Narrative

The American Ambulance Association (AAA) held it's 15th Annual Stars of Life event at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington D.C., May 7-10, 2006. The AAA's Star of Life celebration is the most exciting program that honors dedicated ambulance service professionals. The recipients of the "Star of Life" distinction are EMT's, medics, dispatchers, or other exceptional EMS personnel that have been nominated and are being recognized for service above and beyond the call of duty, years of service, on-duty heroism, or are employees of the year.

The event featured a banquet and award presentation ceremony to honor the "Stars", a guided tour of Washingtin D.C., and opportunities to meet with local congressional representatives.

This year CARE selected EMT Tyson Conger and EMT Shawn Dugan to receive the 2006 AAA Star of Life Award.  Tyson and Shawn were chosen to represent all CARE EMT's, managers, and support personnel that were deployed during Hurricane Katrina and Rita. Their award citation read as follows:

During the deployment of CARE Ambulance Strike Teams to New Orleans in response to Hurricane Katrina, Shawn Dugan and Tyson Conger were assigned to work with Acadian Ambulance. Teaming up with Acadian personnel, Shawn and Tyson were sent to the towns of Pearl River and Covington, both in St. Tammany Parish.  Due to the devastation, they were the sole EMS providers in their assigned area  Their work included search and rescue along with the provision of 911 services for the assigned area.  The professionalism they displayed was indicative of all CARE personnel that participated in the deployment.

Shawn and Tyson were escorted on the trip by Bob Barry, Marketing and Public Relations Manager, and Bob Campbell, Public Relations Rep.

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