The HCRS and Wadley Celebrate 40 Years Of Service
The Hardeman County Rescue Squad (HCRS) celebrated its 40th anniversary as well as squad member Kent Wadley’s consistent and dedicated service of the same number of years, on Saturday, August 20, 2022.
“I want to thank everybody. This means a whole lot,” said Wadley who is the only living founding member of the squad. “I couldn’t do it by myself. There have been a whole lot of other people that have put stuff into this and helped out. It is not just one person.”
It was February 1982 when the Hardeman County Rescue Squad (formerly Hardeman County Rescue Service) was formed by a group of concerned Hardeman County citizens. They included law enforcement officers, medical technicians, volunteer firefighters, and people who wanted to make Hardeman County as “safe as possible and provide care at the highest level obtainable”. Some familiar names in the effort were Ted Greene, David Howell, Mike Lawson, Betty Walley, and Ray Wilson.
Before the squad was established, Hardeman County residents had to rely on neighboring county rescue agencies to serve the community. That dependency made it difficult to protect Hardeman County residents, especially when the needed services were life threatening.
“There was an ongoing need for the rescue squad,” said Wadley. “If there was a major wreck that needed the jaws of life, you either didn’t have it or they had to wait on either Chester County or Madison County to bring one to get people out of the cars, and that is a long wait. For drownings, we only had either Fayette County or Chester County. Unfortunately, often by that time, it was an assist and recovery effort.”
Since its inception, the HCRS has been a non-profit and volunteer service organization. It relies solely on donations and does not bill anyone for its services. Hardeman County donated its first ambulance to the HCRS. Soon after, fundraising efforts made it possible for the squad to purchase its first jaws of life. Today, the squad has six trucks and four jaws of life. Continued donations from the community have made those acquisitions possible.
Wadley was a high school senior when he got involved with the rescue squad. After graduation, he attended UT-Martin and would drive back to Bolivar to attend meetings and then turn around the same night and drive back to school. Even in the early years, his commitment to the organization was evident. Wadley has served the HCRS as captain, vice-president, treasurer, unit director, and as a member on the board of directors. He has served the Tennessee Association of Rescue Squads (TARS) on the state level as president, vice-president, region IV vice-president, parliamentarian, training coordinator, on the board of directors, chairman of the board of directors, and is a double lifetime member. These days, Wadley no longer holds an office and is just enjoying being a member of the squad.
In the beginning, there was no official training for squad members. Most came with the skills they already used in their fulltime professions.
“The people who sold us the tools did a little bit of ‘junkyard training’, but that was it,” said Wadley. “In 1988, when the squad joined TARS, we went through a training program and also took a class for us to become training instructors.”
Wadley, who has worked professionally for 13 years as a district sales manager with the Genuine Parts Company, now holds certifications in advanced vehicle extrication, farm rescue, mass transit and school bus rescue, trench rescue, and vehicle extrication. He is an instructor of blood borne pathogens, Emergency Vehicle Operator Course (EVOC), and vehicle extrication. Wadley was licensed as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in 1992 and worked part-time with the local Hardeman County Ambulance Service. Although he no longer works in that capacity, Wadley maintains his certification. Now, all incoming members are certified in CPR, First Aid, vehicle extrication, EVOC, and complete Vanessa K. Free Training.
Once thought to be a “fly-by-night” organization, the HCRS has grown over the years to become a reputable and valued resource to emergency services in Hardeman County as well as across the country. Along with serving the citizens in the county, the squad was one of the agencies on standby by for the bombing of the World Trade Center, and hurricane Katrina.
“If there is a vehicle accident in the county and they think there may be injuries, they go ahead and page us out,” said Wadley. “We respond to all structure fires to back up the fire department as far as rehab. We do all land searches and all water rescues. We also work with the sheriff’s department.”
Wadley is a lifetime HCRS member, which means he has a combined service of 25 years. He and other lifetime members, Darren Grantham, David Morris, Dujuana Naylor, John Weaver, and Wadley’s wife, Dedi, were also recognized during the ceremony.
Bolivar Mayor Julian McTizic, using John 15:13 as a basis, thanked Wadley and the other lifetime members for their service as ones who “put their life on the line for a friend of Hardeman County”. He awarded each one of them with a challenge coin that read two of McTizic’s favorite quotes, “Be the change you wish to see in the world” and “Inspire greatness around you”.
McTizic also presented Wadley with a plaque on behalf of the Bolivar City Council and its citizens recognizing his service. An area outside of the HCRS building is where a monument to Wadley will be placed later this year.
Also on hand for the ceremony was Hardeman County Mayor-Elect Todd Pulse.
“Nobody realizes how important this organization is until you need them,” said Pulse. “So I think we should appreciate them all the time.”
Dalton Wadley, who referred to his father as a “superhero”, read a proclamation from Hardeman County Mayor Jimmy Sain stating August 20, 2022, as “Kent Wadley Day” in Hardeman County. Sain was not able to attend the ceremony due to a prior commitment.
He also presented his father with a plaque from the HCRS recognizing Wadley’s service.
Wadley looks forward to the growth of the HCRS and plans to continue to serve.
“I keep doing it just for the fact that I don’t want something to happen and there will be nobody to respond,” said Wadley, giving a nod to his fellow squad members. “That gives me (all of us) the drive to keep the HCRS going and serving.”
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