BOZEMAN — Police, firemen, and even a tow truck gathered at the Gallatin County Regional Park Monday morning to give back to someone who has dedicated most of her adult life to public service.
“I’ve known Tanya for a long time, probably since she started in dispatch," said Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin. "Great dispatcher. Great person.”
First responders were preparing to hold a parade for Gallatin County Dispatcher Tanya Samborsky, who is retiring after 24 years of service.
“Dispatch is unique because in many cases the dispatcher has the public’s lives on the line," Gootkin said. "Then on the other side of that, they also have the emergency responders' lives on the line. To be able to do that stressful job for 24 years, God bless her, she deserves to enjoy retirement.”
Samborsky wasn’t expecting anything for her retirement.
“I honestly didn’t think anyone would even notice that I was gone, but it was very, very touching,” she said.
Dispatch Supervisor Susan Walker wasn’t going to let her longtime friend and coworker not have the proper send-off she deserves.
“We’ve been through a lot together and she’s done a great service to our community, so it’s just a good way to send her off," said Walker. "We want her to know how much of an impact she’s made to everyone."
What was it that made Samborsky such a good dispatcher?
"No matter how matter how stressful or how bad things are, she always has that great sense of humor that helps us get through whatever we’re going through," said Gootkin. "That’s one thing that I'll definitely miss.
Samborsky has a few things she’s looking forward to in retirement.
"Not have to worry about an alarm clock, not have to worry about being called in for overtime and not having a schedule in that respect," Samborsky said. "Yea, that’s going to be nice."
