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“The Ultimate Sacrifice” |
Welcome to the National EMS Memorial Project Project Update February 8, 2008 To begin, we apologize for the lack of online updates over the course of the last year. It got very busy and there simply was little time to do all that needed to be done. After releasing our initial request for proposals from cities interested in hosting the National EMS Memorial, much has happened. . . . The proposal drew interest from 13 different communities around the country and one labor organization proposing a 14th. Over the course of the first half of 2007, we entered into talks with each of these communities and even visited a few of them during that time frame. These talks were initial discussions about what the needs of the memorial would be and how each community could best meet those needs. During this time period we also talked with a number of designers and architects about possible designs for the Memorial. It was during these talks that we learned that our desire for proceeding concurrently with both Phases I & II were unrealistic. It turns out that the folks who design such things need to know where it will be and have a sense of the “lay of the land” before they can put forward designs. It had also been our intention to form a site selection committee to chose 5 or 6 sites out of what we expected to be over a dozen written proposals for the steering committee to review. As it turned out, we received only 6 written proposals by the cut-off date in August and of those one withdrew in favor of another in the same state and 2 others obviously didn’t meet our stated criteria. This left us with our three finalists: Washington, D.C., Kansas City, MO Metro Area, and Colorado Springs, CO. Each finalist city was notified of its status in September of 2007. At that time 2 of the three sites requested structured site visits by members of the Memorial Committee. These visits took place in November of 2007. Follow-up visits to all three locations were made by the NEMSMS Executive Board in January of 2008. We expect to hold a meeting of the entire NEMSMS Board of Director sometime in late February or early March of 2008 where all the data collected during these visits will be presented. The final selection of host city is expected to made by the end of the first quarter of 2008 and announced in early April. Once the decision is announced we will proceed with the remaining 3 phases of the project as previously outline. December 31, 2006 Mission: The Mission of the National EMS Memorial Project is to construct a permanent, outdoor memorial to honor and remember the men and women of America’s EMS community who have made “The Ultimate Sacrifice” and given their lives in the line of duty. History: The National EMS Memorial Service has, since 1991, been honoring those members of America’s EMS who have died in the line of duty at a Memorial Service historically held annually in Roanoke, Virginia. As part of the Service, a bronze Oak Leaf is engraved in remembrance of each honoree and is added to the “Tree of Life”, the Service’s permanent memorial. Since the Service’s inception through the end of April 2006 the “Tree of Life”has been on exhibit at the “To The Rescue” Museum, also located in Roanoke and operated by the Julian Stanley Wise Foundation. In recent years the National EMS Memorial Service Board of Directors came to realize that the number of leaves were, unfortunately, outgrowing the ability of a single “Tree” to properly display and maintain the appropriate image. Preliminary discussions on how to address the matter ensued and a small committee of stakeholders from various national EMS organizations was created to develop ideas and recommendations. It was obvious that a “single tree” concept was no longer going to be suitable and various ideas were discussed as were ideas as to where to relocate the Memorial should it be determined that To The Rescue’s facilities could no longer support and new, much larger exhibit. While there was some urgency to these deliberations, the matter was not considered a immediate problem. This changed in early April of 2006 when the National EMS Memorial Service was notified by the Julian Stanley Wise Foundation that it had lost its lease on its then current location, had been unable to secure a new location and had therefore, voted to shut down To The Rescue indefinitely. In the month between the closing and the 2006 Memorial Service in late May, it became evident that the closing of To The Rescue was not going to be a short term situation and this effectively left the Tree of Life homeless. At its annual Board of Directors meeting in May of 2006 the National EMS Memorial Service created a committee to identify possible sites and formats for a new, permanent memorial. In the months that followed, this committee met to organize an effort to create a new memorial and develop the criteria to be used in selecting a site and design based upon the needs of the Memorial Services and its attendees, particularly the families of our honorees. These efforts were concluded in late 2006 and the National EMS Memorial Project was born. On December 31, 2006 the Project Steering Committee issued a press release announcing this effort to the National EMS Community. Organization: The Project is being implemented in four (4) phases:
Phase I: Site Selection and Acquisition Phase II: Design Phase III: Fund-raising Phase IV: Construction Current Status: As our current time line looks toward a 2010 unveiling of the new Memorial, Phases I and II have commenced concurrently and we are now actively soliciting site proposals and design concepts. Phase III will commence shortly and Phase IV will begin as soon as Phases I & II are completed Phase III has raised enough money to begin construction. Volunteers: The National EMS Memorial Project is actively seeking volunteers to help with all aspects of this efforts. We have prepared an Open Letter to Potential Volunteers which should give interested parties an understanding of the various areas in which your help is needed. Management: The overall activities of the National EMS Memorial Project are directed by a Steering Committee consisting of six (6) members of the National EMS Memorial Service Board of Directors. Subcommittees are currently being formed to manage the four phases of the Project. National EMS Memorial Project P.O. Box 6604 Carlstadt, NJ 07072-0604 201-896-3862 - Fax: 201-935-831
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