AWARDS | midway-fire-rescue

Midway Fire Rescue Departmental AWARDS

OFFICER OF THE YEAR

1978 – Lynn Watkins 1979 – Victor Archambeau 1980 – John Stewart

1981 – Shorter Rybolt 1982 – Ed Mills 1983 – Ed Mills

1984 – John Stewart 1985 – Shorter Rybolt 1986 – Sam Rudolph

1987 – Sam Rudolph 1988 – Ed Mills 1989 – Sam Rudolph

1990 – Sam Rudolph 1991 – Ed Mills 1992 – Sam Rudolph

1993 – Sam Rudolph 1994 – Sam Hodge 1995 – Sam Hodge

1996 – Sam Hodge 1997 – Sam Rudolph 1998 – Mike Mock, John Stewart, Dan Wetsel, Sam Rudolph, Sam, Hodge, Doug Eggiman, Ed Mills 1999 – Dan Wetsel

2000 – Doug Eggiman 2001 – Rex Smith 2002 – Sam Rudolph

2003 – Heather Pritchard 2004 – Jeff Pifer 2005 – David Biggs

2006 – Carr Gilmore 2007 – Joe Ruffennach 2008 – Brent McClellan

2009 – Josh Carney 2010 – Brent McClellan 2011 – James Elliott

2012 – Pete Copeland 2013 – Jerry Liberatore 2014 – Jeff Pifer

2015 – Brent McClellan 2016 – Jesse Morgan

VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER OF THE YEAR

1977 – Paul Szarowicz 1978 – William Coachman 1979 – Jerome Maybank

1980 – John Cusick 1981 – Ennis Caldwell 1982 – Helen Casselman

1983 – Armand Berube 1984 – James Berends 1985 – Darryl Pyatt

1986 – Doug Eggiman 1987 – David Geney 1988 – David Geney

1989 – Doug Eggiman 1990 – Mitchell Fipps 1991 – Thomas Williams

1992 – David Geney 1993 – David Geney 1994 – Mike Benton

1995 – John Casselman 1996 – Beth Gilfilin 1997 – Eric Schwartzkopf

1998 – Mike Hines 1999 – Mike Hines 2000 – Mike Hines

2001 – Dennis Cangelosi 2002 – Mike Hines 2003 – Rick Myers

2004 – Rick Myers 2005 – Rick Myers 2006 – Rick Myers

2007 – Rick Myers 2008 – Will Tayloe 2009 – Rick Myers

2010 – Rick Myers 2011 – Rick Kefauver

CAREER FIREFIGHTER/EMT OF THE YEAR

1995 – Mike Benton 1996 – Mitchell Fipps 1997 – Tom Boyd

1998 – Brian Eason 1999 – Jeff Pifer 2000 – Mike Hessler

2001 – Tom Balcuinas 2002 – Eric Breznicky 2003 – Mark Mercer

2004 – Eric Breznicky 2005 – Pete Copeland 2006 – Mike Fox

2007 – Shane Kingsford 2008 – Justin Wackerly 2009 – Gary Cracknell

2010 – Jesse Morgan 2011 – Justin Wackerly 2012 – Joseph Palombi

2013 – Ryan Crowley 2014 – Justin Lenker 2015 – Luke Vogler

2016 – Ryan Matthews

TOM BOYD MEMORIAL CAREER FIREFIGHTER/PARAMEDIC OF THE YEAR

2000 – Heather Pritchard 2001 – Lee Matlashewski 2002 – Mike Hessler

2003 – Matt Smittle 2004 – Shawnda Snyder 2005 – Brent McClellan

2006 – Mike Smith 2007 – Matt Smittle 2008 – Henry Hulit

2009 – Chris Runyon 2010 – James Elliott 2011 – Chris Stier

2012 – Joe Celletti 2013 – Joseph Anderson 2014 – Adam Maag

2015 – William Dougan 2016 – Daniel Weihert

SPECIAL SERVICES MEMBER OF THE YEAR

1993 – Jim Hopkins 1994 – Dick Cambrey 1995 – Dick Cambrey

1996 – Brad May 1997 – Brad May 1998 – Brad May

1999 – Brad May 2000 – Peggy Green 2001 – Pauline May

2002 – Jim Hopkins 2003 – Linda Mock 2004 – Kim Eason

2005 – Debbie Smittle 2006 – Gigi Hines 2007 – Carlethia Rudolph

2008 – Frank Seitz 2009 – Frank Seitz 2010 – Frank Seitz

2011 – Ed Mills 2012 – Ed Mills 2013 – Nancy Crawford

2014 – Steve Kelsey 2015 – Steve Kelsey, Gene Turner 2016 – Steve Kelsey

