2024 KEMSA Award Winners
On August 10th, KEMSA (Kansas Emergency Medical Services Association) hosted a heartfelt award ceremony to honor the remarkable contributions of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) professionals.
The event, held at the Conference Center in Manhattan, Kansas, celebrated the exceptional bravery and dedication of our EMS personnel and presented the prestigious Celine Larson PEER Support Award in memory of the late Celine Larson, a beloved member of the Belleville community
The Celine Larson PEER Support Award was created to recognize individuals or teams whose service exceeds what is normally expected, providing the utmost PEER support, exemplifying Strength and Honor. This award not only honors outstanding contributions but also perpetuates Celine’s legacy of compassion and dedication to her community.
Celine was instrumental in founding Grandpa’s Best and so it was used as the pathway to create a foundation benefiting EMS following Celine’s vision. A portion of each sale of Grandpa’s Best products goes to fund the Hop for Heroes Foundation in memory of Celine’s legacy, and to provide financial support to a well deserving group of individuals.
Kari Presley is the Chief Operations Officer for KEMSA and has been instrumental in the organization’s success. Kari constantly provides support to all KEMSA members and especially the leadership team. This includes her hard work ensuring the KEMSA PEER Support Society has the resources needed to serve our Kansas EMS Community. Kari was instrumental in turning the vision of the Celine Larson PEER Support Award into reality.
Present at the awards banquet was Celine’s loving family – her husband, Chase; their four daughters Tess, Wynn, Sadie, and Fern; Celine’s parents Russell and Lindsey Carlson; and Chase’s parents Thayne and Jeanne Larson.
The KEMSA conference is available for EMS providers of all levels, educators, managers/supervisors, service directors, medical directors, nurses, and others involved in the EMS profession. The conference took place August 8-11, 2024.
