EMS Shines at the IPMBA Conference
First, I would like to thank the Cincinnati Police Division for a job well done. First-rate is the description that comes to my mind. Everything was excellent – from arrival at the airport to departure, and everything in between. Compliments to everyone involved; you made it a great conference.
The presence of EMS at the conference just keeps increasing each year. This year we had international representation for the very first time – a warm welcome to the Canadian contingent, Fred Thomas and Tim Branch from Windsor, Ontario. We were excited to certify 15 EMS Cyclists in the EMS Bicycle Operations Course, and four EMSC Instructors in the Instructor Course. All passed with flying colors. Congratulations to all of you.
Special thanks to the EMSC Course co-instructors, EMSCIs Neil Blackington, Pat Donovan, and Greg Johnson. You were all top-notch. Thanks, too, to EMSCI Jim Bowell for your participation in the Instructor Course, and to Nick Gatlin and the crew from Williamson Medical Center for providing EMS support to the Advanced Course. I am sure it was more than you bargained for, especially with the off-road rides each day.
This year also featured the very first EMS-specific vendors, MRL and R&B Fabrications. They felt the event was a success for them, so I expect we will see them and a few others showing up at future conferences. I also could not help but notice that almost every vendor had displays for EMS out front and very visible. If you know of any potential vendors, let Maureen at IPMBA HQ know about them and she will put them on the mailing list for Ogden.
As the presence of EMS continues to expand, so does the need for a louder voice at the top. So we added another EMSCI to the Education Committee – thanks, Neil, for volunteering (ha, ha). But that does not mean that the rest of you are off the hook. I challenge each and every IPMBA EMS Cyclist to help make IPMBA the leader in networking and sharing of ideas among EMS cyclists everywhere.
Remember: each of you has the potential to play an active role in this organization and to have a voice in deciding its future direction. There will be four open board positions in 2002, and contrary to popular belief, EMS representation is NOT restricted to just one member. Please consider applying when the formal notice appears in IPMBA News; you can only make this organization better.
Thanks again to everyone who was involved with both the pre-conference and the conference. It is you who make this the best organization it can be.
Take Care and Be Safe.
Ed Brown