| Bryan and Kathleen Clements |
Bryan and Kathleen Clements
Bryan is the son of Merland Delbert Clements and Vera Annie Clements Porter. He was born on April 16, 1948 in Idaho Falls, Idaho, where he grew up. He attended Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho, 1967-1968 where he met Kathleen Ann Gardner. They married in 1970. They were married in June of 1970, in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple. At this time he was attending Brigham Young University. They lived in the Orem and Pleasant Grove areas while he was finishing his education with a bachelor’s degree in industrial arts education.
In December 1973, Bryan, Kathleen and their two daughters Laurel and April moved to Emery County to accept a teaching position at South Emery Junior High , as the Industrial Arts instructor. Their children are Laurel (Shane) Nielsen of Castle Dale; April (Kenneth) Lake of Spanish Fork; Richelle (Will) Sorensen of Garland; Evan (Felice) Clements of Payson; and Elder John Clements is serving in the Michigan Detroit Mission.
In 1975, Bryan was asked by Mrs. Hammond, the nurse practitioner who worked at the Castle Dale Clinic, to take the emergency medical technician training in Provo. At the time there was only one EMT in the whole county, who drove the ambulance that doubled as the county hearse.
Bryan took the training, driving 150 miles to Provo and back, with two other men from the county. There were 100 people in his class where they spent every weekend for the next ten weeks of the course. The day the course ended, Bryan came home and went on his first ambulance run. These three EMTs covered from the Emery County border near Price to I-70 in the south.
Since becoming an EMT Bryan’s time has never been his own. He has always been available to go on the ambulance and to help in any way needed. He has often left his family at whatever activity they were at to respond to the calls for the ambulance. It is a joke in the family that if there is ever an accident in the family we have to call for an EMT because Dad is always gone helping someone else.
Bryan became an EMT Instructor in 1976 and also a CPR Instructor. He has been an instructor almost as long as he has been an EMT. He helped with the organization of the Carbon/Emery EMT Association, when both counties were just beginning to use EMTs and the need was so great for their help. Then when each county felt their growth was sufficient they split the organization. Then Bryan helped to organize the Emery County EMT Association. He has always supported this group in any way he could, he has served as president three times, vice president and training officer for untold years. He has always encouraged and worked to maintain the very highest level of qualifications for the EMTs in our area.
Bryan has taught the First Aid Classes for the Emery Mining Company and also for the Utah Power and Light Company. He has encouraged many people to enhance their training and become EMTs to serve the county. He has taught many EMT courses, for Emery Mining Corp., and other companies helping to build their safety programs.
Bryan has been a member of the Utah State EMS testing team since they were organized This means that he travels throughout the state to test students who are trying to become EMTs. He has been the ambulance coordinator for the cities of Orangeville and Castle Dale since 1986. He taught the class, “What to do until the ambulance arrives,” for many years at the Emery High School, when it was a part of the health classes. He also helped at the junior highs in their health classes teaching a basic first-aid class.
Bryan has given countless hours in volunteer work, through teaching first-aid, to relief society groups, girl scout groups, the boy scouts and LDS young women groups. He has been the boy scout first aid and emergency preparedness merit badge counselor in the area for many years. He also helped organize and set up some of our community health fairs.
He was involved with first aid being on the Emery Mining mine rescue teams and competing on several regional and national levels, even winning the National Championships two years in a row. He was also a trainer for the mine rescue team, who were called to assist in the rescue efforts during the Wilberg Mine disaster.
In 1989, Bryan was awarded the John Henry Award for an outstanding EMT in the state of Utah by the Utah Association of Emergency Medical Technicians. He has kept his certificate current for all of these years by retesting every two to three years. In 2000 he received his certificate of 25 years of service from the State of Utah Association of EMTs. Bryan’s family is very proud of him and the service he has rendered to Emery County and the state.
Bryan’s plea is we need more EMTs in our county to maintain the now existing crews. The EMTs cover both day and night twenty-four hours. There is always a need for good concerned dedicated people to give this service. He appreciates the service of the EMTs through the years in Emery County. They have enhanced the value of all of our lives everyday by their great caring service.