* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [Austin-Travis County EMS Awards Ceremony] [00:00:04] OPENING THE PROGRAM WILL BE THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY EMS, HONOR GUARD. PLEASE RISE FOR THE PRESENTATION OF COLORS AND NATIONAL ANTHEM. OH, PERSONNEL ACTION. OH, UNIFORM PERSONNEL PRESENT HOME. OH, SAY, CAN YOU SEE BY THE DAWNS EARLY LIGHT WHAT'S SO PROUDLY WHO BROUGHT STRIPES AND BRIGHT STARS THROUGH THE, THE, OR THE, WERE SOME STREAMING AND THE RED, THE BALLS BURST THROUGH THE NIGHT OF WAS STILL THERE. THAT STAR SPAN, OR THE LAND OF THE FREE AND THE ORDER HOME DETAIL. PREPARE, READY, HOST, IF WE WOULD PLEASE REMAIN STANDING. IT HAS BEEN OUR TRADITION TO READ THE PARAMEDICS PRAYER AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CEREMONY. IF YOU WOULD PLEASE BOW YOUR HEADS. DEAR LORD, THE JOB I HAVE CHOSEN OFTEN SHOWS ME THE WORST OF WHAT LIFE HAS TO OFFER. IT IS. DURING THESE TIMES, I PRAY, LORD, I'M ABLE TO GIVE MY BEST, NOT JUST IN TERMS OF MY KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS, BUT IN MY CARING AND COMPASSION. HELP MY LOVED ONES TO UNDERSTAND LORD, WHEN MY HEART IS FILLED WITH SADNESS. AND TO CELEBRATE WITH ME WHEN I FEEL JOY IN WHAT I WAS ABLE TO DO THIS DAY. I THANK YOU LORD FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND TO UNDERSTAND THAT I AM ONLY ONE PERSON IN THIS WORLD, BUT SOMETIMES I AM THE WORLD TO ONE PERSON. AMEN. WELL, HELLO EVERYONE. UH, FOR THOSE OF YOU, I THINK EVERYONE HERE KNOWS WHO I AM. I'M ROB LUCR. I'M THE CHIEF OF AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY, EMS. UM, I JUST WANNA TAKE A MOMENT TO HEAR, TO THANK EVERYONE FOR JOINING US. [00:05:01] UM, I CAN'T THINK OF A TIME THAT I'VE SEEN SUCH A FULL HOUSE HERE AT, UH, CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS FOR AN EVENT LIKE THIS. UM, AND IT REALLY IS AN EXCITING TIME FOR US TO BE ABLE TO CELEBRATE ALL OF THE GREAT WORK, UM, THAT EVERYONE IN THE EMS DEPARTMENT AND ALL OF OUR COLLEAGUES, UH, ACROSS PUBLIC SAFETY DO TO ENHANCE THE LIVES OF THE RESIDENTS OF AUSTIN EACH AND EVERY DAY. UM, I ALSO, OH, Y'ALL SHOULD SIT PLEASE, . I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS MY SPOT TO SAY THAT. PLEASE. UM, SO I ALSO, OF COURSE WANT TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT I RECOGNIZE SOME OF OUR DISTINGUISHED GUESTS THAT HAVE JOINED US HERE TODAY. UM, SO, UH, AGAIN, UM, THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US. UH, A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO, UM, MAYOR PORT TEM. LESLIE POOLE IS IN THE ROOM HERE. YEAH. THANK YOU. UH, COUNCIL MEMBER VELA, COUNCIL MEMBER PAIGE ELLIS HAS JOINED US. TRAVIS COUNTY EX TRAVIS COUNTY EXECUTIVE, UH, CHUCK BROTHERTON, CHIEF DEPUTY, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY, UH, EXECUTIVE, UH, UH, PATRICK PHILLIPS, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, DR. MARK ESCO. AND I DON'T THINK, AS I MISSED ANYBODY, HAVE I MISSED ANY ELECTED OF FOLKS IN THE ROOM HERE? DON'T BELIEVE SO. WELL, AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR, FOR JOINING US. UM, THIS IS A REALLY SPECIAL TIME FOR US, AND IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO RECOGNIZE THE HARD WORK THAT EVERYONE IN OUR DEPARTMENT DOES EACH AND EVERY DAY. UM, OVER THE COURSE OF TODAY, WE'RE GONNA BE GOING THROUGH SOME AWARDS. BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S, UH, VERY IMPORTANT FOR US IS FOR US TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND RECOGNIZE THAT, UM, OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED. AND IT'S KIND OF HARD FOR US NOW HERE IN 2024 TO LOOK BACK ON THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. BUT IT HAD A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON OUR DEPARTMENT. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, UH, WAS OUR TRANSITION AND OUR RECOGNITION THAT EVENTS LIKE THESE WERE NOT POSSIBLE. AND AS WE TRANSITIONED OUT OF THE PANDEMIC FOR US, UM, WE CAME TO THE REALIZATION, PARTICULARLY AS I I CAME ON BOARD, THAT WE WANTED TO RECOGNIZE INDIVIDUALS THAT HAD BEEN PROMOTED OVER THE COURSE OF THE PERIOD THAT WE'VE BEEN, UH, IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WANT TO ACCOMPLISH TODAY IS TO GO BACK AND RECOGNIZE THOSE INDIVIDUALS. SO, AS I SAID, WE RECOGNIZE WE NEEDED TO DO THIS A LOT SOONER. AND I'M HERE TODAY TO SAY WE SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS SOONER. BUT ONE OF THE THINGS, AND ONE OF THE THEMES THAT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IS WE GO THROUGH THE COURSE OF TODAY, UH, IS A RECOGNITION OF, OF WHAT I CALL ANALYSIS PARALYSIS. RIGHT? WHICH IS A RECOGNITION THAT FROM TIME TO TIME, ALL OF US AS INDIVIDUALS REALIZE THAT THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO ACCOMPLISH AND THINGS THAT WE NEED TO GET DONE. BUT WE TRY SO HARD TO IDENTIFY HOW WE CAN DO IT RIGHT. HOW DO WE GO BACK AND HOW DO WE RECOGNIZE INDIVIDUALS OVER THE COURSE OF SEVERAL YEARS THAT HAVE HAD SUCH MAJOR EVENTS IN THEIR CAREERS? HOW DO WE MOVE FORWARD INTO NEW INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE BEING PROMOTED EACH AND EVERY DAY AND EACH AND EVERY MONTH? AND INSTEAD OF TACKLING IT, WE STRUGGLED TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE WERE GONNA DO. AND SO HERE WE ARE TODAY. AND WHAT WE WANTED TO DO IS TO RECOGNIZE ALL OF YOU THAT HAVE BEEN PROMOTED OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, AND SET A NEW STANDARD FOR US MOVING FORWARD TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE THIS PUBLIC RECOGNITION. BECAUSE THESE TRANSITIONS IN YOUR CAREER ARE LIFE CHANGING. AND THEY ARE THINGS THAT ARE REALLY MOVING YOU FORWARD AS EXPERTS IN OUR FIELD. NOT HERE IN AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY EMS, BUT ACROSS THE NATION. AND WITH THAT, I WANNA GO AHEAD AND RECOGNIZE A FEW FOLKS HERE. SO IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND STANDING WHEN YOUR NAME GETS CALLED. SO THE CLINICAL SPECIALISTS WHO HAVE BEEN PROMOTED. RICHARD ANDRADE, JOSEPH ANI, EMMA CARTER, RAJIV CLARK, WILLIAM CLARK, SAL CUEVAS, BRIAN DURAN, RYAN GALLO, JUSTIN HADDEN, TYLER NER, DYLAN KINGSBURY, MARCOS, LARA AINE, CIA, UH, VAR. NO, I'M GETTING MESS. KAVA RUBIUS. KYLE MORRIS, TIMOTHY NATO. WILLIAM NELSON, DANIEL OWENS, CADEN PRT, ROBERT REER, CHRISTOPHER REYES, ALEJANDRO S JESSICA SIMMONS, AND RICHARD STO. IF WE GET ARIN OF APPLAUSE FOR THEM, CAPTAINS WHO HAVE BEEN PROMOTED INCLUDE WILLIAM ADAMS, RICARDO AGUILAR, SCOTT ANDERSON, CHARLES ARMSTRONG, DOUGLAS ARNOLD, ANDREW ZELTON, CHANCE BERGSTROM. ROSS BUMPUS. KEITH BUNICK. JAMES