Mikayla Cloud in the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office dispatch room. Staff photo by Elizabeth De Los Santos
Burnet County Sheriff’s Office dispatcher Mikayla Cloud never expected to be voted Favorite First Responder by The Picayune Magazine readers and KBEY 103.9 FM Radio Picayune listeners in the 2025 Locals Love Us contest.
“It is so exciting for one, and overwhelming, and just so many different emotions because I never would have thought that I would even have a nomination,” Cloud said.
Cloud has been an emergency dispatcher for nearly four years, joining the Sheriff’s Office in April 2021 after working as a dog groomer.
“I wanted a completely different atmosphere and preferably somewhere where I wouldn’t get bit,” she said.
Her BCSO role goes beyond emergency dispatch.
“At this point, what do I not do?” Cloud said. “I answer 911 for emergency calls, I also take non-emergency calls, I train all of our new hires, and I’m also a TCIC (Texas Crime Information Center) instructor.”
In Burnet County, dispatchers handle everything: emergency calls, administrative calls, and radio dispatching for law enforcement.
“Here, we do it all completely,” Cloud said. “In bigger agencies, you’ll get where individual jobs are separated, so you’ll have just a 911 operator, just a dispatcher, just a radio operator. Here, we do it all.”
Her job is unpredictable and fast-paced.
“It’s a new adventure every day, and you honestly never know what exactly it is that you’re about to get,” Cloud said. “That’s why I love it so much.”
The job requires extreme focus and multitasking, something she learned over time.
“We have pedals that we can use to keep up on the radio,” Cloud said. “You can still be typing or still doing whatever it is that you are doing. That way you’re not having to take away from this to do that.”
Despite the challenges, Cloud said the job is rewarding, especially because it’s all about helping someone.
“It’s a complete stranger,” she said of callers. “I have no idea who you are. I have no idea if I’ll ever hear from you again, but just that one time talking to you, listening to you, and getting you whatever it is you need from me—just to help—that is such a rewarding feeling.”
Also winning Favorite First Responder were Marble Falls Fire Rescue’s Justin Parks and Kingsland Volunteer Fire Department’s Joey Whittenburg.
