MONTICELLO – In a summer that’s heating up to be fraught with automobile accidents, power outages, and flash floods, it’s good to know that our county is protected by a robust network of emergency medical service (EMS) providers. The Sullivan County Legislature honored these EMS practitioners with an awards ceremony at a Public Safety and Law Enforcement Meeting on Thursday, August 6, for their excellence in the field. Before the awards ceremony, Committee Chair Luis Alvarez asked those in attendance to observe a moment of silence for two individuals who recently passed: Nelson Durland, a legacy firefighter who served as a member of the Hurleyville Fire Department for 69 years, and Jesus Ortega, the Livingston Manor resident who lost his life during the intense flooding last week. EMS Coordinator Alex Rau set the table, explaining that the award winners had been revealed at the annual summer barbecue sponsored by the Sullivan County EMS Council on August 2. He said the county award winners would then compete for regional awards and subsequently be considered for state awards. The ceremony’s first award, Youth Provider of the Year, went to an emergency medical technician (EMT) under the age of 21 that exudes dedication, responsibility, and professional behavior. “She just graduated Tri-Valley School in June,” said Rau. “She became an EMT earlier this year in the SUNY Sullivan EMT program, and I am proud to have been her instructor in that program. From the Neversink Fire Department, Emily Poley.” Rau presented the next award, the Harriet C. Weber EMS Leadership award to Captain Tony Carlucci of Bethel Ambulance Corps for exhibiting innovation, dedication, and executive management skills. Susan Sherwood accepted the award on behalf of Carlucci, who was on vacation. The award for EMS Agency of the Year, which honors an organization for consistency in EMS excellence, was presented to the Upper Delaware Ambulance Corps. Rau said, “This year’s recipient received this award based on an incident they had in their community. It was a seizure fall which turned into a cardiac arrest fall, and it was responded to promptly. It also involved a family member of the ambulance corps, so they had to take care of one of their own.” That family member was Steve Duffy, who was in attendance to present the award. Winner of the Basic Life Support Provider of the Year Award was Livingston Manor Ambulance Corps EMT Ralph Bressler, who Rau said had displayed continued dedication to his community as a 100% volunteer that answered over 800 calls a year and served as captain for the ambulance corps. Hailing from Delaware County, EMT Tammy Reed received the Advanced Life Support Provider of the Year for her service as a paramedic with Sullivan County EMS/SeniorCare EMS. Rau said, “Tammy Reed is being awarded this award based on her consistent delivery of EMS services to our community, her calm approach, and her great bedside manner.” The Democrat congratulates and thanks all the EMS winners for their dedication and service to the communities of Sullivan County.