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Sedgwick County, Kansas EMS
Honor Guard
Photo of Sedgwick County EMS Honor Guard

General:

The Sedgwick County EMS Honor Guard officially organized on April 13th, 2005. Currently and since its inception, there are 17 active members who are all full time and part time Paramedics employed by SCEMS.

Background:

For several years now, a few SCEMS paramedics have sought to create an Honor Guard to appropriately represent our service in honoring deceased friends and family. Unfortunately due to budget constraints, their efforts had been unsuccessful, leaving these few medics to attend funerals of fellow public service employees on their own, unofficially representing EMS.

Early in 2005, a Paramedic Lieutenant Jay Finney, employed at SCEMS for 8 years died. While his death was not in the line of duty, it had a major impact on many medics as well as fire fighters, police and other community service members, not to mention friends and family. His funeral was highly attended as a sign of respect and honor to his memory and dedication. Wichita Fire Department and Sedgwick County Fire Department were represented by their respective Honor Guards as well as the United States Marine Corps; although most of Sedgwick County's Paramedics were in attendance of the funeral, we did not have an official Honor Guard nor did we have any protocol for such an event. In light of this, several Paramedics began to reevaluate the need and possibility for an EMS Honor Guard. A few months later through the generosity of EMS administration, what before was only a considerate thought was now a reality.

Purpose:

Since the official organization of the SCEMS Honor Guard, in light of Lt. Finney's death, the Honor Guard wanted to ensure that the spirit of honor, reverence and respect would not be an afterthought of our organization. Since the inception, several members have worked together to describe the purpose of the Guard so that its mission is clear and perpetuated. The following are the five-fold purposes as outlined by the Sedgwick County EMS Honor Guard policies and procedures:

  1. The purpose of the Honor Guard is to represent Sedgwick County EMS in an effort to show our respect, gratitude, pride and integrity as a public service of the community.
  2. To honor and respect SCEMS employees, public servants and lay people by a showing of our service’s decorated, uniformed participants.
  3. To create unity among public services including the Fire Departments, Police Department, Sheriff Department, and other public service and public safety entities.
  4. To portray an image of discipline and professionalism and to teach non-Honor Guard personnel guidelines for conduct at uniformed events requiring such conduct (i.e. funerals, parades, special events, etc)
  5. To raise public awareness of EMS as a part of the services provided and dedicated to the interests of the community.

Accomplishments:

In the mere 6 months of its operation, the Sedgwick County EMS Honor Guard has overcome several hurdles and made significant progress with respect to fulfilling the purpose of the Guard, all of which could not have been possible without the sincere dedication and selflessness of its members as well as the benevolence of Tom Pollan (Director, SCEMS), Garry Tolle (Asst. Director) and Greg Schuessler (Support Services). Following is a brief timeline of the SCEMS's short history:

Current Members:

  • Paul Misasi - Commander

  • Bill Robben

  • Greg Gering

  • Jacqueline Cook

  • Mendy Lubbers

  • Mike Hall

  • Dave White

  • Adam Misasi

  • Leigh Chambers

  • Jim LeBaron

  • Rosa Spainhour

    • Recruits

      • Steve Albright

      • Scott Standlee

      • Dennis Kalmar

      • Tammy Ruth

      • Kent Killingsworth

      • Tara Wittsell

      • Chad Maugans

      • Angela Sundquist

      • Chris Atwater

      • Holly Beck

      • Brian Falco

Honor Guard Pin:

Honor Guard PinThis is the Commendation Pin that is given only to Honor Guard members. This pin can be worn on all uniforms as an outward display of pride, honor, unity and remembrance.

Accolades  / Correspondence Received:

$500 donation received from SCEMS patient

3/21/08

My name is G.C. and I am a 15- year NYC paramedic. I am not sure if you are familiar how EMS works in NYC, but we are made up of FDNY EMS, hospital-based EMS and commercial-based EMS and volunteer agencies, and we all work in the 911 system.
 
Therefore, when there is a death of a EMS person, he or she may actually work in several agencies. FDNY EMS has a small EMS honor guard, but if you do not work for FDNY, there is no EMS honor guard.
 
I would like to change that and would appreciate any and all assistance to start this project.
thanks and good work on your honor guard. It looks really good.

