If you ask, anybody will tell you. In fact, whether you ask or not, everybody in Highlands wants to tell you. Jay Terwilliger is the epitome of what it is to be a dedicated volunteer.
Jay is chief of the Highlands First Aid Squad and this October will celebrate 17 years that he has been a dedicated member of this squad, answering every kind of call from accidents to friends close to death.
Engaged, and the father of two, Kaylee and Thomas, it’s a family thing as well, since everyone knows how important it is for Jay to work as hard as he does for the squad and the people it serves.
Jay can’t even tell you how many calls he has answered, how many lives he has helped save over the past almost 17 years Even if you try to pin him down, the closest he can come is “well, I don’t know, but if I had to put a number of it, it’s probably close to 2,000.”
Two thousand calls! Two thousand times Jay Terwilliger has put his own plans aside to help out where needed.
Why does he do it? Jay doesn’t go into any details. He quietly simply explains, when asked “Why do you volunteer so much? “I volunteer my time because I know what it’s like to feel when you need help and no one shows up.”
He tries to not let that happen to anyone else. Trained as an EMT since 2011, Jay, as chief is responsible for making sure the squad runs smoothly, efficiently, and effectively. And he’s at the building just about all the time to make sure all of that happens to his high standard of caring.
There is no ‘hard side’ in putting so much time into volunteering for Jay. The only hard part of the job, he explains, is “making sure every person that needs help receives it.”
He is just as quick in responding to the question about what is the easiest part of volunteering for the Highlands First Aid Squad. “The easiest part would be just giving back to the community.”
Giving back to the community does have its own perks, he’ll quickly add. That’s in the satisfaction and glee he experiences himself in helping others. “One particular experience is the good feeling you get when you deliver a baby into this world, he says happily.
“ Those calls are rare,” he admits, “Usually first aid calls are not fun and sometimes, no matter what you do or what happens, they don’t end up very good.” But he adds in his own positive thinking manner, “ Bringing a new life into this world gives you a feeling indescribable.”
The squad always needs more volunteers, the chief explains, and he invites anyone who likes to help in his own community to sign up. “All they have to do is contact me at highlandsems1721@gmail.com,” the chief said, “ I can let them know how they can join, what they can do, and can let them know how rewarding it is to help somebody else.”
Jay is also happy to introduce anyone interested in becoming a squad member to any of the other hard-working volunteers, and the squad’s officers, Captain Larry Chesal; and 1st Lt. Nicole Ziegler.
“Becoming part of our squad is a great way to give back to the community” he says calmly, “it’s a great thing, just to help others.”