BANO. JASON CANTU, SHEDRICK CHEEKS, ROSS COPELAND, HEATHER COY, DANIEL CUMMINGS, BO DURHAM. PATRICK EVES, [00:10:01] EDGARDO CHEVAR. CHRISTOPHER EMEK. DANIEL ENDER, AARON FALLS, THOMAS FERGUSON, WALTER FINCH, MALLORY GORDON, KIMBERLY GRIFFITH, NATHAN HARE, ANDREW HEWITT, ALVIN IVY, I, SORRY. IRBY. AARON JACKSON. PATRICK JACOBSON. CONNOR JOHNSON. JONATHAN KALINOWSKI, CHRISTOPHER TER, CHRISTOPHER KENSON, SHANNON KOSNER, GGE KUHN, KRISTEN LAROSE. DAVID LECLAIRE, BRAD LYONS, MARK LYNCH. MELANIE MAN MALONE, HENRY MARTINEZ, HANK MOORE, MICAH MORGAN, LUKE MUELLER. RICHARD MURRAY. KENNETH PALES, THOMAS PLO, PKI. SIMON POWELL. EVANS. AMBER PRICE. MICHAEL SASSER. DOUGLAS SCHUTZ. I'M SORRY, SCHULTZ. TYLER SMITH. BRIAN STUBBS, GRANT TATE. JAMES WISE, SELENA, SHIA, ELIZABETH YA AND JAMES YARBOROUGH. IF WE GET A ROUND OF APPLAUSE, OUR RECENTLY PROMOTED COMMANDERS INCLUDE AMANDA BAKER, NICK BAKER, ADAM BOSTIC, TREVOR BURER, JASON CASTLEBERRY, RANDY CHABRA, CARRIE SINNA, HOLLY CRAIGHEAD, JORDAN CROUCH, JAMES DIO, TIM FUENTES, BRIAN GREEN, MELISSA HALL, PETER ISRAEL, PAUL KLEIN, ERIC LANCASTER, PAUL MALLON, JONATHAN MILLBURN, BRIAN PARCH, MATTHEW PEARSON, NATHAN RASMUSSEN, KENNETH RENAR, STEVEN SCHILLER, TONY SMITH, MARCO VILLASENOR, ANGELA VORHEES, AND GABE WEBER. I ALSO WANNA RECOGNIZE SOME OF OUR CHIEFS THAT WERE RECENTLY PROMOTED. DIVISION CHIEF MICHAEL BROADWATER, DIVISION CHIEF ANGELA CARR, DIVISION CHIEF MARK VERONICA, DIVISION CHIEF KEITH NOBLE AND DIVISION CHIEF JOSHUA TODD, AND OUR ASSISTANT CHIEFS, HEATHER PHILLIPS, KEVIN PARKER, STEVEN WHITE, AND OUR NEW CHIEF OF STAFF WESLEY HOPKINS. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK. BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD, JUST A FEW REMARKS ON WHAT THIS WEEK MEANS TO US. MANY OF YOU KNOW THAT THIS IS THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF EMS WEEK. WE THINK ABOUT THAT FOR A SECOND HERE. WE'RE JUST A COUPLE YEARS SHY OF OUR 50TH ANNIVERSARY AS A DEPARTMENT. AND WE'VE COME SUCH A LONG WAY SINCE WE STARTED BACK IN 1976. A FEW MONTHS AGO, I GOT A LITTLE CURIOUS, SITTING AT HOME FOUND, GOT MYSELF A NEWSPAPERS.COM SUBSCRIPTION, IF YOU'VE EVER HEARD OF THAT. AND I WENT ONLINE AND I FOUND ALL OF THE ARTICLES THAT WERE WRITTEN ABOUT AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY, EMS OR AUSTIN EMS AT THE TIME, IN THE LATE SIXTIES AND EARLY SEVENTIES AS THIS COMMUNITY THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT IT WANTED THE FUTURE OF EMS TO LOOK LIKE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN. AND I WAS FASCINATED BECAUSE EVEN THEN, EVEN BACK 50 PLUS YEARS AGO, 'CAUSE THE IDEAS HERE ARE MORE THAN 50 YEARS OLD, THIS COMMUNITY SAID IT'S TIME FOR US TO HAVE A TOP NOTCH EMS SYSTEM. AND READING THE ARTICLES AND READING THE RECOGNITION THAT IT WAS TIME FOR US TO MOVE ON FROM THE FUNERAL HOMES, IT WAS TIME FOR US TO MOVE ON FROM THE SMALL PRIVATE AMBULANCE COMPANIES AND REALLY HAVE AN ORGANIZATION THAT FOCUSES ON CLINICAL QUALITY AND THE ABSOLUTE BEST MEDICINE THAT WE CAN PROVIDE IN THE COMMUNITY THAT'S TELLING. AND WHAT'S AMAZING AND WHAT YOU ALL KNOW, DREW, DREW ME TO THIS COMMUNITY A FEW YEARS AGO, IS THAT IT IS STILL THE SAME TODAY, BUT WE'RE STILL FINDING OUR FOOTING. RIGHT? YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S CERTAINLY ALWAYS INSTABILITY IN EVERY ORGANIZATION. AND AS WE LOOK AT OUR ORGANIZATION AND WE FOCUS ON WHAT DOES THE FUTURE OF OUR ORGANIZATION, WHAT DOES THE FUTURE OF EMS LOOK LIKE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN? [00:15:01] WE'RE STILL SHAPING THAT VISION. WE HAVE OUR COLLEAGUES IN THE FIRE SERVICE, WE HAVE OUR COLLEAGUES IN LAW ENFORCEMENT THAT HAVE DEVELOPED AND HAVE A PLAN AND HAVE, AND HAVE A, A STANDARD. BUT I THINK THEY WOULD TELL YOU PROBABLY THAT SOME OF THOSE THINGS CAN BE CHALLENGING FOR THEM BECAUSE THERE IS ALREADY A BOOK, THERE IS ALREADY A PLAN. BUT WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY AT 50 YEARS OLD, AT 48 YEARS OLD FOR OUR DEPARTMENT TO TURN AROUND AND SAY, LET'S CHANGE THAT UP. LET'S THINK ABOUT IT DIFFERENTLY. WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. I MENTIONED A LITTLE EARLIER AS I WAS STILL FINDING MY WAY ON MY NOTES HERE ABOUT ANALYSIS PARALYSIS AND THIS IDEA THAT SOMETIMES WE TRY SO HARD TO MAKE IT PERFECT THAT WE FAIL TO JUST MOVE FORWARD AND GET IT DONE. WE TRIED SO HARD TO MAKE THE PERFECT PROMOTIONAL CEREMONY THAT TWO YEARS LATER WE STILL HADN'T DONE IT. RIGHT? WE AS AN ORGANIZATION, AS AN EMS DEPARTMENT, TRY SO HARD TO GET IT PERFECT. BUT THE REALITY IS, LET'S JUST GET IT DONE. WE ARE THE BEST EMS SYSTEM IN THE COUNTRY. WE ARE THE ORGANIZATION THAT EMS SYSTEMS ACROSS THE GLOBE ARE LOOKING AT AND SAYING, I WANNA DO IT THE AUSTIN WAY. RIGHT? I'VE TOLD THIS BEFORE, BUT I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH A CONVERSATION THAT I HAD NOT LONGER AFTER I STARTED HERE WITH A SMALL TOWN EMS CHIEF IN RURAL IDAHO THAT SAID HE WAS WATCHING US ON VIDEO ON A TXN WATCHING US WHO FROM RURAL IDAHO WATCHES A TXN. BUT WHAT HE SAID WAS, WHAT I WANTED TO KNOW WHAT THE FUTURE OF EMS WAS IN THIS COUNTRY. BECAUSE WHERE AUSTIN GOES IS WHERE I WILL BE IN FIVE YEARS, RIGHT? I, BY WATCHING AUSTIN, I CAN START PREPARING FOR WHAT THE FUTURE IS GOING TO BE FOR MY ORGANIZATION. SO MUCH HAS CHANGED IN 50 YEARS. SO MUCH HAS CHANGED IN JUST THE 28 YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN IN THIS INDUSTRY. THINK BACK TO WHERE YOU WERE WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED. THINK BACK ABOUT WHAT IT IS THAT GOT YOU INTO THIS INDUSTRY. THINK ABOUT WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO BE HERE AND THINK ABOUT THE CHANGES THAT HAVE OCCURRED. SOME OF YOU KNOW, I I HAD A RECENT FAMILY TRAGEDY THAT I WAS DEALING WITH EARLIER THIS WEEK THAT CAUSED ME TO MISS SOME OF EMS WEEK. AND FOR ME, AS I LOOK BACK AND AS I, I EXPERIENCED THAT, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HIT ME, UH, ON SUNDAY NIGHT AS I WAS DEALING WITH THAT, WAS THAT IT WAS THE PERSON WHO PASSED AWAY THAT INSPIRED ME TO GET INTO THIS BUSINESS 28 YEARS AGO. THAT WAS THE PERSON WHO TOLD ME, WHY DON'T YOU TRY BEING AN EMT? AND HERE I AM, 28 YEARS LATER, THINKING ABOUT GOING FROM BEING A VOLUNTEER EMT TO WORKING FOR ONE OF THE GREATEST EMS SYSTEMS IN THE COUNTRY. THINK ABOUT THE THINGS THAT WE ALL DID WHEN WE FIRST ENTERED. 'CAUSE I KNOW THERE'S OTHER FOLKS WITH SIMILAR BACKGROUNDS, WHETHER YOU STARTED AS A VOLUNTEER, EMT, YOU STARTED SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THIS STATE, YOU STARTED SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THIS COUNTRY. AND WE WERE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW IT IS WE COULD GET SOMEONE INTO A ED AND PULL 'EM OUT OF A CAR OR PUT 'EM ON A BACKBOARD, RIGHT? ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT THINGS ARE PUT ON MASS PANTS. ALL OF THESE CLINICAL INNOVATIONS THAT WERE CUTTING EDGE 30 YEARS AGO THAT WE'VE REALIZED THAT'S NOT HOW WE DO IT. AND INSTEAD OF PUTTING MASS PANTS ON SOMEBODY, WE GIVE THEM WHOLE BLOOD NOW, RIGHT? INSTEAD OF MAKING SOMEONE UNCOMFORTABLE PUTTING 'EM ON A HEAD AND A BACKBOARD, WE'RE CLEARING THEIR SPINE AND EXAMINING THEM AND SETTING DISLOCATED JOINTS AND LIMBS. THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE NEVER THOUGHT WE COULD DO 30 YEARS AGO, 50 YEARS AGO, OR EVEN 10 YEARS AGO. AND YET WE'RE DOING IT TODAY. THE FUTURE OF EMS, THE FUTURE OF THIS DEPARTMENT IS OPEN TO WHATEVER WE ALL DECIDE. IT'S GOING BE WHATEVER WE WANT THE FUTURE TO EMS TO LOOK LIKE HERE IN AUSTIN. WE'RE GONNA SET THAT STANDARD AND WE'RE GONNA GET TOGETHER. WE'RE GONNA HAVE THE MEETINGS THAT WE HAVE, AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE THE DEBATES THAT WE HAVE. WE'RE GONNA GO BACK AND FORTH IN CONVERSATIONS AT ALL LEVELS OF THE ORGANIZATION WITH ALL OF OUR PARTNERS. AND THEN WE'RE GONNA SAY THE COUNTRY IS GONNA BE HERE IN FIVE YEARS. 'CAUSE WE'RE DOING IT TODAY. I'M SO PROUD TO BE PART OF AN ORGANIZATION. WE'LL BE RECOGNIZING FOLKS HERE IN THE, JUST A FEW MINUTES. I'LL GET OFF OF MY SOAPBOX HERE. RIGHT? WE WILL BE RECOGNIZING FOLKS FOR DOING SOME ABSOLUTELY AMAZING THINGS, RIGHT? BUPRENORPHINE, HELPING FOLKS WITH ADDICTION, GETTING OUT AND ADDRESSING THE HOMELESSNESS CRISIS THAT WE HAVE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN. ADDRESSING MENTAL HEALTH FROM AN [00:20:01] ENTIRELY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE, CHANGING THE WAY THAT WE RESPOND TO TRAUMA AND LIFE-THREATENING EMERGENCIES, ASSESSING PEOPLE IN THEIR HOMES WITH MAJOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS AND PUTTING THEM IN THE RIGHT PLACE INSTEAD OF A HOSPITAL ER. WE CONTINUE TO EMBRACE THAT HERE IN AUSTIN. WE CONTINUE TO EMBRACE THE CHALLENGES THAT OUR ENTIRE INDUSTRY HAS. AND WE ARE HERE TODAY TO CELEBRATE ALL OF THE GREAT WORK THAT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU DO. AND SO, WITH THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE KRISTEN CURRY, OUR MORNING METEOROLOGIST AT KXAN. KRISTEN STARTED HER CAREER IN LUBBOCK IN 2013, HAS FORECASTED DUST STORMS, TORNADOES, ICE, AND WINDSTORMS. HAS TRAVELED TO ALBUQUERQUE, COVERED ALL OF NEW MEXICO, SOUTHERN COLORADO AND NORTHEASTERN ARIZONA. AND FINALLY CAME BACK HERE TO TEXAS TO ENJOY AUSTIN. AND I WILL SAY, PERSONALLY, I VERY MUCH ENJOY WATCHING KRISTIN DIDN'T, GETTING MY WEATHER FROM KXAN. AND, UM, I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH HOW PROUD WE ARE TO HAVE YOU HERE AND, AND TO WELCOME YOU HERE AND BE ABLE TO, TO CELEBRATE TODAY'S EVENT WITH US. SO I WELCOME YOU TO THE PODIUM. THANK YOU SO MUCH, CHIEF. GOOD TO BE WITH Y'ALL AGAIN. UH, AS MENTIONED, I'M KRISTIN CURRY. I'M THE MORNING METEOROLOGIST AT CAKE CN, AND, UH, I'M HONORED TO SERVE AS YOUR MC THIS AFTERNOON. UH, THIS IS THE SECOND YEAR I'VE DONE THIS. SO SOME OF THE FACES I RECOGNIZED FROM LAST YEAR, I LEARNED, UM, SO MUCH ABOUT WHAT YOU GUYS DO LAST YEAR. IT WAS INCREDIBLE TO HEAR THOSE STORIES. I ALSO LEARNED, AND THIS WILL FOREVER HAUNT ME, THAT FEMMES IS NOT SAID AS AN ACRONYM. IT IS SAID AS FEMMES FOR THE NEW PEOPLE IN THE ROOM. SO THAT WAS A HARD, HARD LESSON WHEN ALL OF YOU LAUGHED AT ME. BUT I, I'VE GOTTEN OVER IT AND I'M EXCITED TO BE BACK. UM, AS MENTIONED, THIS IS THE TAIL END OF NATIONAL EMS WEEK. SO I HOPE YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN, UH, CELEBRATED AND SPOILED. I WISH I COULD, YOU KNOW, PROVIDE BETTER WEATHER FOR YOU. I KNOW THIS SUCKS AND YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A SUCKY WEEKEND, UH, PULLING PEOPLE OUTTA THE LAKE, YOU KNOW, THE DRUNK KIDS, THE PEOPLE ON THE GREEN BELT AND ALL THAT SUCH. BUT I HOPE, HOPEFULLY GOT A LITTLE BIT OF REST AND A LITTLE BIT OF SOME ENJOYMENT THIS WEEK. UH, THE WORK YOU DO IS TRULY VITALLY IMPORTANT TO OUR COMMUNITY, AND I TRULY ADMIRE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU. YOUR DEDICATION, YOUR PUBLIC SERVICE, UH, FROM AN OUTSIDER'S PERSPECTIVE, THIS ORGANIZATION HAS SO MUCH TO BE PROUD OF. UM, AND AS YOU KNOW, A MEMBER OF OUR COMMUNITY, UH, I DO WANNA SAY THANK YOU. I KNOW YOU GUYS LOOK AND RESPOND TO SOME PRETTY AWFUL THINGS OUT THERE, AND SOMETIMES YOU DON'T GET THAT. THANK YOU. YOU DESERVE. SO, AS SOMEONE WHO, WHO WITNESSES IT, YOU KNOW, IN FRONT OF THE SCREEN, BEHIND THE SCREEN, AS SOMEONE WHO GREW UP IN A FIRST RESPONDER FAMILY, I CAN'T BEGIN TO TOTALLY UNDERSTAND. BUT, UH, I KNOW THE SACRIFICE AND, AND I KNOW THAT IT'S, IT'S NOT JUST A JOB THAT YOU LEAVE AT THE DOOR, IT CAN SOMETIMES FOLLOW YOU HOME. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT SACRIFICE, UH, FOR BOTH YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. UM, I AM SO EXCITED TO GIVE OUT SOME OF THESE AWARDS BECAUSE, UH, SO MUCH OF THE NEWS AND THE MEDIA, WE SHARE THE STORY. WE DON'T GET TO TALK ABOUT THE HEROES. WE DON'T GET TO TALK ABOUT THE FACT THAT SOME OF Y'ALL AREN'T EVEN IN UNIFORM WHEN YOU'RE GOING OUT THERE AND SAVING PEOPLE. IT'S LITERALLY YOU AT DINNER WITH YOUR FAMILY, AND YOU STEP IN AND DO THE RIGHT THING. IT'S NOT YOU BEING PART OF EMS, IT'S JUST YOU BEING YOU. AND THE FACT THAT WE HAVE THOSE PEOPLE, SO MANY OF YOU GUYS IN OUR COMMUNITY, I THINK, THINK IS INCREDIBLE. AND, AND I'M SO HONORED TO BE HERE. SO, WITH THAT SAID, WE'RE HERE TO CELEBRATE YOU. SO LET'S GET STARTED WITH SOME OF THE AWARDS. UM, I AM GOING TO START WITH THE YEARS OF SERVICE RECOGNITION. I WILL TELL YOU THAT FOR WHAT I DO, I'M USED TO NUMBERS INSTEAD OF NAMES. SO I'M GONNA DO MY BEST TO PRONOUNCE YOUR NAME. IF I MISPRONOUNCE IT, PLEASE TELL ME YOU WORK TOO HARD. THIS IS ABOUT YOU. I WANNA MAKE SURE I GET YOUR NAME RIGHT. SO PLEASE STOP ME IF I, IF I GET SOMETHING WRONG. BUT THE FOLLOWING EMPLOYEES ARE RECOGNIZED FOR THEIR DEDICATION AND YEARS OF SERVICE WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN. AS THESE CERTIFICATES PRESENTED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WE ASK THOSE PRESENT TO PLEASE STAND AS YOUR NAME IS CALLED. WE'LL BEGIN WITH FIVE YEARS OF SERVICE. TRAVIS BAKER, ROSE BEAN, DENNIS GREES, DAVID KOWSKI, AND MEGAN ROSSI. PLEASE GIVE THESE FOLKS A ROUND OF APPLAUSE. MOVING ON TO 10 YEARS OF SERVICE. ROBERT BIBLE, CLAUDIA KADENA, JASON CANTU, ALAN CLARK, JAMES COLEMAN, PATRICK EVES, THOMAS FERGUSON. [00:25:01] CHRISTINA WONG, CONNOR JOHNSON, GAGE KUHN, REBECCA LAHAN, MELODY MALONE, BRANDON MAGAR, DANIELLA MONTANA, LORETTA MOONEY, NICHOLAS LEVO, KENNETH PALES, ERICA RAMIREZ, MADISON, RON, YVETTE SAMPA AND ADAM STEMPEL, 15 YEARS OF SERVICE. RAUL FLORES, KATHLEEN HANKS, JOHN HILBURN, CHRISTOPHER KEL KETER, PAUL KLEIN, NATHAN RUS MOSEN, RUSTY INGER, BRIAN STUBBS, ANDRE THOMPSON. