Michele St. George announced at the Boulder City Council’s Dec. 16 meeting that she would retire as director of the Boulder Ambulance Service effective Jan. 1, after 14 years of running the department.
“There isn’t a much better time to step away like this than Jan. 1,” said St. George. “I feel pretty good about this, and the stress of worry is already lifting, sort of.”
St. George first joined the Boulder Ambulance Service in 2003 as an EMT. She then became the service’s assistant director in 2008, and full director in 2010. During her tenure as director, she oversaw the training and certification of more than 40 volunteer EMTs, helped the service secure an additional ambulance, and was, alongside her crew, awarded more than $50,000 in grant funding.
“I’m most proud of all the EMTs that came through here over the years,” said St. George. “A few are actually full-fledged medical professionals now, and I like to think I helped them get started.”
St. George said she will continue serving as an emergency medical technician, extending her volunteer service of 21 years. But she will step away from the administrative responsibilities of her part-time, paid position. This includes filing trip reports for billing, and managing communication between her roster of volunteers to quickly assemble incident response teams.
“Managing the Boulder Ambulance Service is very challenging,” said Boulder City Council president Drew Dawson. “It requires a 24/7 commitment, and real dedication to the community of Boulder and its surrounding areas. Michelle has filled that position admirably, and, on behalf of the City Council and the community of Boulder, we are deeply appreciative for her many years of service.”
St. George, while continuing to volunteer with the ambulance service, will continue to work full-time as a Montana state juvenile probation officer, assisting troubled youth from Jefferson, Beaverhead, and Madison counties. During her retirement announcement, she recommended to the City Council that it appoint current Boulder Ambulance advanced EMT Molly Carey, also endorsed by her fellow volunteers, as her replacement. Carey did not respond to The Monitor’s requests for comment in time for the publication of this article.
“She (St. George) invested 20 years of her life into the ambulance service, and she was just great for this community,” said Boulder Mayor Rusty Giullio. “And I think Molly (Carey) is really exceptional, too. We’ve got a lot of good people at the ambulance service.”
Giullio was uncertain as to whether Carey would be elected by the Council, or simply appointed by him. Carey, barring any challenge to her pending promotion, should assume leadership at the upcoming January city council meeting, if not before.
“It’s a bummer to see [St. George] leave, but really she’ll still be there,” said Boulder Ambulance EMT Amanda Cochran. “I really loved working under her. She’s an amazing teacher, easy-going, and great with new people. She’s the reason why I’m confident in my skills as an EMT.”
