Through his 27 years as a volunteer

emergency medical technician in Washington state and Libby, Richard

Wernham has seen it all – good and bad – but the reason he keeps at

it stays the same.

“I guess it’s a feeling of giving

something back to the community,” he said. “It’s always a good

feeling when you can help someone who is in pain.”

He spent his first seven years as an

EMT with a fire department in Washington. After moving to Montana

and taking a three-year break, he joined Libby Volunteer

Ambulance.

The 48-hour minimum monthly commitment

wasn’t always easy while working full-time and raising a family,

Wernham said. He worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at

Libby Dam from May 1987 until his retirement in January 2009.

This year marks the 20th year he has

volunteered with the Libby ambulance crew, and just like one of his

fellow longtime EMT volunteers, he doesn’t plan on retiring anytime

soon.

“We’ll probably do it till we can’t do

it anymore,” he said. “I feel a strong attachment to the outfit and

I know they need the help.”