The New York City Council has passed a bill to posthumously honor Zhe 'Zack" Zeng by renaming Bayard Street between Mulberry Street and Baxter Street in the Chinatown area of Manhattan after the fallen hero. Zack died while using his Emergency Medical Technician training he learned at Brighton Volunteer Ambulance. Zack was giving first aid to injured persons leaving the World Trade Center, after the planes crashed into them on September 11, 2001 and died when the towers collapsed. The street will be known as Zhe "Zack" Zeng Way. It borders a park where Zack used to meet his friends.
This honor was carried through the New York City Council jointly by Council Members Alan J. Gerson, in whose district the street is located, and John C. Liu. Zack's mother working with both council members' staff hand-carried petitions door to door gather the support of the neighbors.
Zack will be further honored in May, when his name is placed on the New York State EMS Memorial in Albany on May 19th and the National EMS Memorial in Roanoke VA on May 29th. Details of those events can be found below.
WROC 8 Meteorologist Rob Haswell told viewers of this morning news show (seen 5 AM - 7 AM Monday - Friday) that he and his wife were having another child any day. They wanted to make certain that their new child and their 2 year old were as safe as possible, when they were in his car. He went on to tell his audience that he decided to "call the experts at Brighton Volunteer Ambulance" for their assistance.
Darrell Grigg, EMT-P, MICP, a Senior Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician inspected an existing seat and gave tips on what to do to bring it to the recommended standards. He then went on to install a infant seat/carrier unit telling viewers what to look for on this live morning news show. BVA Public Information Officer Michael E. Pollock was on hand to explain the history of the program founded at BVA by Shannon Wendel, EMT-CC, Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician and how the program has grown with the assistance of Darrell and a grant from the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles Governor's Traffic Safety Committee.
Viewers were told to contact BVA at 271-2718 or e-mail Child.Carseat@BrightonAmbulance.Org for more information.
BVA will host an Open House for the community on Sunday, May 16th at the BVA Base located at the corner of Winton Rd. and Westfall Rd. The hours of the event are 1:00 PM until 4:00 PM. Details will be announced shortly, but we need members to begin signing up to act as our ambassadors during the event, as well as set-up and clean-up. A sign-up sheet will be posted at the base. This is a chance for the community to come and see our equipment and facilities before an emergency strikes. Questions will be answered, fun for the children, tours of our ambulances and the base will be conducted.
Donna Bailey, EMT-P, a part time career member of Brighton Volunteer Ambulance was awarded the Advanced Life Support Provider of the Year award at the 10th Annual STEP EMS Conference on April 2.
Donna joined Avon Ambulance in 1992 and worked her way up to Emergency Medical Technician - Paramedic level.She currently serves as the ALS Chief for the Avon Ambulance. Donna also works part time for Rural Metro Medical Services in Rochester, besides working at Brighton.
The STEP Council of the Genesee Region mission is to inform and educate the EMS community and promote opportunities for improvement of the EMS system. The Board of Directors consists of physicians, nurses, paramedics, EMT's, firefighters, security and law enforcement officers, county EMS coordinators, and community representatives who have an interest in EMS. More details on STEP can be found at www.stepems.org .
The BVA Board of Directors and the membership are proud to have Donna working with us.
Brighton Volunteer Ambulance (BVA) held its 17 th Annual Recognition Dinner on March 27, 2004 at the Holiday Inn Rochester – South in Henrietta NY. The organization holds this event to honor its members and those that make its continuing lifesaving mission possible, each year.
With BVA members and representatives of other public safety agencies and local and state government looking on, the following awards were given:
Daniel Fox was honored with the David Gundry Award . Gundry was a charter member of BVA, who not only helped organized the original ambulance corps, but additionally put in countless hours to bring the group from infancy to a viable emergency medical service agency.
The BVA President's Award is given those who make “outstanding contributions to the agency” over the past year. The volunteer member that was honored was Michael E. Pollock . Career Staff member honored was Geoff Cole .
Each department of BVA honors an outstanding individual, who represents the high standards of position. Those honorees were Advanced Life Support technician Jeremiah Shufelt . Medic Department was Paul Fredericks and Driver Department was Rob Jarzabek.
BVA President Dennis J. Mietz presents
Joan Cohen a certificate acknowleging
20 years of service to BVA
Milestone Service Awards went to Joan Cohen for twenty years of service and Beth Ann McNeill for 15 years of service.
Dennis J. Mietz was honored for his 2003 term as BVA President. Michael Murphy Was honored for his 2003 role as Director of Operations.
New York State Senator Joseph E. Robach was honored for his support of BVA and Brighton Town Supervisor Sandra L. Frankel was honored for her leadership role of establishing a Public Access Defibrillation program in town-operated facilities and the training of 70 town employees by BVA in CPR and Automated External Defibrillations.
A special moment was taken to wish BVA career member paramedic Doug Platt , best wishes for a safe return. Doug Platt was recently deployed with his military reserve unit for an overseas assignment.
BVA associate member Allen Scalise has been appointed the editor of our new newsletter, the BVA Pulse , by BVA Public Information Officer, Michael E. Pollock.
Pollock said, "Allen has been worked in the area of public relations and advertising for several years. He has already proven his capabilities on other projects and this would be an excellent fit for both Allen and BVA."
People who would like to submit ideas for articles or members that would like to help report on issues that concern our membership should address their e-mail to: BVAPulse@BrightonAmbulance.Org
New York State will unveil its new EMS Memorial dedicated to those that gave their lives in the line of duty on May 19, 2004 at 11:00 AM. The ceremony will take place on the Empire State Plaza in Albany.
The memorial will feature a large granite tablet with a graceful and flowing "Tree of Life" engraved into its slightly rounded surface. This is in keeping with the theme of the National EMS Memorial.
The "leaves" on the New York "tree" will be in the shape of the "Star of Life," the National symbol of the EMS. In honor of each EMS member who has died in the line of duty, an "EMS-blue" enamel-coated stainless steel "Star" with polished lettering and trim will be placed on the "Tree." Each of these special "Stars" will bear the member's name, organization and date of death.
Zhe "Zack" Zeng
(1998)
Photo courtesy of theUniversity of Rochester
William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration
Brighton Volunteer Ambulance's own Zhe "Zack" Zeng, will be honored during the ceremony. Zack perished during the World Trade Center attack on 9-11-2001, while performing first aid on victims on the scene, before the towers collapsed.
On May 29, 2004, the National EMS Memorial Service will take place at the First Baptist Church of Roanoke in Virginia. The service starts at 7:00 PM. A National EMS Moment of Silence will be held concurrently nationwide on all EMS radio dispatch frequencies.
Each year, at the service held in Roanoke, members of the honoree's families are presented with a medallion, symbolizing eternal memory; a U.S. Flag which has flown over the Nation's Capital, symbolizing service to the country; and a White Rose, symbolizing their undying love.
In additional to the presentations made during the service, each honoree's name is engraved on a bronze oak leaf which is added to the "Tree of Life", the Permanent Memorial on exhibit at the "To the Rescue" Museum in Roanoke.
14 honorees will be added to the National EMS Memorial this year, including Brighton's Zhe "Zack" Zeng.
Those interested in attending either ceremony, should contact Michael E. Pollock, Public Information Officer for Brighton Volunteer Ambulance for details. He is attending both ceremonies representing the agency. He can be reached at PIO@BrightonAmbulance.Org .