Chester resident receives statewide First Responder award

By Shawn Cunningham
© 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC

Last Wednesday, as members of Chester’s Select Board and Town Manager looked on, Steve Vertefeuille of Chester received Vermont’s First Responder of the Year award at the Public Safety Building.

Vertefeuille, an officer with the town’s Fire Department and a town employee, was given the award for his service on Chester’s Ambulance Service.

In presenting Vertefeuille with a plaque, Vermont’s Emergency Medical Services Chief Bambi Dame told the gathering that Vertefeuille was among the first to receive a new level of certification – Vermont First Responder – and that he was also the first among that level to receive this award. The award is open to all levels of certification and has also been awarded to organizations.

Dame said that Vertefeuille was “setting the standard for those to follow” and that he “exemplifies what the Vermont First Responder is.”

Mike Randzio, deputy chief of Chester’s Ambulance Service, called Vertefeuille “a hard worker who you can count on,” and pointed to his love of his community.