Herman Campbell Honored for EMT Service
Pickford Man, 82, Has Served 35 Years
By Amy Polk

Herman and Helen Campbell of Pickford accept the Bob Marshall Upper Peninsula EMT of the Year Award September 29 in Marquette, on behalf of their family. At 82, Mr. Campbell was recognized as the oldest active duty emergency medical technician in Michigan. He was a charter member of Pickford's Volunteer Ambulance Corps, and has served for 35 years. (Photograph by Raeann Reinhardt)

A farmer by occupation, Pickford's Herman Campbell is no stranger to getting up early. That experience was vital over the 35 years he has served as an emergency medical technician (EMT). Calls for help can come at any time, night or day.

"I once made three runs in eight hours," Mr. Campbell said.

Mr. Campbell, 82, and the Campbell family were honored when they were given the Upper Peninsula's foremost Emergency Medical Services award in recognition of their many years of service. Recognized as the oldest active EMT in Michigan, Mr. Campbell accepted the Robert E. Marshall Upper Peninsula Emergency Medical Services Award September 29 at the annual Upper Peninsula Emergency Medical Services Conference in Marquette. The award is given each year for outstanding emergency medical service, and is named in memory of Robert Marshall, a legendary Upper Peninsula EMS pioneer who passed away in 1944.

He accepted the award before 500 other EMTs, Paramedics, Medical First Responders, and other emergency personnel from Michigan, Canada, and seven other Midwestern states. Friends and family from Pickford, where Mr. Campbell serves on the Pickford Township Volunteer Ambulance Corps, were also there. Bob Struck, executive director of Upper Peninsula Emergency Medical Services (UP-EMS), presented the award.

"I've known Herman since 1981, and he is just as dynamic now as he was back then," Mr. Struck told The St. Ignace News.

Mr. Campbell will be honored locally at a reception and supper this Saturday, October 13, at Pickford Township Hall on Main Street. The reception will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and everyone is invited to celebrate the award and Mr. Campbell's years of service. His 82nd birthday was August 12.

Mr. Campbell grew up in Stalwart and moved to Pickford in 1938. He was graduated from Pickford Public Schools in 1944 and served in World War II. It was the only time he left the Pickford area, to which he returned in 1946.

Service is what prompted him to help form a local ambulance corps to respond to the medical emergencies of his neighbors. Previously a group of volunteer firefighters handled emergency calls, until residents formed a volunteer ambulance corps in 1973. Mr. Campbell was one of the first emergency medical technicians of about a dozen who joined that year.

In the early days of the corps, without pagers, volunteers had to be close to the telephone when they were on call, Mr. Campbell recalled.

Mr. Campbell served as Ambulance Corps Captain for 15 of his 35 years with the corps, and has been there as 17 of his family members have followed him into service. Many are still on the corps, and together they have recorded 275 years of combined service on the Pickford Ambulance Corps. His daughter, Janet Campbell, who trained at the same time he did, has gone on to teach countless EMTs in the Eastern Upper Peninsula.

"The Campbell family legacy continues in the people she has taught," Mr. Struck said. "Emergency medical services are well represented by the Campbell family in this area, and they have played a vital role in emergency service."

Mr. Campbell says his service was not for excitement or recognition, but because the ambulance corps is a badly needed service in his township.

"You never enjoy seeing people hurt," he said. "I just do it as a service to the community, and we have a good corps here in Pickford."

Mr. Campbell and his wife, Helen, have 13 children, 14 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and one great-grandchild is now expected.

He has assisted with American Red Cross blood drives, United Way fundraising, and has helped develop the Eastern Upper Peninsula EMS. He is a member of the United Methodist Church of Pickford and the Farm Bureau. He and his family raise beef, hogs, and sheep at Burntland Farms in Pickford.