Post 53 Cleans Shelf with Brand New Officers
NEIRAD enilno edition
Senior Grant Nelson is primed for his new role as president of Post 53 emergency medical response unit. “I am extremely excited to take over the presidential role for Post 53,” Nelson said.
He is stepping into the spot vacated by Class ’10 graduate Ryan Saffa who is a freshman at College of Charleston. Nelson will also assume other responsibilities held by class of 2010 gradautes Nicole Schnakenberg, Gabi D’Agosto, Willem Sandberg, Ines Castro, Sarah McGowan and Emy Gruppo. These graduates leave behind critical positions.
Nelson’s responsibilities include making sure officers and job-holders are on top of their work and ensuring the relationship between the adult and teen volunteers is strong. They both have to work together if Post 53 is going to be successful. Nelson must address problems brought to him by Posties or actually anybody in town. Other elected positions assumed by the seniors include Jamie McEwan on operations, Gerianne Connell on training; Katherine Matson on programming; Claire Streeter as secretary and Kevin Cassidy as treasurer.
McEwan is in charge of all ambulance necessities. He oversees vehicle maintenance to make sure the ambulance is restocked; new drivers are trained; the machine is kept clean. This job comes with a lot of stress because McEwan is constantly making sure these jobs are fulfilled. Connell also has a tough job. She is in charge of first aid classes, as well as EMT classes, for incoming Posties. She is also overseeing medical education meetings (even for veterans), and in charge of setting up practical sessions and tests to improve their skills that have made the organization a well-known and respected volunteer ambulance organization.
“As a member of Post, I’ve always looked up to the elected officers so I am honored to be an elected officer and have the opportunity to help lead the membership,” Connell said.
As the VP of Programming, Matson looks to be more productive in the field of community events. These are the functions that help raise money through different activities held in town. In the spring the food fair and art show were two examples of this initiative, which was organized by last year’s VP of Programming, Emy Gruppo.
Matson’s role is to do more of this in the near future. “Even though this office can be pretty time consuming, I’m definitely excited for putting together the major Post events and programs for the next year. It’s awesome yet daunting to be one of the six elected officers and to be one of the leaders of Post,” Matson said.
Streeter’s role includes taking notes at meetings as well as keeping files on everybody’s certifications. That means she will have a lot of paperwork and work behind the scenes to keep all the bureaucratic work in order.
Cassidy is the money man. As treasurer, he is in charge of paying bills and the $250,000 annual budget. He decides what to spend money, and what purchases will be the most important to Post 53. He also makes sure that Post does not over spend and is always under the budget. Cassidy plans to use some of the annual $250,000 budget to buy three more ambulances.
Although last year’s experienced seniors left important positions in Post 53, the incoming senior class has a great handle on their responsibilities and should do just fine with their new responsibilities. Matson also added, “All of us [new officers] have spent the past three years looking up to these officers so it’s pretty strange to now be on of them.” Congratulations to all the office holders, and good luck.
*If anyone is interested in joining Post 53, it is easy to get involved by taking some CPR and first aid classes that are often taught at Post, you can contact Grant Nelson at GNelson@darienps.org with any questions.
