Steve McMurrer, a Fairfax County public safety communicator, is the kind of employee other employees look up to. McMurrer is always helpful and voluntarily creates training materials for use throughout the center.

It was no surprise to his colleagues that McMurrer, of Clifton, received the Excellence in Training award during the 7th annual Department of Public Safety Communications Awards Ceremony on Monday, April 9 at the Fairfax County Government Center.

"Employees frequently ask for McMurrer’s guidance, and he maintains a positive attitude whether the person he is training is a seasoned co-worker, a sit-along or a new trainee," according to department leaders. Currently detailed to the training academy, McMurrer was recently tasked with developing a training outline for the new Emergency Management Dispatch cards, an undertaking that his supervisors thought could be time consuming. McMurrer created an outline that was clear, concise and could be presented in one 30-minute roll call, said supervisors.

Since its formation in 2005, more than 350 of the department’s employees have received professional awards and honors. The awards ceremony opened with the presentation of the colors by the DPSC Honor Guard followed by the singing of the National Anthem by DPSC assistant supervisor Sherrie White.