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Benton paramedic receives honor from Arkansas Ambulance Association |
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Saturday, 31 March 2007 |
 Cheryl Smith displays the EMS Star of Life Award she received recently from the Arkansas Ambulance Association. She is a paramedic for a Pine Bluff ambulance service. (Courier photo by Lynda Hollenbeck)
Smith is assistant manager of Emergency Ambulance Service Inc. (EASI) in Pine Bluff, where she has worked for 13 years.
John T. Badgley, operations manager of EASI, nominated Smith for the award. In addition to the honor itself, she received citations from the Arkansas House of Representatives and the Arkansas Senate.
Badgley commended Smith for her “professionalism, loyalty and ‘can-do’ attitude” throughout her employment.
In his nomination letter, he also described her as “a loving wife and devoted mother of two.”
“Cheryl’s commitment to her job and her family goes without question,” Badgley said. “When called on, Cheryl is the first to say ‘what can I do?”
Smith said she is deeply touched to receive the Star of Life award and would not want to be involved in any other kind of work.
“This is where my heart is,” she said.
Although she travels from Benton to her job in the Pine Bluff area, there is never a question about her being where she is needed, Badgley said.
“She has first-responded both here in Pine Bluff as well as in her home of Benton,” he said.
He noted that Smith annually visits Benton High School to conduct classes in first aid and awareness of the EMS systems.
He added that in her work at EASI, which includes serving as field supervisor as well as assistant operations manager, she does “a great job handling the day-to-day duties as well as her own duties.”
“She goes beyond the call for duty. She is also a kind of mother figure to many of the employees here at EASI.”
Recently, Smith was appointed as the quality assurance officer for EASI. In this capacity, she has upgraded the program to ensure that all run forms “are being looked at and gone over,” Badgley said
“Her hard work and long hours will pay off in the end, knowing that this company has a strong person heading our QA program,” he said.
“I, as the company operations manager, have the utmost confidence in Cheryl to handle any given situation, whether it be good or bad, and this is the reason I nominated Cheryl R. Smith to an EMS Star of Life.”
In the resolutions issued by the House of Representatives and the Senate, they point out that members of emergency medical services teams are ready to provide lifesaving care to those in need 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and that whether career or volunteer, they often go beyond the call of duty to carry out lifesaving measures and to promote the causes of the ambulance industry.
March 22 was officially proclaimed as Stars of Life Day in honor of the 12 individuals designated for the honor.
Others receiving the award were David Banks of NorthStar EMS; Keith Edmonds of NARMC EMS; Daniel Stamp of Howard County Ambulance Service; Kenny Tuto of ProMed Ambulance; Mike Williamson of Air Evac Lifeteam; Dean Douglas of NREMT-P; Greg Key of Columbia County Ambulance Service; Carrie Steward of MEMS; Nancy Wilkes of Spring River Paramedics; Tom Wilson of ProMed Ambulance; and Richard Dearing of MEMS.
Smith, 46, is the daughter of Charlene Moore of Benton and the late James A. Moore.
She and her husband, Stephen, have two children, an 18-year-old son, Stephen Jr., and a 26-year-old daughter, Sabrina Velasquez.
She noted that EASI, located in seven counties of the state, is the largest privately owned ambulance service in the state. |
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