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After dedicating 36 years of service to the Avon Ambulance, Carol Tolsma decided it was time to permanently park the stretcher in the ambulance. Carol was an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) during her years of volunteering for the Avon Ambulance. When asked what made her first want to become an EMT, she said that she was encouraged by community members. In 1988, Carol along with a large group of Avon residents took an EMT class. After taking the class and seeing so many of the other Avon community members step up to help their community, Carol knew that this would be a good fit for her. She credits her long career as an EMT to the amazing mentors that she had along the way. Her mentors include Donna Reister, Dianne Bechtold, and David Brandt. Without the guidance and support of these three mentors along with her co-volunteers over the years, Carol would not have been able to develop her skills as an EMT to the high level she did. Carol was motivated in her long career as an EMT by her sheer willingness and want to help others in her community. This is also what kept her as part of the Avon Ambulance team for so long. Helping others in her community was one of the best parts of her job. Not only was she able to assist and help community members in their time of need, but knowing the people of Avon as she does, she could also advise the doctor about different things she had known about the patient that could be crucial in diagnosis and treatment. In the same token as being able to help residents of the Avon community, it was also one of the most challenging aspects of her duties. It was hard for Carol to see people she had known her whole life and their families go through pain, being called to tragic accidents as well as unfortunately not being able to save every life. In the last few years before Carol’s retirement, Yankton Emergency Medical Services would come to Avon monthly and put on a class for the Avon Ambulance volunteers. It was nice that their training could be done in house by some very excellent trainers. In Carol’s opinion, what makes a good EMT/EMS team member is someone who is willing to volunteer and give up their personal time, someone who is patient and is a quick-thinking person. Carol was very honest in her response to how she kept calm during emergency situations. She said, “you don’t”. No matter how hard she tried, when the adrenaline kicked in there was not necessarily a calmness that ensued, but the fact that she was well trained that took over, allowing her to do her job as needed. A couple of the unique skills that Carol brought to her work as an EMT were her ability to present calmness, even if she did not feel that way and her ability to think outside of the box. What Carol misses the most since retiring is helping people, but she knows that it is time for a new generation of EMTs to take over and take care of the Avon community. Thank you, Carol, for your years of service and dedication to the Avon community.