HOISINGTON — Craig Sowards is the new Emergency Medical Services director for the Hoisington Ambulance Service, coming from Clay Center after having grown up in southwest Nebraska.
“I thought I was a good fit with the (Hoisington) service and city manager,” said Sowards on his first day, Thursday.
He has already moved to Hoisington, which is a change after having living in Clay Center for 25 years.
Sowards worked for EMS with a small volunteer service for 15 years and then seven years as a full-time paramedic. He also flew with Life Team for a year.
“I figured it was time to step up to be a director,” said Sowards after his years of service.
He is a paramedic because he “likes helping people.”
The job isn’t easy though because “you see people on the worst day of their lives,” said Sowards. Although he doesn’t like some of the injuries that he sees, overall he finds it rewarding.
In his spare time, he likes to fish  or do anything outdoors, and works with wood to make small projects.
Soward also collects model trains and builds small layouts which he never had a change to do.
The EMS director also likes to spend time with his grandkids.
The first tasks of learning his job will be to learn the protocols or guidelines that Hoisington EMS operates under. He will also need to learn the streets and get to know staff and volunteers.
For the future, Sowards would offer new training classes for EMTs and keep moving forward, giving the best patient care possible.
He would also like to build relationships in the community and introduce young people to becoming an EMT.
Sowards is engaged and has three children, three grandchildren with one on the way.