VOLUNTEER EMS MEMBER OF THE YEAR

2006 – Eve Eggiman 2007 – Don Ellis 2008 – Rick Myers

2009 – Joan Noble 2010 – Eve Eggiman 2011 – Rick Myers

2012 – Rick Myers 2015 – Jennifer Brown

EXCELLENCE IN TRAINING

2003 – Mark Mercer, David Biggs

2004 – Mark Mercer, Terry Skidmore

2005 – Mark Mercer, Todd Blomdahl

2006 – Bob Beebe, Mark Mercer, Heather Pritchard, Carr Gilmore, Tom Balcuinas

2007 – Mark Mercer, Pete, Copeland, Bob Beebe, Jerry Liberatore, Pete Copeland, Brent McClellan, Kyle Wilson, Billy Cook, Giovanni Cresta

2008 – Pete Copeland, Bob Beebe, Doug Eggiman

2009 – Bob Beebe, Pete Copeland, Will Tayloe, Jesse Morgan

2010 – Chris Runyon, Mark Mercer, Adam Knowles, Matt Smittle, Brian Michna, Jay Bombalicki, Bob Beebe, Niki Crippen

2011 – Mark Mercer, Will Tayloe, Adam Knowles, Niki Crippen, Bob Beebe, Michael Chapman

2012 – Bob Beebe, Todd Blomdahl, Joseph Palombi, Ryan Matthews

2013 – Mark Mercer

2014 – Mark Mercer, Jerry Liberatore

2015 – Justin Lenker, Ronald Montgomery, Caleb Duda

2016 – Justin Lenker, James Costanza

FIRE & LIFE SAFETY EDUCATOR AWARD

2012 – Michael Morris 2013 – Frank Seitz 2014 – Frank Seitz

2015 – Michael Morris 2016 – Michael Morris

SPECIAL PROJECTS AWARD

2002 – Mark Mercer, Mike Cardwell (Haz Mat training); Josh Carney, Tom Balcuinas (Vehicle Maintenance)

2003 – Josh Carney (Vehicle Maintenance)

2004 – Curt Baldwin (training tower)

2005 – Tony Bell (SCBAs)

2006 – Bob Beebe (summer camp)

2007 – A,B, and C Shifts (Career - move)

2008 – Michael Morris (open house)

2009 – Frank Seitz, Jeremy Tumblin (PDF preplans, hyperlink addresses)

2010 – Jesse Morgan, Joseph Williamson (training tower)

2011 – Brian Michna, Ed Mills, Joseph Williamson (station alerting)

2012 – Jesse Morgan (burn building)

2013 – Jesse Morgan (training props)

2014 – Will Tayloe (River 1)

2015 – Mike Hessler (flag pole 82)

2016 – Joseph Palombi (Prom MVA); Carr Gilmore, Josh Carney, Jerry Liberatore, Shane Kingsford, James Crawford (Apparatus Committee)

MOST IMPROVED FITNESS AWARD

2010 – Jeremy Tumblin 2013 – Ronald Montgomery 2014 – Howard Lutz

2015 – Joe Ruffennach 2016 – Matt Smittle

EXCELLENCE IN FITNESS AWARD

2010- Giorgio Amente 2011 – Vince Caporuscio 2012 – Ian Edmonds

2013 – Joseph Anderson 2014 – Joseph Anderson 2015 – Joseph Anderson

2016 – Joseph Anderson

COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD

2003 – Jason Whaley (nation bik-a-thon) 2005 – Sam Hodge (mission trips) 2007 – Bob Beebe, Pete Copeland (prom MVA)

2008 – Ric Matyas (needy fundraising) 2009 – Bill Collins (pink tour) 2010 – Phil Newbauer (pink tour)

2011 – Michael Morris (overall customer and department service), Austin Meares (9/11 Memorial special award)

2013 – Niki Crippen (Breast Cancer and COTA t-shirts), Mark Mercer (Boy Scouts), Joseph Palombi & Brian Michna (Team Hunter)

2014 – Niki Crippen (Breast Cancer & Burn Camp) 2015 – Glenn Cox Pawleys Island Outdoors (Use of John Boats)

2016 – Niki Crippen (Breast Cancer, Burn Camp Counselor, United Way, MDA, Burn Fundraiser, Sorority Advisor)

