Lynda Ekstrom celebrates 25 years of service

BONNERS FERRY — 300 months, 1,304 weeks, 9,131 days, 219,150 hours, 12,140,000 minutes — that is how long Lynda Ekstrom has worked for the Boundary County Sheriff’s Office as a communications specialist at Boundary County Dispatch.

To mark her 25 years of service, Ekstrom was awarded a 25-year pin to commemorate her time with the department.

Sheriff Dave Kramer said that he tries to recognize employees at milestones such as five, 10, 15 and 20 years.

Ekstrom said it was so nice to be recognized. Over the 25 years at Dispatch, she has taken a lot of calls from across the county ranging from assistance to life and death situations.

Her advice to new dispatch members is try not to take it home with you. Unlike officers, dispatch does not get closure from the calls they take, she said. She also encouraged the rest of the crew to be thick-skinned and to not take things personally, especially during emergency situations.

However, she noted that it is hard to go home when there is a situation still ongoing, such as missing children.

Ekstrom said she was thankful for all the training that she has received at BCSO as they have gone above what is required by the state in regard to training.

In addition, North Bench Fire Department members came by as well to give Ekstrom a commemorative coin to honor her service.