A Personal Note from Paul Hoyle:

Friends and Colleagues,

As many of you are already aware, I recently accepted a position managing emergency services for a rural county in southwest Virginia.  While I and my family are excited about this move and the new challenges that come with it, I also find myself hesitant to leave a great job and the awesome people with whom I have worked these last several years.

Michael Player, you will always be the example of a great boss that I hold up as an example to others and against which I will measure myself each day.  You supported me professionally and personally, providing guidance, advice and, often enough, just listening to me rant when I didn’t feel things were going my way.  I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor.

My brothers and sisters on the PEMS staff over these years – I will also miss you dearly, though I expect to stay in touch.  We always talk about the PEMS “family,” and it is just that.  We’ve had our share of challenges and accomplished some great things, and we’ve had a lot of fun doing it.  Most of the folks that make up our regional EMS system will never know how hard you work to make our system the best in Virginia, but I do.  Thanks for everything!

Julie Glover and members of the Board of Directors – I thank you for the support you have given me and the Council and for the guidance you provide to our organization.  You helped us accomplish things I was honestly never sure we could.  I can only hope to have as much support from my governing board in the future!

Members of each of our PEMS committees – You all accomplish the real work of our organization.  I try to explain to people who don’t know our system how you, with no regulatory authority and in a volunteer (i.e. unpaid) capacity, create, manage and improve our regional EMS system through a completely collaborative process.  They often don’t believe me, but we know it works!  Thanks for your efforts, and keep plugging.

And finally, to all of the other folks with whom I have engaged, either through regional committees, emergency responses and deployments, training and exercises, or just the day-to-day business of providing an excellent EMS system for our citizens, thank you for the opportunity to serve with you and learn from you. 

All of you - As a group, you are loud, boisterous and opinionated and you get things done!  You look at problems as challenges to overcome and find a way to make things happen every day in spite of resource and funding shortfalls that would stop most folks.  I couldn’t ask for a better group of experts, friends and family to fall back on for advice and support as I move forward and I hope you will always include me as one of your own.  Please never change.

Because I will continue to do some per diem work with the Council, my phone and email information will remain unchanged for the foreseeable future.  Please use it to stay in touch!

Thanks again.

Paul Hoyle