MERITORIOUS SERVICE AWARD

2004 – David Geney 2006 – Sam Hodge 2008 – Joe Garrity

2009 – Rex Smith 2010 – Bob Beebe 2011 – Michael Chapman

2013 – James Elliott, Joseph Williamson, & Ian Edmonds 2014 – Ed Mills 2015 – Father Wil Keith

2016 – Michael Hessler

MERITORIOUS ACTION AWARD

2012 – B Shift Station 82 (Carr Gilmore, Jeremy Skinner, Adham Dumont, Kevin McLaughlin, Ian Edmonds) for Elliott GSW

2013 – Jeremy Skinner & Ryan Curtis (Creek Rescue)

2014 – Scott McGuire & Daniel Weihert (Creek Rescue) , Matt Smittle & Erik Noel (Firefighter Rescue)

2015 – Daniel Weihert, Adam Maag, Luke Vogler, & James Costanza (Swift Water Rescue)

2016 – Pete Copeland, Jesse Morgan, Adham Dumont, & Ryan Matthews (Wild Fire Near Miss)

MEDAL OF VALOR

2006 – Carr Gilmore (drowning rescue) 2009 – Jerry Liberatore, Adam Mexicott, Ryan Kelly (night water rescue)

2010 – Niki Crippen (unsecured off duty GSW) 2014 – Shane Kingsford (Off-duty Double Drowning Rescue)

2015 – Joe Ruffennach, Joseph Palombi, Luke Vogler (fire victim rescue)

CHIEF’S AWARD

2003 – Mike Mock, Dan Wetsel 2007 – Sam Rudolph

LIFE MEMBERS

2002 – Ed Mills, John Stewart 2003 – Mike Mock 2005 – Eve Eggiman

2009 – Sam Rudolph 2010 – Doug Eggiman 2015 – Carr Gilmore

AWARDS NO LONGER PRESENTED

TELECOMMUNICATOR OF THE YEAR

1987 – Helena Tyler 1988 – Susie Tuck 1989 – Eve Eggiman

1990 – Lesley Hodge 1991 – Susie Tuck 1992 – Eve Eggiman

ENGINE COMPANY OF THE YEAR

1989 – Engine 7, Steve Cribb 1990 – Engine 6, Doug Eggiman 1991 – Engine 7, Doug Eggiman

OUTSTANDING CITIZEN OF THE YEAR

1993 – Geri Feris

YOUTH BRIGADE MEMBER OF THE YEAR

1981 – Eve Casselman 1982 – Darla Roberts 1983 – David Geney

1984 – Christy Geney 1985 – Melinda Casselman 1986 – Ben Marlow

1987 – Melinda Casselman 1988 – Melinda Casselman

PUBLIC EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR

2000 – Mike Robino, Barry Smith

Midway Fire Rescue is proud of the accomplishments that the department reaches each and every year. The department has recieved numerous recognitions every year.

Winner of the American Heart Association Fit-Friendly Company five years running. 2011-2015

2015 Winner of the Heart Safe Community Award

EMS Section of the International Association of Fire Chiefs

The annual Heart Safe Communtiy Awards recogixe fire service-based EMS and other EMS systems with creative approaches to implement and maintain systems to prevent and treat cardiac-related diseases within their communities. This award examines communities holistically and how they have integrated their systems to work symbiotically. Agencies must demonstrate imprved quality of out-of-hospital resuscitation through bystander CPR, AED deployment (PAD programs), out-of-hospital 12-lead ECGs, 12-Lead ECG advanced notification to the recieving hospital, or other continuous quality resuscitation improvements. The award honors departments representing small communties with populations under 100,000 and large communties with populations over 100,000.

Winner - Small Community

Midway Fire Rescue (SC) - The midway Fire-Rescue Department has implemented a variety of programs to improve the emergency medical services provided to its diverse communtiy of tourists, year-around residents, and seasonal residents. Together , these programs have represented Midway's efforts to better educate the public and Midway Fire-Rescue personnel. Midway's public outreach efforts have allowed the agency to reach out to the nearly 5,000 individuals, or 25% of the population, as well as expand the emergency medical training offered to all Midway Fire_rescue personnel. Midway also completed an aggressive push to update their equipment, including the purchase of new LifePak monitors, to improve communications with the community's hospital and decrease "Door-To-Balloon" time for STEMI patients. Midway's efforts have succeeded in improving survivability rates patients throughout the community.

