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News Release | EMS Heroes To Be Honored in Washington, DC as 2024 Stars of Life

October 24, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Amanda Riordan
703-615-4492
ariordan@ambulance.org

EMS Heroes To Be Honored in Washington, DC as 2024 Stars of Life

Washington, DC—This November, the American Ambulance Association (AAA) will recognize extraordinary EMS professionals during the annual Stars of Life celebration. 143 individuals from across the United States will be honored as the 2024 Stars at the November 11–13 event.

Stars of Life pays tribute to the dedication of these hometown heroes while shining light on the critical role EMS plays in our healthcare safety net. During their time in our nation’s capital, the Stars will receive medallions and awards in thanks for their lifesaving and life-sustaining service. The Stars, accompanied by their families and executive hosts, will also meet with members of Congress and congressional aides to discuss policy issues critical to emergency medical services. In recognition of Veterans Day on November 11, special recognition will be afforded to Stars with a military or reserves background.

In addition to the Stars, Representative Brad Finstad of Minnesota and Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington will be recognized as Legislators of the Year, and 9 United States Senators and 16 US Representatives will receive Legislative Recognition Awards for their support of mobile healthcare. Retiring Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan will also be honored with the inaugural EMS Legacy Award.

American Ambulance Association President Randy Strozyk noted that, “EMS professionals work around-the-clock to deliver out-of-hospital care when it is needed most.” He continued, “We honor this year’s Stars of Life and thank them for their tireless service to local communities across the nation.”

This year’s distinguished Stars of Life honorees are:

