CHESTER — Honoring a lifetime of service, particularly in strengthening local emergency services, a recognition banquet was held in honor of former Queen Anne’s County Commissioner and Maryland State Delegate Wheeler R. Baker at Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department June 21.
The hall filled with community reunion, reconnecting lives touched by the service of Baker who in addition to a number of attributes, was instrumental in establishing the county’s first advanced life support (ALS) program in the late 1980s.
“We honor a man who has put his service to the public above all his needs, all his life,” said Josie Simons, organizer of the recognition banquet and the first woman hired as a paramedic in Queen Anne’s County in 1988.
Baker’s resume includes a plethora of positions and titles including serving in the United States Air Force 1964-1968; the Queen Anne’s County Democratic Central Committee 1974-1978; Queen Anne’s County Commissioner from 1986-1990; Maryland House of Delegates from 1995-2003; the Chesapeake Bay Trust from 1995-2001; the Commission to Study Waves to Improve the Financial Viability of the Racing Industry from 1997-1999; the Statewide 800-MHZ Communications System Oversight Committee 1999; the Governor’s Task Force on Eastern Shore Economic Development from 1999-2001; the Task Force to Study the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation from 2000- 2001; the Mid-Shore Regional Council from 2001- 2003; the Tri-County Council for the Lower Eastern Shore from 2001-2003.
Baker’s family also owned Baker’s Liquor, a store known for being a community local gathering spot.
Baker has also been recognized as an avid boat racer.
ALS established
Through his vision and leadership, Baker was instrumental in educating the public on the need for an ALS unit, Simons said.
Establishing an ALS program in the county was by no means an easy road, she said.
“There are two things Eastern Shore folks absolutely dislike: one is beach traffic and the other is change,” she quipped.
Laying the groundwork to establish an ALS program in the county and trying to educate the public on the need was often met with community and administrative resistance, including questioning logistical costs, and extensive training, and retention, according to Simons.
That is, until Baker, she said.
Simons recognized Baker, a county commissioner at the time, as the first politician to listen to the needs of the emergency services and ask questions about the proposed program. Even when informed it wasn’t in the county budget, Baker saw the betterment of the community and continued to pursue it, she said.
“When the going got tough, we always knew Wheeler was in our corner,” Simons said.
Drastically improving the quality of lives for citizens across the county, since its inception the ALS program has not only provided care and saved lives, but inspired a legacy of first responders, according to Simons.
In the 1990s, the ALS program established an intern program allowing high school seniors to learn firsthand from emergency medical professionals.
Reflecting on the impact on the internship, Nathan Powell, Deputy Fire Chief of the City of Annapolis, was one such success story of the inaugural program.
Seeing first hand the lifesaving skills through the internship inspired Powell to pursue a career in emergency services and provided networking and mentorship opportunities that, like many of his peers, set him on a highly successful career trajectory, he said.
Baker fully understood the crucial need for advanced emergency services in the county and was steadfast in his commitment in getting it established, according to Powell.
“His push to have advanced life support paramedics here in Queen Anne’s County was innovative and progressive and it was often met with controversy and pushback,” Powell said.
Acclamation
County Commissioners Jim Moran and Patrick McLaughlin presented Baker a citation of recognition for his outstanding service as well as street signs proclaiming Chesterwyne Lane in Grasonville to be eventually renamed a variation of “Wheeler’s Way.”
State Delegate Steve Arentz (R-36) presented a citation from the Maryland General Assembly congratulating his unrelenting support in establishing Queen Anne’s County first ALS system and its immeasurable impact on the health and safety of the community.
An official citation was also received from Gov. Wes Moore.
Baker’s dedication to communities serves as an example to follow, not just for government officials or politicians, but for everyone, Simons said.
30 years after Baker’s strive to bring forth the county ALS program, “It’s never too late to say thank you,” she said.
Baker received a standing ovation as he accepted the gratitude of the community he has served lifelong.
Becoming a county commissioner in the 1980s, Baker noted his two main focuses were controlled growth and establishing the ALS program.
Baker noted the recognition was very touching and emphasized the importance of connecting with neighbors and the work done by emergency services.
“This is a great county that helps people,” he said.
Bakers reflected on the positive feelings he experiences every time he sees an ALS unit on its way to assist someone in need.
“It makes me feel good. You’re supposed to help folks, that’s what life is about,” Baker said.
The banquet dinner was catered by Chesapeake Celebrations Catering and a dessert table was presented by the Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary.
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