MARC News

"Tree of Life" National EMS Memorial visits Kansas City

January 24, 2008

The National Emergency Medical Services Memorial, “The Tree of Life,” was on display at City Hall in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, Jan. 23.

The visit coincided with the arrival earlier in the week of a group from the National EMS Memorial Service Board of Directors, who are evaluating the Kansas City metropolitan area as a possible permanent new home for the Tree of Life memorial and the annual National EMS Memorial Service.

Kansas City was chosen late last year as one of three finalist cities in a nationwide search. Also in the running are Colorado Springs, where the memorial was displayed on Monday, and Arlington, Va.

The National EMS Memorial honors EMS providers from across the nation who lost their lives in the line of duty. The 350 honorees currently listed on the memorial include 20 Missourians and Kansans (listed below).

The Memorial’s stop in Kansas City was part of a trip across the United States, funded by the National Defense Industrial Association, following its display at a Department of Homeland Security Conference in Los Angeles.

The Kansas City visit was hosted by the Mid-America Regional Council Emergency Rescue committee (MARCER), a bistate coalition of EMS agencies. MARCER is spearheading the effort to bring the National EMS Memorial to Kansas City, with support from the Missouri Emergency Medical Service Association (MEMSA), the Kansas Emergency Medical Services Association (KEMSA), and the Missouri Ambulance Association.

Local EMS personnel formed an honor guard at the Memorial throughout the day on Wednesday. Honor guard participants included: from Johnson County Med-Act, Lt. Ted Hazelton, Capt. Lori Voelker, Lt. Anthony Sellen and Lt. Ben Schoolcraft; and from MAST Ambulance, Rick Hartman, Diane Frisbie and Kyle Thibodo.

For more information about the National EMS Memorial and Memorial Service, visit www.nemsms.org.

Kansas & Missouri National EMS Memorial Service Honorees
James S. Barnett Jr., Spirit of Kansas City Life Flight, Lone Jack, Mo.
Brandon Bow, EagleMed, Wichita, Kan.
Tye P. Brown, Metropolitan Ambulance Service Trust, Kansas City, Mo.
Marcus E. Carr, Chillicothe Fire Dept., Chillicothe, Mo.
Billie Cobb, Gerald Area Ambulance District, Gerald, Mo.
Jonathan Dye, EagleMed, Wichita, Kan.
Wilma C. Francis, Caldwell Co. Ambulance District, Kingston, Mo.
Jennifer Hauptman, EagleMed, Wichita, Kan.
Juli J. Huttegger, Air Evac Lifeteam, West Plains, Mo.
Dennis W. Krause, Concordia Fire Protection District, Concordia, Mo.
Norma C. Lane, Putnam County Ambulance District, Unionville, Mo.
Katherine Malone, Metropolitan Ambulance Service Trust, Kansas City, Mo.
David J. Mosher, Chillicothe Fire & Grundy County Ambulance, Chillicothe, Mo.
Edward C. Neustrom, Johnson County Med-Act, Olathe, Kan.
Ryan P. Ostendorf, American Medical Response, Topeka, Kan.
Bryan C. Pottberg, Lee's Summit Fire Department, Lee's Summit, Mo.
Karen Scherer, Air Evac Lifeteam, West Plains, Mo.
Ricky Allen Seiner, Citizens Memorial Hospital EMS, Bolivar, Mo.
Phyllis D. Shelley, Mid-Mo Ambulance District, Tipton, Mo.
Kenneth H. Wheat, ARCH Air Medical Services, Inc., St Louis, Mo.

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