NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Four Berkshire County emergency medical services providers are being recognized Tuesday as Massachusetts Stars of Life by the Massachusetts Ambulance Association.
The MAA will hosts its second annual Convoy of Champions ambulance parade from Worcester's University of Massachusetts Medical Science Park to the the Boston MedFlight hangar in Bedford for a Stars of Life Medallion and Pin Ceremony at 1:10 on Tuesday afternoon.
Twenty-two professionals are being honored statewide. Among them are Chris Bargmann and George Beckwith of Northern Berkshire EMS and Erica Bulshey and Shannon Regan of County Ambulance.
Bargmann, a paramedic, joined North Adams-based Northern Berkshire EMS last year after a four-year career in the field in Massachusetts. His service has included time with Action Ambulance, the Hadley Fire Department and the Northampton Fire Department.
Beckwith has been with Northern Berkshire EMS, formerly North Adams Ambulance, since 1989 as an emergency medical technician. "The war stories George has accumulated over the years are unmatched," according to a testimonial on the MAA's Facebook page. "You can always find him in the bay sharing a tale from back in the day when paramedics didn't exist and you had to improvise with what you had on the rig."
Bulshey came to Pittsfield's County Ambulance as an EMT in 2008 after serving as volunteer first-responder with the Florida Fire Department since 2001. In 2011, she earned certification as an advanced EMT. "She was one of the original members of the County Ambulance COVID response team," her testimonial reads. "Erica has taken a lead role on the team helping coordinate the many testing operations and most recently assisting with our vaccination site efforts."
Regan, a paramedic and field training officer at County Ambulance, began her career with the service in 2009 as a basic EMT. "Shannon is tenacious in her review and knowledge of the statewide treatment protocols and company policies," according to her testimonial. "She is known for clinical excellence and ability to keep teamwork at the forefront when dealing with complicated calls."
The Massachusetts Ambulance Association includes more than 30 ambulance service providers with 6,000 employees.
Tuesday's parade and ceremony are being held in conjunction with the 46th annual National EMS Week.
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Golden Bamboo Opening in North Adams
By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A city restaurant will open with a new name but familiar faces.
Meng Wu "Jason" Wang and Yaling "Joy" Wang are opening the Golden Bamboo in the Berkshire Plaza on Main Street.
They were approved for liquor license by the License Commission this week and expect to open April 15.
The couple has operated three restaurants in the plaza, including the China Buffet and, separately, the Sushi House. Those were consolidated in 2017 as Meng's Pan-Asian.
They sold the restaurant business in early 2024, intending to retire, but the purchasers fell afoul of health ordinances and closed.
Leah King, a friend and former owner of the Wigwam, represented the Wangs during the hearing.
"The corporate structure is slightly different," she said. "Certainly the No. 1 thing is there was a need to rebrand and change the name for very obvious reasons."
Bailey explained that this change will allow police officers more flexibility when responding to non-emergency calls, reducing wait times at the traffic light and reducing potential traffic congestion when emergency vehicles need to pass through.
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