The Huron Valley Ambulance Board of Trustees presented Bob Guenzel, retired Washtenaw County Administrator, with their Lifetime Achievement Award at HVA’s Annual Emergency Medical Services Recognition Awards Dinner on May 17 in Ann Arbor. Guenzel served as Washtenaw County’s Corporation Counsel when HVA was formed and supported HVA for many years as County Administrator. During HVA’s growth, Guenzel and HVA created many successful private/public partnerships that helped address a variety of community issues including launching the 2-1-1 Helpline, consolidating emergency dispatch services, and providing a leadership role in establishing a 800MHz radio system for the county.

HVA also presented a life saving award to Nathan Pawl, one of three men who pulled a woman from a burning car back in September. The two other award recipients were unable to be there.

Five full-time employees at Huron Valley Ambulance were chosen from several company divisions as this year's Stars of Life.  They are as follows: Paramedic Nate Baryo from Western Operations; Paramedic Sam Forche from Eastern Operations; IT Technician Todd Gerlach from Support Operations; Community Relations Coordinator Jason Trojan from Administration; and Paramedic Tracy Woodard from Central Operations. The “Stars” were selected by management from a pool of applicants who received “exceeds standards” performance appraisals in the past year. 

Tracy Woodard, who resides in Ann Arbor, has worked at HVA for 9 years, represented HVA from May 1 to May 4 at the American Ambulance Association's annual Stars of Life event in Washington, DC. She spent a day on Capitol Hill educating legislators and their staff regarding the key role of ambulance professionals and putting a face to who their policies impact.

The Stars were joined by other HVA employees who received performance awards and anniversary recognition. The awards dinner takes place during National Emergency Medical Services Week, May 15-21, which honors EMS providers who deliver lifesaving emergency care nationwide 24 hours a day, seven days a week.