Frank Alba, Critical Care Paramedic, Field Training Officer, American Medical Response (Kansas City, KS)
Johan Alvarado, Flight Paramedic, Air Evac Lifeteam (Laredo, TX)
Aubree Arneson, Advanced Emergency Medical Technician, Cal-Ore Life Flight (Brookings, OR)
Adam Aronberg, Paramedic, Northwell Health System Center for EMS (Norwalk, NY)
Glenn Arremony, Operations Manager, Hartford HealthCare EMS Network (Lisbon, CT)
Robyn Asher, Training Administrator & Quality Assurance Manager, Priority Ambulance, LLC (Oak Ridge, TN)
Krystal Barboza, Community Outreach Coordinator, Hall Ambulance Service  (Bakersfield, CA)
Keone Bareng, Paramedic Supervisor, Life EMS Ambulance (West Olive, MI)
Henry Barsh, Emergency Medical Technician, American Medical Response (Philadelphia, DC)
John Basile, Emergency Medical Technician, Superior Air-Ground Ambulance Service of Indiana (Highland, IN)
Jason Baum, Paramedic Supervisor, Falck – San Diego (Escondido, CA)
Alec Belau, Field Training Officer, Paramedic, Maricopa Ambulance, Priority Ambulance, LLC (Scottsdale, TN)
Antoine Berenger, Firefighter / Emergency Medical Technician, Rural Metro Fire (Gilbert, AZ)
Samantha Blackwell, Paramedic, Acadian Ambulance (Converse, LA)
Cornelius Brady, Chief Strategy Officer, VMSC Emergency Medical Services (Lansdale, PA)
Spencer Brittain, Advanced Emergency Medical Technician, Life EMS  (Enid, OK)
Gregg Bulman, Paramedic , Gundersen Tri-State Ambulance (Dorchester, WI)
Jade Calvin, Critical Care Paramedic, Bell Ambulance, Inc. (Waukesha, WI)
Jeremiah Capps, Operations Manager, Superior Mobile Health (Converse, TX)
Josh Cavaness, Flight Paramedic, EagleMed/Med-Trans Corp. (Chanute, KS)
Emily Chandler, EMS Programs Manager & Program Director, NCTI of Massachusetts, American Medical Response (Duxbury, MA)
Cassandra Clark, Paramedic Supervisor, Medix Ambulance Service Inc. (Vancouver , OR)
Eric Constantine, Operations Manager – Sonoma County, Medic Ambulance Service Inc. (Santa Rosa, CA)
Jason Cooke, Vice President of Operations, Medshore Ambulance, Priority Ambulance, LLC (Darlington , SC)
Bernard Cote, Advanced Emergency Medical Technician, Rescue Inc. (Newfane, VT)
Janiece Cox, Critical Care Paramedic/911 Contract Manager, Superior Air-Ground Ambulance Service of Indiana (Valparaiso, IN)
Brandi Crist, Paramedic, Metropolitan EMS (Bigelow, AR)
Andrew Davalos, Paramedic , American Medical Response (Rancho Cucamonga, CA)
Dwight Derby, Emergency Medical Technician, Advanced Life Systems, Inc. (Selah, WA)
Michael Dobrosky, Paramedic, Superior Air-Ground Ambulance Service of Ohio (Genoa, OH)
Dianna Drake, Emergency Medical Technician & Field Training Officer, Hartford HealthCare EMS Network (Meriden, CT)
Nate Dutt, Paramedic, Sanford Ambulance (Fargo, ND)
Amie Ebarb, Emergency Medical Technician, Southern Oklahoma Ambulance Service (Ardmore, OK)
Riggs Egolf, Paramedic, American Medical Response (Hampton, VA)
Yahya Elshawarbi, Emergency Medical Technician, Falck USA (Hayward, CA)
Steve Emery, Emergency Medical Technician, Seals Ambulance, Priority Ambulance, LLC (Indianapolis, IN)
Aidan Enders, Paramedic Chief Supervisor, Mohawk Ambulance Service (Delanson, NY)
Juvencio Estrada, Flight Nurse, Air Evac Lifeteam (Laredo, TX)
William Fisher, Flight Paramedic, Air Evac Lifeteam (Walnut Ridge, MO)
Jason Florance, Paramedic, American Medical Response (Overbrook, KS)
Eric Foell, Training Officer, Regional Ambulance Service, Inc. (Tinmouth, VT)
Robert Ford, Emergency Medical Technician, LifeNet Inc. – Oklahoma (Stillwater, OK)
Josh Frierson, Operations Manager, Lifenet, Inc – Texas (Wake Village, TX)
Jorge Garcia, Emergency Medical Technician, Umpqua Valley Ambulance (Roseburg, OR)
Hope Garrison, Operations Manager, LifeNet, Inc. – Arkansas (Royal, AR)
Craig Gesterling, Shift Commander & Paramedic , Sunstar Paramedics (St Petersburg, SD)
Taylor Gibson, Assistant Supervisor – Emergency Communications, Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service (Rochester , MN)
Jacob Gilmore, Emergency Medical Technician, Mohawk Ambulance Service (Burnt Hills, NY)
Wayne Gooding, Community Paramedic, Emergent Health Partners (Jackson, MI)
Jessup Grogan, Sergeant & Emergency Medical Technician, Metropolitan EMS (Little Rock, AR)
Kenneth Guzman, Paramedic, Northwell Health System Center for EMS (Farmingville, NY)
