The Summit Volunteer First Aid Squad held its annual dinner recently and recognized several members for outstanding service. The dinner was held at the Berkeley Plaza in Berkeley Heights.

The Squad's Presidential Award, presented annually to the member that most exemplifies the spirit of and dedication to the squad and community, was awarded to Peggy Quinn. Peggy has been a member for 12 years, served as Trustee, Recording Secretary and most recently, Corresponding Secretary. In presenting the award, Squad President John Staunton cited Peggy's commitment to squad special events, the Squad EMS bike team, and her ability to deliver on every task assigned her. "Peggy has very quietly become an outstanding member," said Mr. Staunton.

Mr. Staunton also awarded the Star of Life to 5 members who showed outstanding commitment during 2002. They were Jim Bock, Mark Koernig, Doug Maddy, Dave Schempp, and Polly Seifert. Awarded a special version of the Star of Life were Alex Balish and Kari Phair for their efforts in the Vial of Life project. That project conducted in October of 2002 involved over 80 volunteers to distribute a Vial of Life kit to each of the 8,100 residences in Summit. The project was dedicated to the memory of Ian Thompson, a Summit First Aid Squad volunteer who was killed on September 11, 2001. In addition, Squad Captain Beverly Brown was recognized for her long-term dedication to the squad.

Guests at the dinner included Fire Chief Chris Cotter, Deputy Chief Tom Murray, Dr. Jim Itzcovitz, Ass't Emergency Department Director at Overlook, and several officers from surrounding first aid squads.

In a mutual support arrangement with the Chatham Emergency Squad, Chatham provided a crew to cover Summit the night of the dinner, and the Summit squad reciprocated during Chatham's annual dinner.

The Squad is always looking for new volunteers and provides all needed training and equipment. For information, please call 908-277-9479, or visit them on the Internet at www.summitems.org