New Director of Museums and Tourism| New Assistant Police Chiefs | Firefighter and Paramedic of the Year Awards
Portsmouth Hires New Director of Museums and Tourism
Dr. Alexander Benitez has joined the City of Portsmouth, effective January 20, 2022, as the new Director of Museums and Tourism. Dr. Benitez joins the city after more than 30 years of experience working for various state and university museums, and the Smithsonian Institution. He has worked on several major museum exhibitions, including the inaugural exhibits of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, and more recently, he was the guest curator for the seminal bi-lingual exhibition, Ceramica de los Ancestros: Central America’s Past Revealed at the same museum. This exhibition was developed after four years of intensive research in the museum’s archaeological collections.
Between 2016 and 2022, Dr. Benitez served as the Director of Moundville Archaeological Park at the University of Alabama, where he oversaw the preservation and cultural interpretation of one of the most important Native American heritage sites in the United States. Prior to his time at the University of Alabama, he held the position of an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at George Mason University in Northern Virginia. Dr. Benitez has earned degrees in anthropology from the University of Arizona (B.A.) and the University of Texas at Austin (M.A., Ph.D.).
Portsmouth welcomes Dr. Alexander Benitez to the City of Portsmouth and as Director of Museums and Tourism.
Portsmouth Police Department Holds Swearing-In Ceremony
For New Assistant Police Chiefs
The Portsmouth Police Department held the Swearing-In Ceremony for the new Assistant Chiefs of Police — Assistant Chief Na’Shayla Nelson and Assistant Chief Stephen Jenkins. The Ceremony was held today, Tuesday, January 25th, in the City Council Chamber at 11 a.m. To view it in its entirety, tune in to PCTV Channel 48/39 or use the YouTube link: https://youtu.be/N7lcYWL3abg.
Congratulations to our New Assistant Police Chiefs
– Assistant Police Chief Na’Shayla Nelson
– Assistant Police Chief Stephen Jenkins
Police Chief Renado Prince, center, joined the new Assistant Chiefs in the photo– Assistant Police Chief Stephen Jenkins, left, and Assistant Police Chief Na’Shayla Nelson, right.
2021 Portsmouth Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Services Firefighter of the Year
Firefighter T. C. Sessoms
Firefighter T.C. Sessoms was recognized for his informal leadership and commitment to training and service delivery. Assigned to T1, he has taken on the education and practical training of individuals who are new to the truck, to help ensure that they are competent and comfortable with its operation. This individual has moved beyond his own training needs and sought out ways to enhance the overall performance of our department by obtaining his VDFP Train the Trainer certifications for both Basic Pump Operator and Driver Pump Operator. At any given time he can be found working with the various new firefighters in an effort to help them hone their skills. He regularly initiates training evolutions that serve to benefit not only the rookie firefighter, but the most seasoned senior staff member.
Firefighter Sessoms is a true asset to the Portsmouth Community and we are proud to honor him with this award, the 2021 Firefighter of the Year!
Congratulations Firefighter Sessoms!
2021 Portsmouth Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Services Paramedic of the Year
EMS Supervisor Thomas Sasso
This year’s Paramedic of the Year is an instrumental part of Portsmouth Fire’s EMS delivery system in ways that far exceed the delivery of clinical patient care, or that of his role as an EMS Supervisor. To illustrate a few of his exceptional actions:
He has developed and implemented, along with Portsmouth Police, the joint Police-Fire Active Threat program. This included the development of policy, the acquisition of gear, and the conducting of joint training evolutions in order to ensure our providers are ready for the unthinkable. He has worked to reduce provider stress, to streamline workload, and to improve the accuracy and maintenance of our EMS fleet through the development and implementation of an effective, segmented unit check off system.
He has been the driving force behind our department’s movement toward an integrated Mobile Integrated Health program. He has spent countless hours, both on and off of the clock, on the development of critical relationships between Portsmouth Fire and local organizations such as Portsmouth Behavioral Health and Portsmouth Social Services as the formation of a Crisis Response team is beginning to develop. The initial activities of this team focus on our department and Portsmouth Behavioral Health working collectively to reduce narcotic related incidents and deaths in our city. He has served as the departmental lead for this team and has coordinated training opportunities for our personnel, budgets, program outlines, and staffing needs. As this program continues to grow, it will continue to reduce the workload of a stressed EMS and healthcare system by addressing mental health crisis and opioid addiction.
These are all activities that this year’s Paramedic of the Year tackled eloquently on top of his standard daily duties such as responding to calls, working with BLS medics, serving as an FTO, supervising his shift’s activities, serving as a mentor to those assigned to him, and continuously demonstrating his dedication to the service delivery that we provide to the citizens of Portsmouth.
It is our distinct pleasure to present this year’s Paramedic of the Year award to EMS Supervisor Thomas Sasso.
Congratulations EMS Supervisor Sasso!