NAEMT Elects Officers/Presents Annual Awards During EMS EXPO

     The National Association of EMTs concluded its annual meeting, held in conjunction with EMS EXPO in Las Vegas, by electing new officers and board members and presenting its annual awards.

     Officers and board members were installed during the Board of Governors meeting on Sept. 29. Elected to serve the association during the coming year were:
President: Jerry Johnston, Mount Pleasant, IA
President-Elect: Patrick F. Moore, Conway, AR
Vice President: Connie Meyer, MICT, Greeley, KS
Treasurer: Edward J. Sawicki, Sausalito, CA
Secretary: Robert A. Lofthus, Virden, IL
Directors: Augie Bamonti, Chicago Heights, IL; Will Chapleau, Chicago Heights, IL; Richard Ellis, Warner-Robins, GA; Jennifer Frenette, Lancaster, NH; and Jim Slattery, Norton, MA. Immediate Past President is Kenneth J. Bouvier of New Orleans, LA.

     Each year, NAEMT recognizes excellence in various areas of prehospital medical care with individual and organizational achievement awards. This year's awards were presented on September 29 at NAEMT's annual awards dinner, sponsored by Wheeled Coach. Recognized for their contributions to EMS were:
Sedley A. Tomlinson, NREMT-B, I/C, CCPST, Conway, AR: Robert E. Motley EMT of the Year, sponsored by JEMS Communications;
Tonia L. Hale, NREMT-P, Searcy, AR: Asmund S. Laerdal Award for Excellence--EMT-Paramedic of the Year, sponsored by Laerdal Medical Corp.;
Jeffrey D. Dumermuth, EMT-P, West Des Moines, IA: William Klingensmith EMS Administrator of the Year, sponsored by Moore Medical Corp.;
Jonathan Brent Myers, MD, MPH, FACEP, Raleigh, NC: Richard "Dick" Ferneau EMS Medical Director of the Year, sponsored by Ferno-Washington Inc.;
Garry W. Odom, NREMT-P, Little Rock, AR: Mary Ann Talley EMS Instructor/Coordinator of the Year, sponsored by Mosby;
Ellinwood EMS, Ellinwood, KS: Leo R. Schwartz Emergency Medical Service of the Year, sponsored by EMS Magazine;
American Medical Response, El Paso County, CO: EMT-Paramedic Emergency Medical Service of the Year, sponsored by ZOLL Medical Corp.;
Drew Dawson, Washington, DC: Rocco V. Morando Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by the National Registry of EMTs;
Matthew Kallmyer, NREMT-P, River Ridge, LA: Anthony S. Maniscalco Memorial Scholarship, sponsored by the Michael and Susan Newburger Foundation;
Christian E. Callsen, Jr., LP, Austin, TX: 2007 ADPI/NAEMT National EMS Chiefs, Officers and Administrators Division--Harvard Executive Session Scholarship, sponsored by Advanced Data Processing Inc.

In other EMS News

EMS On Congress' Radar in Appropriations Bill
     The Homeland Security appropriations bill passed in October contains an increased focus on EMS, but what it will eventually mean in funds for the provider on the street remains uncertain.

     "[House and Senate] conferees remain concerned with the lack of first responder grant funding being provided to the EMS community," the bill says. It then directs that grant guidance require state and local governments to include EMS as equal partners in their planning committees and "facilitate a nationwide EMS needs assessment." It also requires that the Department of Homeland Security report to Congress on the use of Homeland Security and Assistance to Firefighter grant funds for EMS.

     A similar needs assessment was sought by Congress last year but never conducted.-EMSResponder.com