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL 20 YEARS OF SERVICE. I BELIEVE WE HAVE SOME LITTLE GIFTS TOO, TO GIVE Y'ALL. SOUNDS LIKE IT. FOR 20 YEARS OF SERVICE, WE HAVE A SMALL TOKEN OF APPRECIATION, SO PLEASE COME UP TO THE FRONT WHEN I CALL YOU NAME. ERIC GORDON NETTA LE FUENTE, NANCY MONSON, BRIAN PARCH, CHRISTINA PENA, AMBER PRICE, CHRISTOPHER QUE ROES HEROES, HEROES FOR 25 YEARS OF SERVICE. WE ALSO HAVE SOMETHING FOR YOU. PLEASE COME UP TO THE FRONT WHEN YOUR NAME IS CALLED ALEJANDRA ALMA DAVAR. ADAM BOSTIC, LISA DE MAYO, FREDDIE GARCIA, TERESA GARDNER, BLAKE HARDY, CECILY HAWKINS, ROSA HERNANDEZ, PETER ISRAEL, MICHAEL MCDANIEL, GERARD MORROW, DAVID THOMAS, JOHN VILLANUEVA. 30 YEARS OF SERVICE. OKAY, IT SAYS HERE THEY GET A WEATHER STATION. IS THAT TRUE? WHAT? 30 YEARS OF SERVICE. YOU GET THE BEST GIFT OF A ALL . OKAY, GARY WHATUM, DENNIS WILLIAMS. WE ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE EMPLOYEES WHO RETIRED DURING THE PAST YEAR. PROBABLY THE BEST GIFT OF THEM ALL. PLEASE STAND AS YOUR NAME IS CALLED JASON AKERS. ARISTA BLUE IN GRADY BRITAIN. ANDRES CAPRA, MATTHEW DAVES, PHILLIP ICK, KEVIN DEBIT, BARBARA KRUEGER, ARMENIA LOPEZ, CHARLIE RUST, RICHARD RUTLEDGE, SHEILA SCHWA, WALTER DELMAR, MICHELLE STEWART, MICHAEL WRIGHT. AND WE'D LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT TO ACKNOWLEDGE OUR PAST AND CURRENT MILITARY PERSONNEL WHO SERVE NOT ONLY THE CITY, BUT OUR NATION. WE APPLAUD THEM FOR THEIR SACRIFICES THEY HAVE MADE. PLEASE JOIN ME IN RECOGNIZING THEIR SERVICE. WE'D NOW LIKE TO RECOGNIZE A VERY SPECIAL GROUP OF YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN. JORDAN, PLEASE COME ON UP. THERE YOU GO. THANK YOU. . NOT ALL . MAYBE I'LL HOLD IT. UH, THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY, EMS EXPLORER POST 2 4 7 WAS ESTABLISHED IN OCTOBER, 2010 AS A JOINT EFFORT, UH, BETWEEN A-T-C-M-S AND THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA. UM, THEY HAVE A LEARNING FOR LIFE PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS PARTNERSHIPS WITH, UH, DIFFERENT PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES. POST 2, 4, 7 PROVIDES YOUTH, UM, THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE A CAREER IN EMS, UH, AS WELL AS PROVIDE A LINK BETWEEN ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL WORLDS. OUR MEMBERS DEVELOP A WIDE VARIETY OF REAL WORLD SKILLS, INCLUDING [00:30:01] CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, SELF-CONFIDENCE, LEADERSHIP SKILLS, AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT. THE POST ALSO PROVIDES NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES AMONGST PEERS, ACCESS TO VOLUNTEER COMMUNITY SERVICE, AND ENCOURAGES GROUP COLLABORATION AND TEAMWORK. EVERY YEAR, THE ADVISORS OF POST 2, 4, 7 GET TOGETHER TO, UM, FIGURE OUT WHO OUR RECIPIENT FOR THE ANNUAL EXPLORER OF THE YEAR AWARD WILL BE. WE HAD SOME TOUGH COMPETITION THIS YEAR. UM, THE INDIVIDUAL SELECTED HAS BEEN AN OUTSTANDING LEADER. SHE HAS REALLY GROWN INTO HER ROLE AS AN OFFICER FOR THE POST. SHE HAS PUBLISHED, NOT ONE, BUT TWO BOOKS. HER LATEST BEING A CHILDREN'S BOOK ABOUT A PARAMEDIC WORKING IN AN AMBULANCE. UM, AND SHE ALSO HAS A PODCAST WHERE SHE TALKS TO DOCTORS, PAS AND PARAMEDICS FROM THE AREA. SHE IS A TRAILBLAZER AND SHE LIGHTS THE PATH FORWARD FOR OTHERS. AND SO I THOUGHT, WHAT BETTER GIFT FOR THE EXPLORER OF THE YEAR THAN A LIGHTER? NOW DON'T WORRY, I TOOK ALL THE FUEL OUT, SO WE'RE SAFE FOR NOW. UM, BUT THIS ZIPPO LIGHTER IS FROM THE 1960S. YOU DON'T FIND THESE IN, UH, WALMART. UM, SO IT'S A VERY UNIQUE GIFT FOR A VERY UNIQUE PERSON ON YOU. VIKRAM, PLEASE COME FORWARD. WHAT'S THAT ONE? WE'LL SEE . SORRY ABOUT THAT. THAT'S OKAY. UM, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO RECOGNIZE THE, UH, EMPLOYEES OF A-T-C-E-M-S WHO HAVE VOLUNTEERED WITH THE EXPLORER POST. UM, ROBERT ACCO, BRANDON ADCOCK, RICKY AGUILAR, MCKENNA ANTHON, CHARLIE BAILEY, AMANDA BAKER. CODY BAKER, JENNIFER BARNHART, PHILIP BARWARE, ZACH BUCKOWITZ, REESE BRAZELTON, DANIEL BROWN, CARL CANTONS, JASON CANTU, JAMES CAVARRETTA, HOWARD CHANG, JAKE CHAVEZ, HECTOR CRUZ, ALEX DAVIS, JOHN DONAHOE, EDDIE A RILEY. FLANAGAN. RYAN GALLO. MALLORY GORDON. JORDAN GREGSON. DENNIS GREES. KIM GRIFFIN. GRIFFITH. I'M SORRY. UH, TIM HAGGERTY, MELISSA HALL, DIAMONDS HORTON. JAKE HUBBARD, AJ IRBY, PATRICK JACOBSON. THANK YOU SO MUCH. YOU MISSED TWO PEOPLE. WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ALSO RECOGNIZE JORDAN MALONE AND MELODY MALONE FOR ALL OF THE HARD WORK THAT THEY DO WITH THIS EXPLORER POST EACH AND EVERY DAY. AND KUDOS TO THIS GREAT PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE. WE ARE WORKING HARD TO GROW THE PROGRAM. LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING, UM, ALL THE GREAT FOLKS THAT COME OUTTA THIS PROGRAM EACH AND EVERY DAY. SO, UM, MORE TO FOLLOW. THANK YOU. DEPARTMENTAL CITATIONS. THESE DEPARTMENTAL CITATIONS RECOGNIZE SPECIFIC EVENTS OR MILESTONES RELATED TO THE CONDUCT AND PERFORMANCE OF EMS OPERATIONS. WE BEGIN WITH THE UNIT CITATION, WHICH IS GRANTED FOR UNIT ACHIEVEMENT IN SUCH AREAS AS INNOVATION, EFFICIENCY, EFFECTIVE EFFECTIVENESS, I SHOULD SAY PROJECTS AND UNIT CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DEPARTMENT OR OTHER APPROPRIATE ORGANIZATIONS OR GROUPS. AND MAY BE AWARDED TO ANY TEAM STATION, COMMAND DISTRICT, ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT, OR AN ENTIRE SHIFT. THE FIRST UNIT TO BE RECOGNIZED IS A FAIRLY LARGE GROUP, BUT IT WAS ALSO A LARGE PROJECT. ROBERT ANDERSON, KATHY ARONDA, SHANNON SHA, SHANNON BOSTROM, LASANDRA, BRADFORD, FABIOLA, ROS, BRIAN GREEN, ERIC GI BOSQUE, STEPHANIE MENDEZ, KOLBY ACHLER, WES MOONEY, AMELIA MARITA, HALEY, PEW, LEAH, SCHNELL, NATE WEARING KIMBERLY MAL PIN. PLEASE COME FORWARD. [00:35:05] LAST YEAR THE CITY INITIATED A CHANGE TO A NEW TIMEKEEPING SYSTEM. AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THIS PROVED VERY CHALLENGING FOR A DEPARTMENT WITH OVER 500 EMPLOYEES ON MULTIPLE SHIFTS. I'M SURE THE EMAILS Y'ALL GOT WERE, UH, BY THE DOZENS. THE UKG TEAM DEDICATED MANY MONTHS IN PRE-PLANNING, TRAINING, IMPLEMENTATION TO PRODUCE AN EFFICIENT AND