Diamond Hall, Emergency Medical Technician, Superior Air-Ground Ambulance Service of Illinois (Oak Park, IL)
Morgan Halliburton, Emergency Medical Technician, ProMed Ambulance (Maynard, AR)
Scotland Hamlin, Field Training Officer, Emergency Medical Technician, American Medical Response (Orlando, FL)
Kayleen Harding, Emergency Medical Technician, Frontier Ambulance, Priority Ambulance, LLC (Fort Washakie, WY)
Josh Harrington, Assistant Supervisor & Paramedic , Sunstar Paramedics (Tampa, FL)
John Hathaway, Emergency Medical Technician, Spirit Medical Transport, LLC (Greenville, OH)
Robert Hatzikonstantis, Paramedic & Field Training Officer, Armstrong Ambulance Service ( Arlington, MA)
William Hehn, Jr., Air Communications Specialist, REMSA Health (Reno, NV)
Jason Henry, Fire Captain Paramedic, Rural Metro Fire (Mesa, AZ)
Kylend Hetherington, Paramedic, Medstar Ambulance (Auburn, MI)
Jon Hibbard, Paramedic Supervisor, Action Ambulance Service, Inc. (Tuftonboro, MA)
Timothy Hinchcliff, Managing Director, Burholme Emergency Medical Services (Philadelphia, PA)
Jason Hodges, Operations Supervisor, Honor Guard Commander, American Medical Response (Wilsonville, OR)
Royce Hsiung, EMT-IV Tech, Lakes Region EMS (North Branch, MN)
Alan Hughry, Paramedic , Medic Ambulance Service Inc. (Vallejo, CA)
Kristen Hunter, Emergency Medical Technician Supervisor, Action Ambulance Service, Inc. (Southboro, MA)
Heather James, Advanced Emergency Medical Technician , American Medical Response (Lagrange, GA)
Lillie Jamison, Supervisor and Compliance Specialist, Baptist Ambulance, Priority Ambulance, LLC (Nesbit, TN)
Steve Jaskot, Community Paramedic, Emergent Health Partners (Chelsea, MI)
Brian Keith, Emergency Medical Technician, Superior Air-Ground Ambulance Service of Wisconsin (Oshkosh, WI)
David Kingdon, Paramedic, American Medical Response (Wailuku, HI)
Alissa Krisher, Critical Care Paramedic, Superior Air-Ground Ambulance Service of Wisconsin (New London, WI)
Daniel Laguna, Area Float Pilot, REACH (North Salt Lake, UT)
Matthew Lambert, Paramedic, Lifeguard Ambulance Service (Florence, AL)
Carla Landrum, Field Training Officer, Puckett EMS, Priority Ambulance, LLC (Buchanan, GA)
Miki Leslie, Emergency Medical Technician, Field Training Officer, American Medical Response (White Swan, WA)
William Loftus-Rooney, Emergency Medical Technician, Cataldo Ambulance Service, Inc.  (Holyoke , MA)
George Lombardo, EMS Training & Safety Manager, Superior Mobile Health (Kirby, TX)
Patti Ludvig McCartney, Integrated Care Paramedic, Life EMS Ambulance (Portage, MI)
Eric Lumpkin, Dispatch Supervisor – Quality Assurance & Training, Central EMS, Priority Ambulance, LLC (Dacula, GA)
Don Marr, Paramedic, Bay Cities Ambulance (Coos Bay, OR)
James Martin, Critical Care Paramedic, Pafford EMS (Tulsa, OK)
Maurice Matthews, Critical Care Paramedic, Superior Air-Ground Ambulance Service of Michigan (Berkley, MI)
Amanda McQuistian, Director Of Operations, LifeCare Medical Transports, Priority Ambulance (Fredericksburg, VA)
Alyssa Meier, Emergency Medical Technician, Life Line Ambulance (Prescott, AZ)
Eli Melamed, Paramedic, Life Line Ambulance (Prescott Valley, AZ)
Shelly Miller, Revenue Cycle Manager, Mecklenburg EMS Agency (Concord, NC)
Loren Mitchell, Operations Supervisor , Gundersen Tri-State Ambulance (Waterloo , WI)
Michael Mitchell, Emergency Medical Technician, Superior Air-Ground Ambulance Service of Illinois (Yorkville, IL)
Kevin Moore, Paramedic, Cataldo Ambulance Service, Inc.  (Newburyport, MA)
Amber Munch, Advanced Emergency Medical Technician, East Baton Rouge Parish EMS (Baton Rouge, LA)
Scott Munoz, Critical Care Paramedic, Missoula Emergency Services (Frenchtown, MT)
Adam Mysona, Emergency Medical Technician, Falck – Colorado (Lakewood, CO)
Philip Neff, Field Training Officer, Falck – Southern California (La Palma, CA)
Shellaine Novak, Clinical Services Director, PatientCare EMS (Sioux Falls, SD)
Stacy Omdahl, Emergency Medical Technician, LifeCare EMS (Roseau, MN)
Megan Overbeck, Paramedic, Abbott EMS (Decatur, IL)
Michael Penna, Critical Care Transport Registered Nurse, American Medical Response (Grand Terrace, CA)
Jon Jakob Peterson, Paramedic, Sanford Ambulance (Fargo, ND) (POSTHUMOUS)
