2009 NEMSMA Board of Directors
President Gary Wingrove
Treasurer William Dunwoody
Secretary Troy Hagen
Member at Large Skip Kirkwood
Member at Large H. Larry Roberts
Member at Large Forrest (Woody) Wood, Jr.
Member at Large Aarron Reinert
Member at Large Lanny Bernard
Member at Large Ray Barishansky
Immediate Past President (non-voting) Darryl Coontz
Previous Board Members
Member at Large Kevin McGinness; Marc Goldstone (2006-2007)
Member at Large Keith Wesley, MD; Dave Williams, MS, REMT-P (2004-2005)
Member at Large Thom Dick; George Ralls, MD (2003)
We are deeply indebted to the following individuals who served on the NAEMSQP / NEMSMA Board of Directors through the transition period:
Todd LeDuc, REMT-P
Al Landry, REMT-P
Pat Brandt
Board Bios
President Gary Wingrove, Buffalo, MN. Gary has volunteered or worked for governmental, non-profit and independent EMS agencies since 1978. He is a former state EMS director and recently retired as a paramedic after 25 years of service. He serves on several federal agency national advisory committees and has leadership posts in several state and national EMS and rural health associations. Gary frequently lectures on EMS public policy. He is currently the director of government relations and strategic affairs for the Mayo Clinic's non-profit air and ground transportation company, serving multiple geographies in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin.
Treasurer William Dunwoody, Madison, ME. Bill began his EMS career in 1978 as a volunteer EMT at a college-based ambulance service. Throughout his career, he has worked as a volunteer, for-profit, hospital-based, and non-profit EMS provider in urban, rural, and frontier regions of Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maine. Bill is currently a Scholar Practitioner with the International Institute for Organizational Excellence, LLC (www.iioe.net), a corporation formed to transform society through the example of a customer focus, personal integrity, promotion of lifelong learning, and the pursuit of excellence in the management of healthcare systems and promotion of patient safety in the delivery of healthcare. He is a licensed Paramedic, a PhD student and holds a Masters of Business Administration degree. He is also a Certified Manager of Quality/Operational Excellence through the American Society for Quality. Bill has held several leadership positions in Maine EMS including three gubernatorial appointments to serve on the Board of EMS. He has served on the Leadership Team of the American Society for Quality Healthcare Division as the Division Secretary for the past two years.
Secretary Troy Hagen, Boise, ID. Troy is the Director of Ada County Paramedics. Troy has been involved in EMS since 1989. He has held many positions from Field Paramedic through Supervisory roles prior to his current administrative position. He also has a background as a volunteer firefighter, reserve deputy sheriff, tactical medic, and technical rescue team commander. Troy represents EMS as a Commissioner on Idaho’s Emergency Communication Commission and serves on both the Idaho EMS Code and EMS Licensure Task Forces. He is also an Incident Commander for Idaho’s Type 3 Incident Management and Support Team and the Medical Commissioner for the 2009 Special Olympic World Winter Games. Troy holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry and holds a Master in Business Administration. He is a frequent lecturer on emergency preparedness, special events planning, and multi-agency coordination. He is an ICS 100-400 Instructor and adjunct faculty for Idaho State University’s Institute of Emergency Management.
Immediate Past President Darryl Coontz, Kansas City, MO. Darryl has been involved in EMS since 1979, a paramedic since 1984, and has worked in all types of EMS agencies in the urban, rural, and suburban setting. Darryl holds a BS in Management and a Master of Business degree. Darryl’s passion is EMS in all forms and functions and devotes his life to improving EMS in every way imaginable. Darryl is currently the Deputy Chief of Clinical Services for MAST in Kansas City, MO and a proud member of the National EMS Management Association.
Member-at-Large Raphael M. Barishansky, Teaneck, NJ. Ray has been involved in EMS for the past 18 years in a variety of systems including urban, suburban and rural and in a variety of positions as a provider, supervisor and manager. Ray has lectured at various regional, state and national conferences and is regularly published in various EMS trade journals including EMS Magazine and the EMS Insider. Ray is currently the Program Chief for Public Health Emergency Preparedness for the Prince George’s County (MD) Department of Health. Prior to establishing himself in this position, he served as Executive Director of the Hudson Valley Regional EMS Council based in Newburgh, New York.
