Twenty BC Ambulance Service (BCAS) employees received one of Emergency Medical Services’ (EMS) highest honours on November 26, 2010, when they were presented with EMS Exemplary Service awards. The EMS Exemplary Service Medal expresses a national gratitude for long and commendable service. To be eligible for this prestigious award, recipients must complete 20 years of exemplary service, and perform at a level above and beyond the expectations of their employment.

“It is commendable that BCAS has so many individuals with 20, 30, and 40 years of service,” said BCAS Chief Operating Officer Les Fisher. “The contributions [of the recipients] have helped improve service delivery, foster community relations, advance paramedic education and training, and much, much more.”

Of the twenty BCAS recipients, nine were honoured for the first time with the EMS Exemplary Service Medal. Sixteen employees received their 30 year bars and Harvey Bull, a recently retired paramedic from the Lower Mainland Region, received a 40 year bar. Harvey is the first recipient of the 40 year bar in BCAS history.