Bay of Quine MPP Todd Smith was pleased to congratulate Belleville resident Jeff Ashley on
receiving a 30-year service bar as part of the Governor General’s Emergency Medical Services Exemplary
Service Medal awards program tonight in a special recognition ceremony at Queen’s Park.
The Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs (OAPC) recognized Ashley for over 30 years of exemplary
dedicated service as a paramedic with services in Hastings and Frontenac counties. He was among 65
recognized for reaching 30-year and 40-year milestones.
“I congratulate Jeff on this special recognition,” said Smith. “Paramedics regularly respond to life-and-death
situations, and Jeff routinely answered those calls with professionalism, poise and knowledge. We are
fortunate to have had him serving the residents of our region of Ontario.”
Ontario’s Minister of Health Sylvia Jones and Hastings-Quinte EMS Chief Carl Bowker also took part in the
presentation for Ashley.
The Governor General’s Emergency Medical Services Exemplary Service Medals were created in 1994 by then-
Governor General Romeo LeBlanc to recognize paramedics serving at least 20 years providing the highest
quality of care. At least 10 years of service must be on duty in the field – on the street or in the air – involving
potential risk to the individual. The nominees can be active, retired, or deceased. Those who have received
the medal can receive additional bars at 30, 40, and 50 years of service. According to the OAPC, there have
been more than 3,400 recipients of medals and bars since the program’s inception.
Earlier this year, the OAPC presented Governor General’s Emergency Medical Services Exemplary Service
Medals to Hastings-Quinte EMS paramedics Bill Hughes, Darcy Osborne, and David Valdas.