Member-at-Large Lanny Bernard, Lancaster, SC. Lanny has been involved in EMS since 1977, became a paramedic in 1979 and and EMS Director in 1989. He has remained EMS Director at Lancaster County (SC) EMS for 21 years and feels fortunate to be a part of such a great organization. He has a BS in Biology from Winthrop College (now Winthrop University) and is a life-long learner whether that includes classes at the NFA, in-service training, conferences, or other opportunities. He taught EMT, EMTI and Paramedic classes for 20 before his wife informed him he did not want to teach anymore. Lanny is a member of the Executive Committee of the SC EMS Association, member and Past Chairman of the SC EMS Advisory Council, member of the SC Trauma Advisory Council, Board Member and Past Chairman for SC Midlands EMS Management Association, member of the SC EMS Training Committee, and current Chairman of the United Way of Lancaster County Board of Directors, and an active member of Higher Ground Church.
Member-at-Large Skip Kirkwood, Wake Forest, NC. Skip has been a paramedic since 1976 and has served in urban, suburban, and rural EMS agencies in Virginia, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Oregon, Florida, and North Carolina. From 1990 – 1995, he served as Oregon state EMS director. Presently he is Chief of the EMS Division in the Wake County, NC, Department of Public Safety, a 60,000-response per year system. Skip is also an attorney, and has an active consulting practice in the areas of EMS operations, planning and deployment.
Member-at-Large Aarron Reinert, North Branch, MN. Aarron is the Executive Director for Lakes Region EMS. Lakes Region EMS is a rural ambulance service covering a 450 square mile service area composed of 40 full-time staff with a Paramedic/EMT staffing pattern. Previous to Lakes Region EMS, Aarron was the Field Services Manager for the Minnesota Emergency Medical Services Regulatory Board. At the EMSRB, his projects included creating and implementing a statewide, web-based data collection system, developing statewide EMS communication systems, and coordinating EMS bioterrorism preparedness. Aarron is considered a national expert in EMS data collection and also a leader in leadership training for current and future leaders in EMS. He has served as a subject matter expert for numerous states, such as Georgia, Nebraska, and New Hampshire, as they developed statewide EMS data collection systems. He also assisted the country of Ireland explore the development and implementation of a national EMS data collection system. Aarron was recently appointed by the US Secretary of Transportation to serve on NHTSA’s National EMS Advisory Council. He has pioneered the use of the Balanced Score Card within ambulance services. He continues to be a practicing paramedic of 18 years, has a B.A. in Organizational Leadership, and is regular educator for ambulance management, leadership and a consultant for public safety communications and EMS data collection.
Member-at-Large H Larry Roberts, Camp Hill, PA. Larry is the Vice President/Chief Operating Officer of West Shore Advanced Life Support Services, Inc. (d/b/a West Shore EMS). West Shore Advanced Life Support Services is a service of Holy Spirit Health System where he is a member of Holy Spirit Health System’s Leadership Team. Larry began his EMS career in 1964 as a volunteer and has remained active in the grassroots EMS community since that time. He was the founding president of the Upper Dauphin County Emergency Services, Inc., and was the first employee of West Shore Advanced Life Support Services, Inc. As a community leader, Larry is an active board member and treasurer of the Emergency Health Services Federation and serves on the board of directors of Leadership Cumberland. In the past, he has served as chair of the West Shore Chamber of Commerce and chair of his church’s administrative council. In 2005, Larry received the George C. Hoopy Award, one of the West Shore Chamber of Commerce’s most prestigious awards, which recognizes a member’s exemplary service to the Chamber. Larry received a bachelor’s degree in Education from Susquehanna University and a master’s degree in Health Services Administration from the University of Saint Francis.
Member at Large Forrest C. Wood, Jr. Bryan, TX. Forrest is currently the EMS Training Manager for the EMS Leadership Academy, TEEX, Texas A&M University. He began his full-time EMS career in 1976 and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Services Administration. In addition to service a Firefighter/EMT; Supervisor; and Paramedic, he served in Arizona State government working in EMS Communications, and the State Department of Health as an EMS Coordinator. His state service culminated in 1988 after serving as the State EMS Director. In December 1988, he returned to the private sector. Over the next 10 years, he served as District Manager in the Metro Phoenix Area; Human Resources Manager for the Dallas/Fort Worth operation; HR Manager for Texas; and ended his private career as General Manager for Northern Alabama. In 2000, he joined Texas Tech University as an Associate Professor where he helped develop the Distance Ed Bachelor’s Degree in EMS Management for Texas Tech University.