Museum Closure Strains EMS Memorial
The closing of the EMS museum will shorten activities planned during the National EMS Memorial Service this weekend in Roanoke, Va. However, organizers promise the tribute will be memorable just the same.
More than 1,000 people are expected to participate in the annual memorial service set for 7 p.m. Saturday, May 27 at the First Baptist Church, said Shirley Bagby, vice chair of the National EMS Memorial.
The museum, To the Rescue, closed earlier this year after it lost its lease in a local shopping center. The artifacts are being stored while officials search for another home, said Doug Adams, vice president of the Julian Stanley Wise Foundation, which oversees the project.
"We were hoping to get it back up before the memorial service, but that didn't happen," Adams said, adding that he is optimistic that there will be an EMS museum open again soon.
Registration for families of the fallen heroes will be held at Hotel Roanoke Friday and Saturday. "The EMS bike riders should be arriving at the hotel about 5 p.m. Friday. That's always a very exciting thing to see," Ms. Bagby said.
Since the museum is closed, organizers are trying to arrange for the Tree of Life Memorial, on which the name of each fallen hero is engraved on a brass leaf, to be available for viewing at another location.
A reception will be held following the 7 p.m. memorial service. A national moment of silence to honor EMS personnel is set for 8 p.m. Officials have asked that communications centers across the country make an announcement about the sacrifices of the heroes.
On Sunday, family members and fellow EMS providers will be invited to speak about their heroes during a breakfast.
Officials say they would love to have a permanent memorial for EMS responders like the one in Emmitsburg, Maryland for firefighters. But, Ms. Bagby said the donations just aren't there yet. "We depend on donations. So, maybe one day."
The EMS bicyclists left Philadelphia Tuesday morning, and are spending the night in Baltimore. Without police escorts in Maryland, they will ride in vehicles to the Pentagon on Wednesday where they will begin the last leg of their trip through Virginia.
