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Durfee relishes catching the bad guys
Submitted
Shannon Durfee enjoys playing with her new dog Sadie.
Several years ago, Shannon Durfee was working at her family’s business, Subway in Quincy, but she had visions of applying to become a dispatcher for the Multi-Agency Communications Center.
“My huband (David) is a firefighter (for Grant County Fire District No. 3), and his pager would always be going off,” she said. “I thought that being a dispatcher, involving myself in that scene somehow, would be pretty cool.”
One day, one of the restaurant’s regulars gave Durfee some sage advice along with his normal sandwich order.
“I told him I was thinking of applying to MAAC, and he said, ‘No, apply to be a dispatcher for the Washington State Patrol,’ ” Durfee said. “He worked for the state patrol at the time. He hooked me up with the supervisors, and I went in to take the tests and I got the job.”
Durfee has worked as a dispatcher for the Washington State Patrol for the past two and a half years, and her beliefs have been completely validated. “I love the job,” she said. “There’s a lot of excitement to know what’s going on. I get to help get the bad guy. There’s a lot of work I do behind the scenes, but the troopers are always good about thanking us for our help.”
Durfee’s work was recently rewarded with a significant industry honor. She received a Chief’s Coin for her ongoing efforts in support of the joint Washington State Patrol and Washington Traffic Safety Commission booster seat program.
In the past year, she certified as a car seat technician and has participated in numerous clinics demonstrating proper installation of child safety seats throughout the area.
Additionally, fluent in Spanish, she has been actively involved in a program to provide car seat safety information to the Hispanic community through public service announcements aired on local radio stations.
“(Receiving the coin) was pretty cool,” she said. “My co-workers, friends and family were pretty excited about it. The coin is a big deal for the state patrol. You get it for going beyond the expected.”
Durfee, who grew up in Quincy and graduated from Quincy High School in 2004, is fluent is Spanish because she spent four years with her family living in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Her parents, Richard and Ella Westra, went there to perform a variety of missionary duties, and Shannon spent some of her formative teenage years — from ages 12 to 16 — assisting with the work, attending school, participating with a worship team and absorbing a different culture.
When her parents informed her of the move, Durfee was passionate in her objection; she didn’t want to leave her hometown and friends for that long of a time.
“But my parents felt it’s what they had to do at the time,” she said. “They wanted to make a difference.”
Durfee’s parents originally thought they’d spend the majority of their time working with mountain-dwelling priests to develop their knowledge of Christianity. But eventually their role expanded to helping to run a children’s home.
“The kids weren’t orphans, so it wasn’t an orphanage, but their parents were in jail, and it was the best place for them to go,” Durfee said. “Some of the families knew the parents wouldn’t have enough to give the children, so they let them live at the home.”
Durfee’s attitude of the experience changed during the four years. When it came time to leave Oaxaca, she didn’t want to go.
“I was devastated,” she said. “I remember getting done with a conference at midnight, coming home and leaving for Mexico City at 2 a.m., and I was kicking and screaming like any other immature girl would do when she’s not getting her way. I hated leaving.”
Her parents continue to heed the call of service; they recently moved to Baja, Mexico, to continue missionary work for Foundation For His Ministries, a Christian charitable ministry.
Meanwhile, Shannon and David have settled down in their new home at the Aho development in Quincy with their dog, Sadie. Shannon is part of the worship team at Faith Community Church, enjoys outdoor activities and relishes living in Quincy — even if part of her heart is in another country.
“I’m a Westra, and there’s lots of us around here,” she said. “I take a lot of pride in that. I love being around family.”
joe commented, on September 3, 2009 at 8:55 p.m.:
dont let her fool you. she still kicks and screams like a child....jk good job shannon and thank you
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