USER-FRIENDLY PROCESS. THIS GROUP OF EMPLOYEES ROSE TO THE OCCASION TO ASSURE THE SUCCESS OF THE PROJECT. VERY NICE JOB. PERFECT. ALRIGHT, THERE WE GO. ARE WE DOING PICTURES? DID WE GET THE PICTURE? THERE WE GO. AWESOME. OKAY. THANK Y'ALL. IF I COULD HAVE SCOTT ANDERSON, ROSS BUMPS AND ERIC JACK, BOX. JACK, UH, BOSS. KISS THAT NAME. I PRACTICED IT. KRISTEN EVEN TOLD ME I PRACTICED IT. ERIC, GET UP HERE. TONY SMITH IS ALSO HERE. THE EMS FLEET TEAM HAS FACED SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES IN THE LAST YEAR AS A RESULT OF SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES PERTAINING TO THE PROCUREMENT OF NEW AMBULANCES. IN ADDITION, THEY HAVE FACED THE CHALLENGES PRESENTED BY AN AGING FLEET OF UNITS AND THE DIFFICULTIES THAT COME WITH KEEPING THESE VEHICLES ON THE ROAD. THEIR SOLUTIONS TO THESE PROBLEMS HAVE BEEN INNOVATIVE AND REQUIRED SIGNIFICANT TIME AND ATTENTION FROM THEM. WHILE ALL ENSURING THEIR NORMAL DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS WERE COMPLETE. IT CAN LITERALLY BE SET OF THEIR EFFORTS. WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT THEM? CONGRATULATIONS. OKAY, LET'S HAVE TREVOR BREWER, BRENDAN KLASKY, JASON HERRERA, SHANNON OUSER, MICAH MORGAN, BRANDON PALMER, CHRIS PARKER, NATHAN RASMUSSEN, GIL TORRES, AND ANDREW WESTBY. IF YOU COULD PLEASE COME FORWARD. OUR TRAINING ACADEMY OF STAFF ARE NOT ONLY THE FIRST TRUE DEPARTMENT CONTACT FROM MOST SWORN PERSONNEL, BUT ALSO INSTRUMENTAL IN SETTING THE COURSE FOR EVERYTHING FROM SKILLS TO SURVIVAL. THEY ACCOMPLISHED THE MISSION WITH CLASS AFTER CLASS YEAR AFTER YEAR AT ONE POINT. EVERYONE HERE WHO WEARS A UNIFORM WAS A ROOKIE. SO AS YOU LOOK AROUND THE ROOM, KNOW THAT THEY ALL OWE THE SAME DEBT TO THE ACADEMY AND GETTING THEIR BOOTS ON THE GROUND. CONGRATULATIONS AND A JOB WELL DONE. INDIVIDUAL CITATIONS. INDIVIDUAL CITATIONS ARE GRANTED FOR SINGULAR ACHIEVEMENT IN SUCH AREAS AS INNOVATION, EFFICIENCY, EFFECTIVENESS, INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS AND PERSONAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DEPARTMENT OR OTHER APPROPRIATE ORGANIZATIONS OR GROUPS. KIMBERLY GRIFFITH, IF YOU COULD PLEASE COME FORWARD. TREATING THOSE EXPERIENCING A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS CAN BE VERY CHALLENGING FOR ANY FIELD PROVIDER. KIMBERLY TOOK IT UPON HERSELF TO EXPLORE WHAT OPTIONS MAY BE AVAILABLE AND FOUND A POTENTIALLY BENEFICIAL MEDICATION. SHE THEN STARTED A LONG PROCESS OF RESEARCH, PRESENTATION TRIALS, AND FINALLY APPROVAL. HER EFFORTS NOT ONLY RESULTED IN AN ALTERNATIVE TO HOS HOSPITAL TRANSPORT, BUT ALSO A MORE COMPASSIONATE AND GENTLE APPROACH IN ASSISTING THESE PATIENTS. PLEASE GIVE A HAND TO KIMBERLY GRIFFITH. CAN I PLEASE HAVE TIMOTHY HAGGERTY COME UP? OUR COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDIC, OR A CHIP PROGRAM WAS ESTABLISHED AS PROACTIVE OUTREACH TO OUR HOMELESS AND OTHER CLIENTS IDENTIFIED AS NEEDING MORE THAN TRADITIONAL HOSPITAL TRANSPORT. TIM HAS EXCELLED AT THE MISSION AND HAS GAINED A WIDELY RESPECTED REPUTATION FOR HIS DEDICATION AND COMPASSION TO HIS PATIENTS. HIS INTERVENTIONS HAVE ALSO RESULTED IN AN IMPRESSIVE NUMBER OF SAVED RESPONSES, ENABLING US TO UTILIZE [00:40:01] THE RESOURCES FOR HIGHER PRIORITY CALLS. THANK YOU, TIM, FOR YOUR DAILY EFFORTS. WE HAVE SEVERAL RECIPIENTS OF THIS NEXT ONE, AINSLEY ALLEN, JAMES BERGIN, TREVOR BREWER, STEVEN CHEN, WILLIAM CLARK, ERIC FERNANDEZ, WALTER FINCH, RAUL FLORES, TIANA FLORES, MALLORY GORDON, BLAKE HARDY, SHELBY HINMAN, TRAVIS HOLLAND, KEVIN KIC, CASEY CRAMPS, KIRSTEN LAROSE, BRIAN MASON, GARRETT MOORE, TIMOTHY MORRISON, BRIAN PARCH, NATALIE RAJE. KENNETH RENARD. WE EXPERIENCED ONE CALL WHICH PROVED QUITE COMPLICATED, AND AT THE SAME TIME, VERY TRAGIC. OUR MEDICS SADLY DEAL WITH HARDSHIPS ON A DAILY BASIS, SOME OF WHICH CAN IMPACT THEM ON A PERSONAL LEVEL. WE MAY MOVE ON FROM THESE INCIDENTS, BUT WE NEVER TRULY MOVE AWAY. IN THIS INSTANCE, SEVERAL CITIZENS IN AN OFFICER LOST THEIR LIVES, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, OTHERS WERE SAVED. AND FOR THAT, WE HUMBLY OFFER THESE INDIVIDUALS OUR THANKS FOR BEING THERE AND DOING THEIR VERY BEST WHEN THINGS ARE AT THEIR VERY WORST. . JOHN DONAHOE, IF YOU'RE HERE, WILL YOU PLEASE JOIN ME? UNLIKE MOST INDIVIDUAL CITATIONS, THERE IS NO SPECIFIC EVENT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS RECOGNITION. INSTEAD, THE NOMINATION CITES QUOTE, HIS EXCEPTIONAL DEDICATION TO CONNECTING PATIENTS TO RESOURCES, HIS UNWAVERING PERSEVERANCE, AND HIS REMARKABLE ATTITUDE. JOHN'S OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS HAVE HAD A PROFOUND IMPACT ON THE LIVES OF MANY INDIVIDUALS. HIS COMMITMENT TO CONNECTING PATIENTS TO RESOURCES IS TRULY REMARKABLE. END QUOTE. FOR THAT, WE COMMEND YOU. JOHN, IF WE COULD HAVE KENNETH PALES AND DREW SWEET, COME ON UP. SOMETIMES IT SEEMS THERE ARE NO COINCIDENCES. BOTH OF YOU JUST TRYING TO ENJOY A MEAL WITH YOUR FAMILIES AT A RESTAURANT WIMBERLEY, WHEN A SERIOUS CAR ACCIDENT OCCURRED RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU, THE RESULT WAS A CRITICALLY INJURED PATIENT COMPOUNDED BY THE VEHICLE CATCHING FIRE WITHOUT ANY MEDICAL EQUIPMENT OR PROTECTIVE GEAR. YOU TOOK THE INITIATIVE TO NOT ONLY EXTRICATE, BUT STABILIZE THE VICTIM UNTIL OTHER RESPONDERS ARRIVED. BOTH OF YOU EXEMPLIFY THE MOTTO, ALWAYS READY TO SERVE. CONGRATULATIONS. WE NEXT RECOGNIZED CHRIS LYNN MCSHERRY AND AMANDA VENEGAS. IF YOU COULD PLEASE COME FORWARD. WHEN YOU SPEND SO MUCH TIME ON A DUTY, ON DUTY AT A STATION, IT BECOMES MUCH MORE THAN A WORKPLACE. BOY DO I KNOW THAT , UH, IT BECOMES A HAVEN SOMEWHERE TO DECOMPRESS AND PERHAPS ESCAPE FOR JUST A LITTLE WHILE. RECOGNIZING THIS CHRISTLY AND AMANDA TOOK IT UPON THEMSELVES TO TRULY CHANGE THE ENVIRONMENT. FOR MEDIC 30. GET THIS A COFFEE BAR, ART PHOTOS, A CUSTOM LOGO, AND EVEN A MAP FOR EVERYONE TO, UH, ADD A PLACE AND A PIN TO WHERE THEY HAD INDIVIDUALLY FLOWN TO. EVERYONE WHO NOW WORKS THERE CALLS IT A HOME. GOOD JOB Y'ALL. COULD I PLEASE HAVE DUSTIN DEAN MASS, COME TO THE FRONT PLEASE. NEEDLESS TO SAY, EMS HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT THE EXPECTED. AS A CADET, DUSTIN WAS AWAITING A CRUISE RETURN WHEN SUDDENLY PRESENTED WITH A WOUNDED OFFICER, FOLLOWED BY A LARGE LAW ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE. SUCH A CALL COULD RATTLE ANY MEDIC, BUT HE HANDLED IT LIKE A TRUE VETERAN. FROM HIS TREATMENT TO HIS RADIO UPDATES, DUSTIN WAS THE CONSUMMATE, COOL HEADED PROFESSIONAL. EXCELLENT JOB, SIR. IF I COULD HAVE BRIAN GREEN COME UP TO THE STAGE. IF YOU ARE HERE, THE