Sue Drenth Garners EMT of the YearAward - Twice
By Amy Polk

Sue Drenth was presented the Clark Township EMS Person of the Year Award Sunday, December 10. (Photograph by the Clark Township Ambulance Corps)

Sue Drenth must be doing something right. The Clark Township Ambulance Corps volunteer has been named Emergency Medical Services Person of the Year for the second year in a row. She was nominated by other emergency medical technicians (EMTs) who work with her, and Ambulance Captain Mark Merchberger considers it the most important award an EMT or Medical First Responder (MFR) can earn.

“The people working around her obviously think very highly of her,” Mr. Merchberger said at the agency’s annual meeting December 1. “This is the second year in a row that Sue has won the vote for EMS person of the year. We have some very dedicated people on the corps, so the voting for this is tough. [For her] to receive this two years running tells me Sue is doing things right.”

Mr. Merchberger said Mrs. Drenth is always trying to improve “to give her patients the best possible care.”

“For Sue, it's all about the patient,” he added.

Mrs. Drenth, a retired school teacher, joined the corps in 2001, and earned her EMT-Basic license in 2002. She has said in the past she finds the service rewarding, especially when saving a life and hearing the appreciation of friends and family members of patients. This year, she has been serving on a night shift rotation and has been helping to cover the hard-to-fill day shift, Mr. Merchberger said.

Clark Township Ambulance Corps members who attended the December 1 dinner and meeting include (back row, from left) James Roosen, Chet Kasper Jr., Mark Merchberger, Zach Rye, Norm Smale, Keith Kester, Justin Benson, Dave Simpson, Clark O’Brien, Carl Ter Haar; (middle row) Donna Smith, Liz Merchberger, Kathy Kasper, Shelli Arnold, Courtney Cruickshank, Keith Kester; (front row) Frank Arnold, Carl McIntire, Tracy Reichlin, Ben Sherlund, Tammy Cruickshank, Lisa Carrington, and Chet Kasper III.

Kathy Kasper, who joined the corps the same year as Mrs. Drenth, called her “an incredible asset to the day shift,” and said “it is a huge honor that she got it two years in a row.”

“She’s very reliable, and her emergency service instincts are great,” she said.

Mrs. Drenth often reviews the emergency calls she responds to after the call “because she’s looking to improve her performance,” Mrs. Kasper said.

She agreed with Mr. Merchberger’s assessment that patient care is most important to Mrs. Drenth.

“She puts the patient first, and treats everyone with respect,” Mrs. Kasper added. “She has immense compassion and respect for others.”

Mrs. Drenth, a five-year licensed EMT-Basic, is only the second ambulance corps volunteer to win the award twice. Norm Smale also won the award two years in a row in 1997 and 1998. The corps began awarding an EMS Person of the Year award in 1991.

Mrs. Drenth was not at the Ambulance Corps annual meeting and dinner December 1 to accept the award, so the volunteers presented it to her Sunday, December 10.

She and her husband, Ken, live in Cedarville and have two grown sons, Ben and Andrew.

Mrs. Drenth is a founding member and secretary of the Les Cheneaux Ambulance Auxiliary, a support organization that raises money for the Ambulance Corps and pays for the annual dinner, coats, shirts, radios, training dummies, and food for a multi-agency training exercise. The organization takes donations and hosts an annual Independence Day pancake breakfast to raise money. Members volunteer their time at special events in the township that need emergency services standing at the ready. The organization is also paying to train eight new emergency medical technicians in a course taught by volunteers Shelli and Frank Arnold. Mr. Merchberger estimates the auxiliary has provided $13,300 in services and equipment for the corps over the years, “and that’s money we don’t have to go back and ask the township for.”

Donations can be made to the Auxiliary by writing to Les Cheneaux Ambulance Auxiliary, P.O. Box 453, Hessel, Michigan 49745. Information about the Auxiliary and upcoming EMT or MFR training can be obtained by writing to the same address, or by sending e-mail to LCAA@sault.com.

Mr. Merchberger thanked Clark Township Board for its response to equipment requests and ambulance corps needs. The township board and Ambulance Corps are now forming an ad hoc committee to research options for filling the need for day shift staff. The committee will make recommendations to the township board next year.

Mr. Merchberger also recognized all the volunteers, and ambulance corps officers, Assistant Captain Tracy Reichlin, Secretary Donna Smith, Occupational Safety and Health Administration Officer Kathy Kasper, and Training Officer Frank Arnold. Keith Kester and Norm Smale were commended for performing maintenance checks. Mr. Kester also logged 207 hours on emergency service runs this year. He was followed by Kathy Kasper with 113 hours, Dave Simpson with 101 hours, Sue Drenth with 97, Tammy Cruickshank with 92, Norm Smale with 80 hours, and Carl TerHaar with 79.

“Thank you for the service you provide to the community. You’re second to none,” he told the group.

He welcomed new members, Justin Benson, Lisa Carrington, Courtney Cruickshank, and James Roosen. Mr. Benson, Miss Cruichshank, and Mr. Roosen are all enrolled in the EMT training course, and Miss Carrington already has an EMT license, “which is a tremendous help to the township,” Mr. Merchberger said.

Years of service pins were given to Sue Drenth, Kathy Kasper, Ben Sherlund, and Carl Ter Haar for five years of service. Liz Merchberger and Shelli Arnold earned 15-year pins, and Chet Kasper Jr. received a 20-year pin. Mr. Merchberger also recognized Donna Smith for her 24th year of service. She is the longest serving ambulance corps member.

Tammy Cruickshank, Liz Merchberger, Clark O'Brien, and Zach Rye received awards for perfect attendance at meetings.

Mr. Merchberger distributed CPR Save awards to Liz Merchberger, Clark O'Brien, Norm Smale, Keith Kester, and Kathy Kasper for reviving a patient through cardiopulmonary resuscitation on one of their calls.

The Clark Township Ambulance Corps responded to 180 calls through the first week of December, and Mr. Merchberger said it was probably the busiest year since he joined the corps. By comparison, the corps made 130 runs in 2005. This year’s calls included 107 medical emergencies, six fire assists, 40 trauma calls, and 14 runs to motor vehicle accidents.

One of the motor vehicle accidents involved Nancy and Ailbe Burke, Hessel cottagers who were starting on their annual trip to Florida when they were struck by a truck on M-134 near Pontchartrain Shores. Mrs. Burke, who suffered a concussion in the accident after hitting the windshield of the vehicle, contacted The St. Ignace News to describe her gratitude for the response of Clark Township’s EMS, and their concern, even checking in with the Burkes in the week after the accident. Mr. Burke sustained some cuts and bruises.

“We were so impressed,” Mrs. Burke told The St. Ignace News. “These people were absolutely

magnificent. They were so professional, and so helpful, and my main debt of gratitude is to these people who we laugh and joke with every day.”

Mrs. Burke is recovering at the Hessel cottage before heading to Florida later this month.