Connie Willey receiving the Distinguished Service Award for 30 years of dedication to Community Volunteer EMS of LaMoure. Pictured with her is her son, Benjamin Willey, who has been appointed as the fire representative on the North Dakota EMS Association board of directors.
LAMOURE, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The Community Volunteer EMS of LaMoure had several staff recognized for their service in the state.
Formed in 1976 and today 1,650 members strong, the North Dakota Emergency Medical Services Association (NDEMSA) is an association dedicated to representing our EMS providers, providing them educational services, advocacy, and access to valuable resources.
“NDEMSA is a leading resource for pre-hospital emergency medical service providers in North Dakota,” the organization states. “The Association provides an awards program, mental health and wellness programs, a leadership academy for service leaders, and a voice on EMS legislation. NDEMSA has one of the longest-running EMS conferences at 46 years. Education remains a priority providing 160 hours annually to over 1,000 attendees.”
Each year the North Dakota EMS Association recognizes those individuals who have made significant contributions to the provision, development and improvement to local, regional and state prehospital care. Local recipients are as follows:
Distinguished Service Recognition
This recognition has been developed to recognize those EMS providers who have served their community the longest. In order to qualify, the individual must still be certified (at any level), the certification must have been maintained for consecutive years and the individuals must have no less than 25 years of service. This year, Connie Willey of Community Volunteer EMS of LaMoure was recognized for her 30 years of dedicated service to EMS.
Media Award
The Media Award was established to honor media organizations or employees that significantly contribute to the image of EMS or to public education about emergency medicine in their communities or across the state. Any newspaper, magazine, television station, radio station or other media source, or an employee thereof, that promotes EMS related activity in the state in a positive manner qualifies for this award.
LaMoure Chronicle is a weekly newspaper in southeast ND and was the recipient of the 2022 Media Award. Art and Diane Hagebock are owners of LaMoure Chronicle, along with newspapers in Litchville, Enderlin, Kulm, and Gackle. Both Art and Diane are active EMRs and drivers with Community Volunteer EMS of LaMoure and Art also serves as the Fire Chief of LaMoure Fire Department. They assist the service by taking call hours during their work hours and help when the pager goes off and additional assistance is needed. They are very good about providing media coverage anytime the ambulance service does an educational event in the area and/or a fundraiser.
Siren Award
This award recognizes an individual driver who is not licensed above the Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) level. This individual goes above and beyond the call of duty, shows tremendous professionalism and a strong dedication to EMS. George Racine, EMR and driver with Community Volunteer EMS of LaMoure, was selected as this year’s Southeast Siren Award winner. George is a definitely a member who gives 110% to North Dakota EMS. His compassion, kindness, willingness to learn and take call shifts, and knowledge on rig maintenance and mechanics just can’t be beat and Community Volunteer EMS of LaMoure is more than honored to have his name listed on their roster. He is also a volunteer member of the North Dakota State SIRN committee.
EMS Foundation Education Grant
The vision of the EMS Foundation is to promote and support prehospital emergency medical services across the great state of North Dakota. The Foundation is dedicated to the state’s EMS providers, ambulance services, and quick response units; and it places a major emphasis on the continued viability of individual rural providers and response groups.
The EMS Foundation sponsors education scholarships for paramedic and EMT students, as well as continuing education scholarships for non-affiliated EMS personnel attending NDEMSA sponsored education events. The North Dakota EMS Foundation recently awarded, for the first time, $1,000 scholarships to ten paramedic students and $500 education grants to our EMT students. Taylor Clark, a National Registered EMT with Community Volunteer EMS of LaMoure, was among this year’s recipients.