DEPARTMENT COMPLETED A MONTH'S LONG TRANSITION TO A NEW PAYROLL SYSTEM, AS WE MENTIONED. AND WHILE THAT MAY SEEM SIMPLE ON PAPER, THINK ABOUT MAKING IT WORK FOR OVER 500 FIELD STAFF WITH MULTIPLE DIFFERENT [00:45:01] SCHEDULES. BRIAN TOOK ON THIS NIGHTMARE SCENARIO AND WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN THE NECESSARY TRAINING AND NUMEROUS ADJUSTMENTS TO MAKE IT WORK. THANK YOU FOR YOUR EFFORTS. BRIAN. IF NICK BAKER IS IN ATTENDANCE, PLEASE COME TO THE PODIUM AS YOU CAN WELL IMAGINE. AN EMS SYSTEM OF OUR SIZE IS LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF PIECES OF INVENTORY TO MANAGE ON A DAILY BASIS. FROM DRUGS TO HEART MONITORS, IT CAN EASILY BE OVERWHELMING. A PROGRAM CALLED OPERATIVE IQ WAS LAUNCHED SEVERAL YEARS AGO, WHICH HAS BEEN GUIDED, TWEAKED, AND ADJUSTED TO OUR NEEDS BY NICK. HE IS ONE OF OUR UNSUNG HEROES WHO HELPED KEEP THE WHEELS TURNING FOR HIS FELLOW MEDICS. AND THEY, WE ARE SO GRATEFUL FOR HIS DILIGENCE. THANK YOU NICK. COREY CROUCH, PLEASE COME FORWARD IF YOU ARE HERE. IT'S OFTEN SAID THAT SOMETIMES THE DAY DOES NOT END JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT ON THE TRUCK. WHEN A FIRE BROKE OUT AT WHAT HAVE SH SHOULD HAVE BEEN A ROUTINE PUBLIC EVENT, COREY FOUND HIMSELF FACED WITH A VERY ON-DUTY SITUATION. HE FOUND HIMSELF FACED, OR HE FOUND HIMSELF NOT ONLY WITH HAVING TO DEAL WITH FIRE SUPPRESSION, BUT ALSO INJURED PATIENTS IN ORGANIZING OTHER ATTENDEES TO HELP. IN MOST RESPECTS, IT WAS JUST ANOTHER DAY FOR COREY. BUT LUCKILY, WE WERE TOLD OF HIS ACTIONS, HE TRULY IS ALWAYS READY TO SERVE. THANK YOU COREY. THE HUMANITARIAN CITATION RECOGNIZES FOR AN EVENT OR ACTION OF A HUMANITARIAN NATURE THAT REFLECTS POSITIVELY UPON THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE DEPARTMENT. THIS MAY AFFECT A SMALL GROUP OF PEOPLE, FAMILY OR INDIVIDUAL. THIS YEAR WE RECOGNIZE BRIAN BRAGER, CINDY LOPEZ, AND ANGELA WARES. IF YOU WOULD PLEASE COME FORWARD. OUR COMMUNICATIONS MEDICS LITERALLY TAKE HUNDREDS OF REQUESTS EVERY DAY, BUT NOTHING COULD PREPARE THEM FOR. WHEN A FELLOW EMPLOYEE CALLED FOR HIS CRITICALLY ILL WIFE, THEY QUICKLY FORMED A TEAM TO COORDINATE WITH A RESPONSE AGENCY, A SHORT, ADEQUATE BACKUP, AND MAKE THE PROPER INTERNAL NOTIFICATIONS. THIS IS TRUE PROFESSIONALISM AND FOCUS IN THE FACE OF EXTREME PERSONAL FEELINGS. ON BEHALF OF THE EMS FAMILY, THANK YOU. I BELIEVE THAT WILL DO IT FOR ME. WE'LL HAVE CHIEF COME BACK UP. THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME. THANK YOU AGAIN. KRISTEN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US HERE AND CELEBRATION OF ALL OF THE GREAT, UH, WORK THAT ALL OF OUR STAFF DO EACH AND EVERY DAY. SO NOW WE MOVE ON TO OUR DEPARTMENT AWARDS. AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY EMS USES THE DEPARTMENT AWARDS TO RECOGNIZE THE SIGNIFICANT EVENTS THAT WARRANT RECOGNITION AND HONOR BY THE DEPARTMENT AND THE PUBLIC. THEY'RE ALSO USED TO RECOGNIZE THE EXEMPLARY PERFORMANCE BY INDIVIDUALS, INDIVIDUALS, AND UNITS RELATED TO EITHER SPECIFIC EVENTS OR LONG-TERM PATTERNS OF PERFORMANCE. THE OUTSTANDING TRAINER AWARD IS PRESENTED TO INDIVIDUALS IN RECOGNITION OF OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS BY A FIELD TRAINING OFFICER OR CAPTAIN IN THE TRAINING ENVIRONMENT, WE'VE COME TO RECOGNIZE THAT THERE'S GENERALLY A TRAINING CAPTAIN WHO SETS THEMSELVES APART FOR THEIR CONSISTENT ABILITIES, KNOWLEDGE, PATIENCE, AND DEEP DESIRE TO PAY IT FORWARD. I CANNOT THINK OF A FINER EXAMPLE FOR THE INAUGURATION OF THIS AWARD THAN FTO FREDDIE GARCIA, IF YOU COULD JOIN US. NOT ONLY, NOT ONLY IS HE ONE OF OUR MOST TENURED STAFF, BUT HE IS KNOWN FOR HIS MENTORING SKILLS AND GUIDANCE. AGAIN, PLEASE COME FORWARD AND CONGRATULATIONS ON BEING THE FIRST TO RECEIVE THIS HONOR. THANK YOU. [00:50:07] THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD IS GIVEN TO EMPLOYEES WHO CONSISTENTLY OVER TIME DEMONSTRATE AND DELIVER EXCEPTIONAL SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY OR THE DEPARTMENT THAT IN REFLECTS POSITIVELY ON THE EMPLOYEE AND THE DEPARTMENT. I ASK THAT COMMANDER BRIAN FITZPATRICK, PLEASE JOIN US IF HE'S HERE. DISTINGUISHED BY DEFINITION AS A PERSON OR ACT, MADE CONSPICUOUS BY EXCELLENCE. SO DOES NOT AN AWARD WE GIVE LIGHTLY. IT IS ALWAYS THE RESULT OF A CAREER RECOGNIZED FOR NOT ONLY THEIR DEDICATION AND SKILLS, BUT IT'S VERY MUCH A REFLECTION OF THE RECIPIENT'S CHARACTER. HIS TENURE IS NOT ONLY MEASURED IN DECADES, BUT IN THE MANY HATS HE HAS WORN MEDICS, HE HAS MENTORED AND HIS REPUTATION FOR BEING A COMMANDER THAT STAFF CAN GO TO WITH ANY PROBLEM. THIS AWARD IS HUMBLE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF A VERY GOOD AND COMPASSIONATE MAN WHO HAS SERVED SO WELL. THANK YOU FOR GIVING US YOUR TIME AND GOING BRIEFLY OFF SCRIPT, 'CAUSE I READ THIS HERE. THANK YOU AGAIN. I, I PERSONALLY CAN SAY WHAT A GREAT JOB YOU'VE DONE AND HOW, WHAT A PLEASURE IT IS TO WORK WITH YOU EACH AND EVERY DAY. YOU ARE CERTAINLY A MENTOR TO MANY FOLKS IN THIS DEPARTMENT, MYSELF INCLUDED. THANK YOU. AND WITH THAT I'LL INVITE, UH, DR. MARK ESCOT TO THE PODIUM. I'LL ASK FOR OUR CHIEF DEPUTY MEDICAL DIRECTOR, DR. HEIDI ABRAHAM AND OUR DEPUTY MEDICAL DIRECTOR, DR. ANDREW SCHAD. COME UP WITH ME. PERFECT. ALRIGHT, WELL THANKS EVERYBODY. IT'S GREAT TO SEE Y'ALL HERE. IT'S MY PLEASURE TO PRESENT TODAY TO MEDICAL DIRECTORS AWARDS. THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR AWARD IS PRESENTED TO AN INDIVIDUAL THAT IS COMMITTED TO AN COMMITTED TO AND EXEMPLIFIES THE ART AND SCIENCE OF AN EXEMPLARY PRACTICE OF FIELD MEDICINE. SO FIRST I'D LIKE TO CALL UP, UH, JAMES DIO. HE'S HERE SOMEWHERE I HOPE. AND NOW I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT YOU. YOU'RE SEE RIGHT HERE. SO ON OUR CLINICAL EXCELLENCE COINS, UH, THERE'S A MOTTO AT THE BOTTOM WHICH READS, SA KWA DER, WHICH MEANS OR TRANSLATES TO TO BE RATHER THAN SEEM. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR US IS, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW WE'RE GREAT. WE KNOW THAT WE'RE THE BEST IN THE, IN THE COUNTRY, CERTAINLY IN IN PROBABLY THE WORLD. UM, BUT WHAT THIS MEANS IS WE HAVE TO LIVE IT EVERY DAY. AND AS I WAS THINKING ABOUT QUOTES TO, TO GO WITH, UH, COMMANDER DIO, I, I COULDN'T THINK OF A BETTER ONE, UH, THAT FIT HIM AS A MEDICAL DIRECTOR, UH, COMMANDER JAMES DIO PERSONIFIES EXACTLY WHAT WE HOPE TO DEVELOP IN AN EMS ORGANIZATION. HE IS CLINICALLY EXCELLENT, A GREAT BEDSIDE EDUCATOR AND A STRONG ADVOCATE FOR BOTH HIS CREWS AND HIS PATIENTS. JAMES IS CLINICALLY FOCUSED AND ENTHUSIASTICALLY JUMPS EVERY CALL HE CAN TO HELP BRING A HIGHER LEVEL OF CARE TO THE PATIENT'S SIDE. WHETHER IT'S THROUGH THE BLOOD THAT HE CARRIES AS A DISTRICT COMMANDER, OR THROUGH HIS ADVANCED CLINICAL TRAINING AS A PL SIX, HE'S OFTEN OUT TO THE WEE HOURS OF THE MORNING TO TOWN, LOOKING FOR WAYS TO HELP HIS CREWS HANDLE LOW ACUITY CALLS, TO TAKE IT OFF THEIR PLATE, NAVIGATE COMPLEX SITUATIONS AND GENERALLY TO SERVE THE CITY. AND THE DEPARTMENT COMMANDER DIO REGULARLY IS DISPATCHED TO CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS AT SOME OF OUR LTACS IS WHERE HE ENDS UP, UH, QUITE OFTEN. UM, HE'S, HE CALMLY HELPS SORT THROUGH THESE INCREDIBLY COMPLEX CASES AND ENSURES THAT THE PATIENT GETS THE ABSOLUTE BEST CARE POSSIBLE. HE ALSO GRACEFULLY NAVIGATES THE POLITICS AND THE DYNAMICS AT DOCTOR'S OFFICES, UH, SURGERY CENTERS, WHICH CAN BE COMPLICATED FOR, FOR MANY, MANY REASONS. AND HE DOES IT WITH GRACE. [00:55:02] AS A COMMANDER, JAMES OFTEN GETS SENT TO SEE PATIENTS CALLING FROM AN ER WAITING ROOM. YES, THEY CALL FROM THE WAITING ROOM. UH, HE COMPASSIONATELY WORKS THROUGH SOLUTIONS FOR THESE INDIVIDUALS, OFTEN UTILIZING THE C FOUR LINE AND THE NUMEROUS OTHER RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO HELP US GET THESE PATIENTS THE HELP THAT THEY NEED. HE'S PASSIONATE ABOUT EDUCATION FOR BOTH HIMSELF AND HIS CREWS. HE REGULARLY CALLS THE THREE OF US TO DISCUSS PATIENTS THAT HE'S CARED FOR IN AN EFFORT TO IDENTIFY EVEN SMALL OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE HIMSELF AND IMPROVE HIS CREWS. JAMES DIO CONSISTENTLY PRO PROVIDES EXCELLENT PATIENT CARE AND ALWAYS DEMONSTRATES THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF PROFESSIONALISM WITH EVERYONE HE ENCOUNTERS. AND FOR THOSE MEDICS AND CLINICAL SPECIALISTS OUT THERE, IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A ROLE MODEL ON HOW TO BE A REAL EMS CLINICIAN, YOU SHOULD HAVE THIS GUY'S POSTER ON YOUR WALL WITH THAT. CONGRATULATIONS. THIS IS A MAJOR PRIZE RIGHT HERE. HERE. YEAH. GREAT. CONGRATULATIONS. THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU TO DR. ABRAHAM FOR WRITING. MOST OF THAT YAY FOR DR. ABRAHAM. ALRIGHT, NEXT I'D LIKE TO INVITE, UH, CAPTAIN MIKE SASSER. COME ON DOWN. SO, UM, AS I WAS THINKING ABOUT MIKE, UM, AND FIRST OF ALL, THANK RANDY, UH, CHILDR FOR WRITING MOST OF THIS. UM, I, I WAS, I WAS THINKING ABOUT QUOTES FOR THIS GUY. UM, AND HE'S CERTAINLY A UNIQUE INDIVIDUAL. UH, I CAME UP WITH THREE, I COULDN'T NARROW IT DOWN TO ONE. SO I'M GONNA START WITH THESE THREE THINGS WHICH I THINK REFLECT HOW I FEEL AND, AND HOW WE ALL FEEL ABOUT MIKE. UH, THE FIRST IS STRIVE NOT TO BE A SUCCESS, BUT RATHER TO BE A VALUE THAT'S FROM ALBERT EINSTEIN. THE SECOND IS, IT'S NOT THE MOUNTAIN WE CONQUER, BUT OURSELVES. AND THAT'S SIR EDMOND HILLARY. THE THIRD IS, IF YOUR ACTIONS INSPIRE OTHERS TO DREAM MORE, LEARN MORE, DO MORE, AND BECOME MORE, YOU ARE A LEADER. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. IN NOVEMBER OF 2020, MIKE RECOGNIZED THAT OUR COMMUNITY, LIKE MANY OF THOSE AROUND THE COUNTRY, WAS SUFFERING FROM PREVENTABLE DEATHS DUE TO OPIOID OVERDOSES. AND THESE WERE, THIS WAS REALLY THE FIRST YEAR WHERE WE SAW THAT SIGNIFICANT INCREASE. IT WASN'T A HUGE INCREASE, BUT THERE WAS CERTAINLY A BUMP. UH, I HAD MY HEAD DOWN IN COVID AND DEALING WITH ALL OF THAT. AND, YOU KNOW, IT WASN'T ON MY RADAR TO THE LEVEL THAT IT IS NOW. UM, AND THAT TAKES PEOPLE BRINGING THESE ISSUES, UH, TO US, TO MYSELF, TO CHIEF LUC RITZ AND, AND OTHERS. BUT MIKE REALIZED THAT IF WE COULD EDUCATE AND PROVIDE HARM REDUCTION THROUGH THE DISTRIBUTION OF NALOXONE OR NARCAN, THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO SAVE LIVES NOT KNOWING WHERE TO START. HE BEGAN, UH, A PROCESS OF REVIEWING 9 1 1 CALLS INVOLVING OVERDOSES FROM THE PREVIOUS 24 HOURS. MIKE THEN WENT OUT AND WOULD FOLLOW UP WITH THESE PATIENTS, STARTING EVERY CONVERSATION WITH THE SAME TWO QUESTIONS. ARE YOU OKAY? AND WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP THROUGH THESE INTERACTIONS? MIKE LEARNED ABOUT BUPRENORPHINE, WHICH IS HARD TO SPELL AND HARD TO SAY TOO, UH, AND RECOGNIZED THAT THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR POSSIBLE FIELD TREATMENT. IN ADDITION TO HIS INITIAL APPROACH OF HARM REDUCTION AND NALOXONE DISTRIBUTION, NOT KNOWING WHERE TO START, AS THERE WAS NO OTHER EMS AGENCY IN THE COUNTRY DOING THIS TYPE OF PROGRAM, MIKE WALKED HIMSELF TO A MEDICATION ASSISTED TREATMENT CLINIC OR MAT CLINIC AND STARTED TALKING TO A PHYSICIAN ABOUT WHAT THEY WERE DOING. HIS COURAGE AND DETERMINATION TO SEEK SOLUTIONS LED OUR DEPARTMENT TO HAVE THE SUBSTANCE USE PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE TODAY. MIKE THEN BEGAN TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH LOCAL MAT CLINICS AND EDUCATE THEMSELVES ON THE VARIOUS METHODOLOGIES, UH, THAT WE MAY BE ABLE TO USE TO SERVE [01:00:01] THE CITIZENS IN OUR RESPONSE AREA AND WHO WERE SUFFERING FROM THIS OPIOID ADDICTION. HE THEN EDUCATED THOSE AROUND HIM, INCLUDING ME AND DR. ABRAHAM AND THE REST OF US. 'CAUSE THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OUTSIDE OF WHAT WE NORMALLY DO AS EMERGENCY PHYSICIANS. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, HE WORKED WITH US CLOSELY, UH, AND BECAME ONE OF THE FIRST AGENCIES IN THE NATION TO START DOING THIS TO USING THE B BUPRENORPHINE THROUGH OUR BUPRENORPHINE BRIDGE PROGRAM, UH, OUTSIDE OF THE HOSPITAL SETTING. IN ADDITION TO BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH MAT CLINICS, HE BEGAN TO WORK WITH REHAB FACILITIES SO THAT HE COULD PROVIDE CLIENTS WITH COMPLETE WRAPAROUND SERVICES. TODAY, THE A-T-C-M-S UH, PROGRAM IS KNOWN NOT ONLY THROUGHOUT OUR COMMUNITY, BUT THROUGHOUT THE NATION. MIKE IS PRESENTED AT CONFERENCES AND I, I HAVE TO SHARE THE PARENTHESES BECAUSE IT'S FUN. UH, HE'S NEVER ACTUALLY HAD TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL FOR A PRESENTATION. HE'S ALWAYS BEEN INVITED. THAT'S HOW BIG OF A DEAL THIS GUY IS, UH, AROUND THE COUNTRY. HE'S A SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT AND ASSISTS OTHER EMS AGENCIES WHO WANT TO CREATE SIMILAR PROGRAMS FOR THEIR OWN AGENCIES. LOCAL MAT CLINICS CALL A-T-C-M-S WEEKLY, ASK THEM TO, UH, FOR US TO ASSIST THEM, UH, WITH THEIR CLIENTS FOR WHOM THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO GET AN APPOINTMENT. THE PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, 365 DAYS A YEAR SINCE THE PROGRAM ONSET. AND THIS IS MARCH DATA OR UP TO MARCH, THE PROGRAM HAS ADMINISTERED 2085 DOSES OF BUPRENORPHINE AND HAS ENROLLED 522 CLIENTS INTO OUR BUPRENORPHINE BRIDGE PROGRAM. THE PROGRAM HAS ALSO