Three years ago, Josh Waters joined the Montgomery County Joint Communications Center staff as a dispatcher.

Now, the Illinois native is the center’s new director. He took over duties for Jody LaBanca, who retired after 25 years and is filling the role of temporary consultant.

“We had some staff turnover,” Waters said. “At the same time, Jody made the decision to retire. I put my hat in the ring, applied for the director position and it kind of went from there.”

Waters began director duties on Feb. 27. He said his first week in his new role was a busy one.

“With our current staff levels, I’ve been having to fill a position on the floor as a dispatcher and trainer while trying to settle into the director’s position at the same time,” Waters said.

Waters started working at the Montgomery County Joint Communications Center in December 2020, which was during the time when the center was moved to its current location at 250 Pickering Street in Montgomery City after it was housed at the Montgomery County Courthouse for years.

“This new building with our upgraded equipment leads us wide open for a lot of future potential, especially coming into the Next Gen 911 mark in all of the things that have to offer and where that may take us here into the future,” Waters said.

Before moving to Montgomery County, Waters worked at the Illinois National Guard for 12 years. He served as a radio/telephone operator at the Tefco Operation Center during his deployment to Baghdad in the early 2000s. When he was later deployed to Afghanistan, Waters served as a medic. He also worked as an EMT paramedic for 14 years.

Waters said working in Iraq and Afghanistan helped prepare him for his job at the Montgomery County Joint Communications Center.

“Learning that forced calm during a stressful moment absolutely helps to take a 911 call and really let it be that caller’s emergency and not your emergency as the call taker, stay focused while chaos is playing in your ear and get the correct services dispatched out for those citizens,” Waters said.

Waters said using 911 services has changed from the time when he was a child living in Macoupin County, Ill.

“I think back to my early childhood, dialing a seven-digit number to get the emergency services that you need,” said Waters, who graduated from Northwestern High School in Palmyra, Ill., in 2002. “Depending on where you grew up, you might have to have three different seven-digit numbers and just have basic 911 and then enhanced 911, where your home address pops up on the screen with your caller ID. Now, we have advanced all the way to where we could get a general pinpoint on a cell phone whenever someone calls us based upon their location.”

Waters said now that he is the new director, he wants the Montgomery County Joint Communications Center to be a great place to work.

“One of my main goals is making this a place of employment where people are really proud to say that they work here and they help out in the community and all of the communities within Montgomery County,” Waters said.