Richard J. McGuire, Executive Director

Mr. McGuire joined the Calcasieu Parish Communications District in 2001 as the Assistant Director, in February of 2017 he was promoted to the position of Executive Director. He is a graduate of Jacksonville State University and holds a Master of Science degree in Emergency Management and a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science from McNeese State University. In 2013 he earned the designation of Registered Public Leader (RPL) from APCO. McGuire is currently the President of the Louisiana 911 Directors Consortium and Chairs the Louisiana Chapter of APCO and NENA’s NG-911 and Legislative Committees . Mr. McGuire also represents the State’s NENA and APCO Chapters at the National Association of State Nine-one-one Administrators.

Mr. McGuire previously worked with the Calcasieu Office of Emergency Preparedness where he managed the Safety Training Program for the Police Jury and affiliated special service districts. He was also responsible for developing safety protocols and purchasing safety equipment. His other assignments included Risk Management activities where he investigated accidents, managed claims and conducted facility inspections for the Police Jury. Mr. McGuire also possesses extensive experience in developing and maintaining emergency response plans for the parish of Calcasieu.

Professional affiliations of Mr. McGuire include the Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Association, Louisiana Chapter of the National Emergency Number Association, Louisiana Chapter of the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International, National Association of Sate Nine -One-One Administrators, and is a member of the Southwest Louisiana Fire Chiefs Association

Nicole R. Guidry, Assistant Director

Mrs. Guidry has been in public safety since 2000, where she began her communications career as an emergency call-taker/radio dispatcher for the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office. Over the course of her time there she served as a Trainer/Instructor, Shift Supervisor, Training Coordinator and progressed to Supervisor of Communications.

In 2013 she joined the Calcasieu Parish Communications District as Operations Supervisor, by 2017 she was promoted to Assistant Director. Mrs. Guidry is instrumental in reviewing the performance and effectiveness of the communications function and formulates programs and policies to ensure proficiency. Other duties include coordinating procedures of other public safety agencies with those of the District, preparation of various reports and documents, and assists with the development and maintenance of systems to ensure control and documentation of department operations.

She currently holds certifications as an Emergency Medical Dispatch, Telecommunicator/Instructor, Fire Dispatcher/Instructor, Communications Training Officer/Instructor, and Communications Center Supervisor/Instructor. She received the designation of RPL, Registered Public Leader, through APCO in 2014 and she is a graduate of the Calcasieu Parish Regional Law Enforcement Training Academy, Class #100.

Mrs. Guidry works closely with the Executive Director and functions as liaison between upper administrative staff and operations personnel to ensure services delivered to the citizens is as professional and efficient as possible.

Michael Rachal, Supervisor of Information and Technology Systems

Mr. Rachal began his career as a Lake Charles Police officer in 1988. Along the way he served twelve years in Patrol Division, three years in Community Policing, five years in Communications, six years in Information Technology, and three years in Finance/Budget Management.

While employed as a police officer, Mr. Rachal helped start up the Community Policing Division, supervised the Communications Division, implemented temporary workers as call takers for the Front Desk, helped implement a mobile computing solution for the Patrol Division and has advanced it to where it is today, implemented a digital in-car video camera solution, implemented a mobile command center, implemented a document scanning and storage solution, and implemented a RFID evidence tracking solution for Identification Division.

During this time, Mr. Rachal has received numerous certifications including:

Electronics Technician
Emergency Medical Technician
Hazardous Materials Technician
Vehicle/Bus Extrication
Child Passenger Safety Technician/Instructor
APCO Certified Communications Training Officer
Field Training Officer
Community Policing Training Officer
Computer Forensics Technician
Crime Analysis Technician
Crisis Negotiator
Microsoft Certified Professional/Security
Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer

During his time in Information Technology, Mr. Rachal has had to learn different aspects of technological advances such as Microsoft SQL Databases, Computer programming and Computer assisted mapping technologies. Most of this was self-taught with certifications pending.

Upon his retirement from the Lake Charles Police Department in 2017, he joined the Calcasieu Parish Communications and is responsible for Geographical Information Systems Mapping as well as implementing a major upgrade to the Computer Aided Dispatching/Call Taking system. This will include the Records Management System for the Police Departments and the Mobile Computing systems for the Police and Fire Departments.

Although Mr. Rachal no longer protects the citizens from a patrol level he continues to serve our community during their times of emergency by utilizing his priceless experience to ensure the technical equipment of the District remains operational and capable to handle the demands for service.

Board Members

Robert Daughdril
Jerry Merchant
Sue Gay Viccellio
William Wilkie
Andy Ardoin
Mason Lindsay
Christa Comeaux

911 Dispatch Center

Staff / Board

Richard J. McGuire, Executive Director

Nicole R. Guidry, Assistant Director

Michael Rachal, Supervisor of Information and Technology Systems

Board Members

911 Dispatch Center

Smart 911

2024 year End Stats