Umphrey, Lewis honored in Helena
HELENA — If actions speak louder than words, Valerie Umphrey and Sgt. Chuck Lewis may as well be shouting.
Gov. Steve Bullock and first lady Lisa Bullock honored the two Lake County residents and other volunteers from around the state with the ServeMontana award during a ceremony in Helena last Friday.
The awards are presented each year to outstanding community volunteers and organizations for their service to Montana. Karin Olsen Billings, chair of the Montana Commission on Community Service, presented six ServeMontana awards for service in the areas of education, healthy futures, environmental stewardship, economic opportunity and veterans and military families.
Valerie Umphrey of St. Ignatius was recognized for her dedicated service as a volunteer emergency medical technician and going out of her way to care for her patients for over 20 years.
A short biography sent out with a press release illustrated how Umphrey has shown her willingness to go above and beyond to provide professional patient care. Often, she drives patients 40 miles round trip to the nearest hospital, and will do the same to bring that patient back home. She has gone back to patients’ houses to make sure pets are secured and fed. She gets up in the middle of the night to respond to an accident, then continues on to her job as a teacher with little sleep the following day.
“It’s nothing more than anyone else would do for their community,” Umphrey said.
Members of the community recall times she provided comfort to family members who have lost loved ones or given up her own holiday and family dinners when the community needed her most.
A crewmember witnessed her crawl in ditches in the pitch-black night, help people in deplorable situations with dignity, comfort babies, drive in blizzards and always care as if it were her family member she was helping.
At the school, she teaches the importance of community response in emergencies, and is responsible for motivating several high school students to take EMT classes and pursue careers in emergency medical services.
Out of Umphrey’s five children, four have become volunteer EMTs.
Not only has she excelled as a volunteer, she has taught the value of volunteering and caring for neighbors to the community of St. Ignatius.
Chuck Lewis, whose Walking for the Fallen campaign and walk garnered more than $40,000 for wounded and disabled veterans, was honored for his continued support and activism to raise money and awareness for veteran’s issues. Lewis said he was more honored to be recommended by a community member than to receive the award from the governor last week.
“Montanans’ commitment to service is one of the things that make this state great,” Bullock said. “These men and women have played an important role in strengthening their communities and supporting their neighbors and they deserve the respect and admiration of all Montanans.”