3/19/08

Wow, how do I put this briefly yet concisely. I have just finished reading your link page from the NAEMT Honor Guard mention recently. I am relieved to know that other EMS agencies are structured and developed so that I have a bit of a template to command from. I work for EMSA in OKC and we have had an Honor Guard as long as I have been working here but it has had little formal structure. I have vowed to change that and get a program a bit more formal and pride bearing.

Your company and guard have inspired me to move on and find our place in EMS Honor Guard history. Thanks so much for what you have started, stand for, and strive to do for the EMS community. Good luck and send our best in OKC to your brethren.

Field Operations Supervisor
EMSA

I'm writing to obtain some information in regards to forming an EMS  honor guard in South Dakota. I'm a paramedic in Sioux Falls, South  Dakota's largest city. I greatly recognize the need to form an elite  group of fellow paramedics to form a professional EMS honor guard.

I'm writing for your advice on how to get the group off the ground. I  have several fellow paramedics/EMTs that are willing to take part in  the group. I've volunteered to pilot the formation of the group and  seek outside advice on how to get things started. I have several  ideas for funding, etc. Where do you begin with uniforms, etc.

Would you please inform me of any information you have or any advice?

I read your EMS Funeral protocol over the internet this morning. Your insight into the need for an Honor Guard is most refreshing.  The Richland County Emergency Services of Richland County, located in Columbia , South Carolina will bury Lieutenant W . K . this afternoon.  Lieutenant K. collapsed during a stabbing call on Saturday, August 05, 2006. A Last Call will be given over our radio system and broadcast through a vehicle public address system. Any wording you have used for the Last Call in the past would be greatly appreciated.

 
Thanks in advance,
R. B.
Communications Supervisor
Richland County Emergency Services  
 
I am a Paramedic with County Rescue Services in Green Bay Wisconsin. We recently had one of our helicopter pilots die in the line of duty and while we were able to put together a wonderful tribute to his life, we did not have our own honor guard to represent our organization at his funeral. We had to rely on the Coast Guard and various other Fire/Police organizations to provide an honor guard for this dedicated family man and pilot.
 
I have been charged with getting together a group of people to form our honor guard. While looking for some suggestions for formation, I came across your web page.
 
Do you have any suggestions for the proper implementation of a respectful honor unit? Any things that you've done that you would do different? Any help that you could give would be appreciated. We have a few military people that are willing to help as well as the commander/trainer from a neighboring honor guard to help, but he inherited an already established honor guard.
  
Please let me know if you can help at all.
 
Thank You,
J.S.V.Z.
County Rescue Service, Inc. 
 
Ellis County EMS is in the process of establishing an Honor Guard.  We would like to talk with you about how to get started.  If you could provide us with a phone number, I would have Mr. A.T. contact you.  He is our technician who is in charge of the project.

Thanks for your assistance.
K.M

On behalf of the Hutchinson Honorguard I would like to thank all of you for your support, ideas and presence at the funeral. We could not have done it with out you all. You all did an outstanding job and received great feed back from the family and other department members present.

Rex Albright, Hutchinson FD Honor Guard Commander, Hutchinson, Kansas

Tom please extend my thanks to those who gave of their time to support the County's River Festival activities. The EMS Honor Guard proudly lead the way in the parade and were well appreciated by the crowd--Great Job. That positive visibility is an important reminder to the community of the wonderful service EMS provides. Lest I forget--my thanks to those who ride the ambulance everyday, delivering high quality, compassionate care.

Regards, Bob

Mr. Robert Lamkey, Director of Public Safety Division, Sedgwick County, Kansas -

Mr. & Mrs. Bob Pippen - $50.00 donation

I live in Derby and was at the 4th of July parade. The Honor Guard looked very impressive!! I was VERY proud!!!!

P.B.
Derby, Kansas

Honor Guard Pictures and Procedures

Honor Guard Pictures
Honor Guard Policies and Procedures

U.S. Flag and Flag Folding Information:

http://www.usflag.org/foldflag.html

Sedgwick County EMS Honor Guard Contact Information:

Paul Misasi, Honor Guard Commander
1015 Stillwell
Wichita, KS 67203

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last update: 03/26/08
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