DISTRIBUTED 1,515 NALOXONE RESCUE KITS AT A RECENT NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EMS PHYSICIANS CONFERENCE, A PANEL DISCUSSION ON HOW TO ADDRESS SUBSTANCE USE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY ENDED WITH AS REFLECTED BY CHIEF LUCRATIVE STATEMENT EARLIER, UH, QUOTE, WE SHOULD JUST DO IT LIKE A-T-C-M-S IF THAT ISN'T ENOUGH. PRAISE. THE WEEK THAT THIS WAS WRITTEN, MIKE HAD A MEETING WITH THE WHITE HOUSE. UH, THAT'S RIGHT. THE WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY REACHED OUT AND WANTED TO KNOW WHAT WE WERE DOING WITH THIS PROGRAM TO TREAT ADDICTION, UH, AND THE TREATMENT AND RECOVERY PROCESS AS WELL. , UH, IF THAT WASN'T IMPRESSIVE ENOUGH, MIKE, UH, WAS OUR SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT FOR A NEW CITYWIDE INITIATIVE CALLED BREATHE NOW. AND THIS IS A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN A-T-C-M-S AND AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, UH, WHICH IS COLLABORATED TO BRING EDUCATION AND RESOURCE DISTRIBUTION NALOXONE RESCUE KITS IN PARTICULAR TO CITIZENS ACROSS TRAVIS COUNTY. WE WILL DISTRIBUTE 6,800 NALOXONE RESCUE KITS, ALONG WITH THE BREATHE NOW TRAINING. IN SHORT, THE PROGRAM THAT MIKE SPEARHEADED REVIEWS AND FOLLOW UPS ON FOLLOWS UP ON ALL 9 1 1 OPIOID OVERDOSES WITHIN 48 HOURS OF OCCURRENCE. THE PROGRAM PROVIDES HARM REDUCTION AS WELL AS FIELD CONNECTION TO SERVICES, UH, TREATMENT WHEN APPROPRIATE WITH BUPRENORPHINE AND CONNECTION TO, TO THOSE TREATMENT CENTERS. THEY ALSO ASSISTS CLIENTS WITH NAVIGATION INTO MAT CLINICS AND REHAB PROGRAMS. AND THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT WHAT MIKE HAS STARTED CHANGED AND SAVE LIVES WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY AND HAS BECOME THE ROADMAP FOR HOW OTHER EMS PROGRAMS SHOULD FUNCTION AROUND THE COUNTRY. WITH THAT, CONGRATULATIONS, MIKE. I THINK IT'S CHIEF LUCAS'S TURN. THE XAVIER MCAR VALOR AWARD RECOGNIZES PERSONNEL WHO ABOVE, WHO ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY, HAVE ACTED IN A MANNER DEMONSTRATING GREAT HEROISM, WHICH CL CLEARLY PLACES THEM IN UNDENIABLE RISK FOR LOSS OF LIFE WHILE BRINGING HONOR TO THE ORGANIZATION. THIS IS ONE OF SEVERAL AWARDS WHICH IS NOT NECESSARILY GIVEN EACH YEAR [01:05:01] AS THEY CAN BE A COMBINATION OF THE SITUATION, ACTIONS, SKILLS, AND BRAVERY, AND THE ABILITY TO FOCUS UNDER EXTREME ADVERSITY. FOR YEARS NOW, OUR MEDICS HAVE RESPONDED WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT. WHEN THEY'RE FACING A TACTICAL EVENT, THEY ALSO TRAIN TOGETHER, WHICH NATURALLY LEADS TO A SENSE OF FAMILIARITY AND TRUST. SADLY, ONE OF THESE EVENTS RAPIDLY TURNED TRAGIC WITH SEVERAL OFFICERS WOUNDED ONE FATALLY. EVEN THOUGH THE SCENE WAS NOT SECURED, THESE MEDICS DID NOT HESITATE DOING THEIR ABSOLUTE BEST TO TRY TO SAVE THE OFFICER'S LIFE. THESE WERE THEIR OFFICERS, THEIR PARTNERS. NO ONE SHOULD EVER HAVE TO FACE A TEST LIKE THIS, BUT WE ARE PROUD THAT THEY WERE THERE. THEY TRULY PUT OTHERS FIRST AND THEMSELVES SECOND. AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT CANNOT BE TAUGHT. IT IS WHO THEY ARE. SPEAKING PERSONALLY, I'M SO PROUD OF THESE INDIVIDUALS FOR THE WORK THAT THEY DID THAT THAT EVENING. I KNOW THAT IT WAS CHALLENGING, BUT THE SUPPORT THAT WE GAVE TO OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT COLLEAGUES WAS UNMATCHED. AND IT HUMBLES ME EACH AND EVERY DAY KNOWING THAT YOU ALL ARE PUTTING YOUR LIVES ON THE LINE, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU. BUT CERTAINLY THOSE OF YOU ON OUR TACTICAL TEAM APPRECIATE WHAT YOU DO EACH AND EVERY DAY. AND WE WANNA THANK CAPTAIN LUKE MUELLER, CLINICAL SPECIALIST ROB BURROWS, FOR THEIR EFFORTS THAT EVENING AND THEY JOIN US. THANK YOU AGAIN AS WE BRING THIS, UH, TO A CLOSE. JUST A FEW LAST CLOSING REMARKS FROM ME. UM, WE, WHEN WE PUT THESE AWARD CEREMONIES TOGETHER AND WE REACH OUT, WE TRY TO UNDERSTAND ALL OF THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED, UH, EACH AND EVERY DAY HERE AT AUSTIN. TRAVIS COUNTY EMS RESPONDING TO TWO TO 300 EMERGENCIES EACH AND EVERY DAY. UH, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO KNOW EVERYTHING THAT GOES ON. IT'S IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO KNOW EACH AND EVERY MOMENT THAT YOU TOUCH THE LIVES OF YOUR PATIENTS AND THAT YOU TOUCH THE LIVES OF YOUR COLLEAGUES. SO YOU TOUCH THE LIVES OF YOUR PEERS. I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE RECOGNIZE EVERYONE IN THE ORGANIZATION AND EVERYONE IN THE DEPARTMENT. AND FOR SO MANY OF YOU THAT ARE DOING OUTSTANDING WORK EACH AND EVERY DAY THAT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN UP HERE TODAY TO RECEIVE AN AWARD, BUT KNOW THAT WE RESPECT YOU, WE ADORE YOU. WE ARE ONE GIANT FAMILY HERE. AND BEFORE I MOVE ON TO THE CLOSING REMARKS, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GIVE EVERYONE IN THE DEPARTMENT A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR ALL OF THE GREAT WORK THAT THEY DO EACH AND EVERY DAY. YOU GUYS TRULY, TRULY SET AN EXAMPLE FOR THIS INDUSTRY. I ALSO, OF COURSE, WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE RECOGNIZE THE AWARDS COMMITTEE. UM, EVERYONE ON THAT COMMITTEE WORKED VERY HARD TO DO, DO OUR BEST TO PARSE ALL OF THE NOMINATIONS DOWN AND SELECT A GROUP THAT WE COULD PUT TOGETHER AND RECOGNIZE OVER THESE, THESE FEW HOURS HERE. UM, THEIR LOVE AND THE, THE, THE OUTREACH AND THE COMPASSION THAT THEY HAVE FOR EACH AND OUT FOR ONE OF YOU, UM, IS ABSOLUTELY EXEMPLIFIED IN THEIR WILLINGNESS TO VOLUNTEER AND STEP INTO THIS ROLE. UM, AND TRY TO FIND THESE INSTANCES THAT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE RECOGNIZE. SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I GIVE A SPECIAL THANKS TO ROSS COPELAND, JOHN DONAHOE, CRAIG FAIRBROTHER, RILEY FLANAGAN, TYLER GREEN, MELISSA HALL, JONATHAN KALINOWSKI, ALEX MEDINA, RICHARD MURRAY, REBECCA RASMUSSEN, NATHAN RASSMUSON, LINLEY RUTLEDGE, LINDSEY RUTLEDGE AND MELISSA WARREN. AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL FOR WHAT YOU DO EACH AND EVERY DAY, BOTH IN UNIFORM AND OUT OF UNIFORM. UH, IT TRULY IS A TESTAMENT TO YOUR COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY. I AM SO PROUD TO, TO BE A PART OF THIS ORGANIZATION. I'M SO PROUD TO BE YOUR CHIEF. UM, AND I CAN'T STOP TALKING ABOUT YOU EACH AND EVERY DAY AND EVERYWHERE I GO. AND I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO DO IT. AND I WISH YOU ALL A WONDERFUL EVENING. THANK YOU. [01:10:01] WE LOVE YOU TO JOIN US OUT IN THE FOYER FOR SOME CAKE AND PUNCH. THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.