Lori Peterson, Paramedic & Field Training Officer, Medstar Ambulance (Shelby Twp, MI)
Emily Robillard, Emergency Communications Officer , East Baton Rouge Parish EMS (New Roads, LA)
Kevin Rochford, Paramedic, American Medical Response (Temple, TX)
Brian Rogers, Advanced Scope Paramedic, Superior Air-Ground Ambulance Service of Ohio (Ontario, OH)
Daniel Schaefer, Chief of Operations, Metro-Area Ambulance Service (Mandan , ND)
Madison Schatzer, Paramedic, McClain-Grady County EMS (Moore, OK)
Mark Schiltz, Emergency Medical Technician, Gundersen Tri-State Ambulance (Caledonia, WI)
Ryan Schott, Field Training Officer, Paramedic Crew Chief, & Tactical Paramedic, Mecklenburg EMS Agency (Charlotte, NC)
Joe Scott, Paramedic Shift Leader, Medix Ambulance Service Inc. (Warrenton , OR)
Allison Sharp, Paramedic, East Baton Rouge Parish EMS (Baton Rouge, LA)
Faith Shuff, Paramedic Field Supervisor, National EMS, Priority Ambulance, LLC (Oxford, TN)
Nicole Silver, Paramedic, Northwell Health System Center for EMS (Staten Island, NY)
Dale Simmons, EMS Program Administrator, Mercy Ambulance Service, Inc. (Savannah, GA)
Lance Smeal, Field Training Officer, Advanced Emergency Medical Technician, American Medical Response (Lockport, NY)
Chad Smith, Director of Operation Support, Kunkel Ambulance, Priority Ambulance, LLC (Mohawk, TN)
Robin Smith, Training Administrator, First Call Ambulance, Priority Ambulance, LLC (Nashville, TN)
Thomas Smith, Communications Manager, EMSA (Tulsa, OK)
Raquel Soto, Paramedic, American Medical Response (Newington, CT)
Jason Southard, Operations Supervisor, American Medical Response (Tucson, AZ)
Allen Steele, Emergency Medical Technician, Guardian Ambulance Service, Priority Ambulance, LLC (Darlington, SC)
Savannah Steele Welch, Field Supervisor, Paramedic, Acadian Ambulance (West Monroe, LA)
Ambrose Stevens, Operations Manager, Paramedic, American Medical Response (Redding, CA) (POSTHUMOUS)
Dalton Stewart, Paramedic, Pafford EMS (Boyle, MS)
Sam Swanson, Paramedic, Hall Ambulance Service  (Bakersfield, CA)
Jessicah Sweet, Advanced Emergency Medical Technician, Monticello Ambulance Service (Star City, AR)
Sam Sye, Fleet Service Manager , Gundersen Tri-State Ambulance (Mindoro, WI)
Keri Taylor, Health Information Management Coordinator, EMSA (Oklahoma City, OK)
Nikki Taylor, Captain, Nationally Registered Paramedic, Metropolitan EMS (North Little Rock, AR)
Heather Teague, Paramedic Crew Chief, Mecklenburg EMS Agency (Charlotte, NC)
Shane Terry, Flight Paramedic, Air Evac Lifeteam (Snyder, TX)
Chris Thomason, Paramedic, ProMed Ambulance (El Dorado, AR)
Cynthia Torkelson, Paramedic, Gundersen Tri-State Ambulance (Monona, WI)
Richelle Treece, Paramedic, REACT EMS (Shawnee, OK)
David Trimberger, Paramedic Field Training Officer, Pafford EMS (Edmond, OK)
Cheryl VanSeters, Control Center Trainer, Life EMS Ambulance (Grand Rapids, MI)
Andrew Clei Varela, Paramedic, Field Training Officer, American Medical Response (Keyes , CA)
Lucie Walters, Flight Respiratory Therapist, AirMed International (Foley, AL)
Nicole Warren, Flight Nurse, Air Evac Lifeteam (Osceola, MO)
Andrew Watson, Paramedic & Clinical Services Specialist, EMSA (Norman, OK)
Paul Winter, Paramedic – Field Training Officer, Hartford HealthCare EMS Network (Shelton, CT)
Amy Wollenburg, Paramedic, Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service (Austin, MN)
Haywad Yusufzai, EMT & Field Training Officer, Armstrong Ambulance Service (Arlington, MA)
Ronnie Zermeno, Paramedic Supervisor, Pafford EMS (Sherwood, AR)

Please note that members of the media are welcome to attend the Stars of Life Banquet at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill hotel on November 12, 2024 from 6:30–8:30pm. Interviews with Stars of Life as well as national EMS leaders will be available.

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About The American Ambulance Association

Caring for People—First.

The American Ambulance Association safeguards the future of mobile healthcare through advocacy, thought leadership, and education. AAA advances sustainable EMS policy, empowering our members to serve their communities with high-quality on-demand healthcare. For more than 40 years, we have proudly represented those who care for people first.

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