 911 Dispatch is preparing the agency to deal with new advances in technology.
“(At Comtech) I’ve spent the last year working on NextGen911 technology,” he said. “The latest industry projections (say) that by December 2028, more than 50 percent of emergency calls will come from devices, not people.
“The NextGen911 provides ESINet (Emergency Services IP Network), which (in laymen’s terms) is the pipeline for 911 dispatch calls to accept service from devices.”
Whitehead and his wife, Sue, have two children.