Award News Release

GEORGETOWN COUNTY — Midway Fire Rescue was announced on March 9 as a recipient of this year’s Heart Safe Community Award, presented by the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ EMS section. The award is presented to only two communities annually — one large and one small. Midway won the award for small communities (those with populations under 100,000).

The award recognizes fire-service-based EMS and other EMS systems that have used creative approaches to implement or maintain public access defibrillation programs within the communities they serve. From 2001-2005, the award considered the establishment of Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) programs by fire and EMS agencies in their communities. In 2005, the award criteria were expanded to reflect the 2005 American Heart Association Guidelines. Now, agencies applying for the award must show how they have also improved the quality of out-of-hospital resuscitation through bystander CPR, AED deployment, advanced notification to the receiving hospital, and other continuous quality resuscitation improvements.

Midway Fire Rescue has implemented a variety of programs to improve its emergency medical service. Midway provides service to a diverse community consisting of year-round and seasonal residents, as well as tourists. Public outreach efforts have allowed the agency to reach nearly 5,000 people, as well as expand the emergency medical training offered to all Midway Fire Rescue personnel.

Midway also completed an aggressive push to:

Update its equipment, including the purchase of new LifePak monitors,
Improve communications with the community’s hospital system; and
Decrease “door-to-balloon time” — the interval between when a heart attack patient arrives at the hospital and the time he/she receives percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), such as angioplasty.

“This is an incredible honor,” said Midway Chief Doug Eggiman. “We’ve had state honors before and different things like that, but to actually win something on an international level like this, it’s kind of stunning.”

It also says a lot about the community as a whole, Eggiman said. “We’re really blessed in the sense that we have wonderful people here who are proactive and aggressive in doing things to make our community safer. We’re also very lucky to have a supportive administrator and County Council that allows us to get the equipment and policies we need to have in place to do what we do. They also helped earn this award, as did the community and the hospitals that receive our patients. We’re very much a team and every member of this team is key and played a part in our receiving this award.

Midway’s efforts have succeeded in improving survivability rates of patients throughout the community and the department should be lauded not just for this most recent recognition, but for their efforts every day to save lives and create a safer community for residents in Georgetown County.

Albuquerque Fire Department is this year’s other Heart Safe Community Award recipient.

“The Heart Safe Community awards recognize the Albuquerque Fire Department and the Midway Fire Rescue Department for their dedication and work to promote a better and safer community,” said David Becker, chair of the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ EMS section. “They demonstrate and serve as role models for other communities to follow in protecting their citizens through their programs.”

News Report - South Strand News

Pawleys Island, S.C. – Midway Fire Rescue has once again been recognized as a Platinum-Level Fit-Friendly Company by the American Heart Association for helping employees eat better and move more.

“Physical activity and employee wellness are important priorities at Midway Fire Rescue. We are honored and excited to be recognized by the American Heart Association as a Platinum-Level Fit-Friendly Company,” said Battalion Chief Brent McClellan. “We’re committed to providing the best workplace environment possible. This will benefit our employees’ health and produce even more positive results for our company overall.”

Platinum-level employers:• Offer employees physical activity options in the workplace.• Implement at least nine criteria outlined by the American Heart Association in the areas of physical activity, nutrition and culture.• Demonstrate measurable outcomes related to workplace wellness.

The Fit-Friendly Companies program is a catalyst for positive change in the American workforce by helping companies makes their employees’ health and wellness a priority.

American employers are losing an estimated $225.8 billion a year because of healthcare expenses and health-related losses in productivity, and those numbers are rising. Many American adults spend most of their waking hours at sedentary jobs. Their lack of regular physical activity raises their risk for a host of medical problems, such as obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Employers face $12.7 billion in annual medical expenses due to obesity alone. The American Heart Association is working to change corporate cultures by motivating employees to start walking, which has the lowest dropout rate of any physical activity.

Recognition is a critical component of the Fit-Friendly Companies program. Employers that join this program qualify for official recognition by the American Heart Association. Qualifying companies also have the right to use the program’s annual recognition seal for internal communications and with external, recruitment-related communications.

“The Fit-Friendly Companies Program offers a unique, easy-to-implement opportunity for corporations to increase employees’ physical activity, which will help improve their health – and their employers’ bottom line,” said McClellan, who is also fitness coordinator. “Even people who haven’t exercised regularly until middle age can reap significant benefits by starting a walking program. A study published in 1986 in the New England Journal of Medicine found that some adults may gain two hours of life expectancy for every hour of regular, vigorous exercise they performed.”