The Forsyth County 911 Center welcomed directors, training coordinators and officers from across Georgia to a crisis intervention training workshop Monday.

The daylong course was held at the Public Safety Complex on Settingdown Road, where representatives from an emergency preparation program spoke with 911 operators and rescue personnel.

Forsyth County’s 911 Center Director Pat Giordano said the workshop was a plus because “we are being proactive in bringing quality training to 911 professionals.”

“Training is our best defense,” she said.

Dawson County 911 Communications Director Debra Wimpy said the class will “enhance our ability to do our jobs.”

“I think it’s awesome,” she said.

Emergency resources representative Kyle Bradshaw said the workshop was an opportunity for course instructors and participants — who are invited to the class Sept. 21-23 in Forsyth County — to “offer their input, offering suggestions of what works and doesn’t work for the class.”

“The feedback we are hearing so far is overwhelmingly good,” Bradshaw said.

Giordano was pleased.

“It is a great opportunity for us to have input into a class that will be offered to our communications officers,” she said.

Communications officers receive about four hours of crisis intervention training before they go to work. According to Bradshaw, the upcoming class will “build upon the initial four hours of training that they receive.”

E-mail Frank Reddy at frankreddy@forsythnews.com.