2008 Photo Contest Winners Announced

     At the urging of his daughters and with an interest to attend EMS EXPO 2008 in Las Vegas, Ray Kemp of St. Charles, MO, decided to submit some of the EMS-related photos he had taken over the years to a photo contest organized by Cygnus Public Safety Group, including EMS EXPO, EMS Magazine and EMSResponder.com, and sponsored by 5.11 Tactical.

     Having never won a contest of any kind before, he was a bit surprised by the outcome. One of Ray's photos was selected as the grand prize winner from a field of more than 500 received during the contest (photo pictured above).

     From 1984 to 1991, Ray worked as an EMT and Public Information Officer for St. Charles County Ambulance District in Missouri. During that period he also did some freelance photography. After leaving EMS and hanging up the camera for 12 years he decided to come back to EMS. In 2004, Ray struck a deal with his former ambulance employer to ride 20 hours a week with the paramedic supervisors to shoot images of EMS workers.

     "I prefer to shoot close to give the viewer of my images the feeling they are standing right along with the medics," according to Ray. "It is very important that I capture the interaction between the medics and their patient. This, I think, has become a signature of my work."

     It is this style and imagery that caught the attention of contest judges too. Ray now travels throughout the country riding and photo-documenting numerous EMS providers from Moab, UT, to upstate New York. His work appears in numerous EMS textbooks and magazines, and he has become an industry advocate promoting the development of EMS policies as they pertain to using cameras in the field by EMS personnel and protecting patient privacy.

     As the grand prize winner, Ray received a $1,000 travel and hotel voucher to attend EMS EXPO 2008, October 15 to 17, in Las Vegas. In addition, the contest's exclusive sponsor, 5.11 Tactical, provided Ray travel and accommodations to join them on a catalog photo shoot.

     Ten photo contest finalists were also chosen, each receiving a $511 gift certificate from 5.11 Tactical. Finalists included:

     Amy E. Maxwell, Chattanooga, TN

     Jeffrey Arnold, Livonia, NY

     Lee J. Sagert, Coaldale, Alberta, Canada

     Lisa Winn, New York, NY

     Michele Humborg, Brewster, WA

     Mike Paterson, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

     Mike Legeros, Raleigh, NC

     John Payne, Elyria, OH

     Rob Daniel, North Richland Hills, TX

     Scott A. Matin, Neptune, NJ

     Organizers plan to hold the photo contest again in 2009.

     A new white paper on EMS management calls for major improvements in the way the industry defines, educates, trains and credentials those who manage EMS services. Developed by the National EMS Management Association (NEMSMA), Emergency Medical Services Management and Leadership Development in America: An Agenda for the Future proposes to standardize EMS management levels and nomenclature and define their competencies, create a national officer training project to help training programs and academic institutions support those competencies, and create a national organization for credentialing EMS managers.

     "The time has come for EMS to step up to the plate and take EMS management seriously," lead author Skip Kirkwood, chief of Wake County EMS in North Carolina, said. "We need a more formalized system to ensure that managers are competent and that we have a strong cadre of professionals leading us into the future."

     Watch for more in the future on this subject, and download the paper at www.nemsma.org/.