Wendall Bare
Ryan Brothers Ambulance
2020 Wisconsin Star of Life

Wendall Bare has been an Advanced EMT with Ryan Brothers Ambulance since June of 2009 and he will be retiring from EMS this summer to be able to spend more time with his family and grandchildren. His family moved to Portage, WI in 1993, where he joined the local EMS service, Paske Ambulance Service, which overtime became Divine Savior Hospital EMS. After passing his EMT-I class 11 years ago, he began working for Ryan Brothers Ambulance. Wendall says that working in EMS has been very challenging, but also very rewarding. He has enjoyed watching the industry grow and change in so many ways over the last 34 years. Wendall has given a lifetime of service to his community and he has been an instrumental part of the Ryan Brothers Fleet Maintenance and Fleet team.  He has initiated a Cot Maintenance Program and has created important training videos for employee training.  To help keep his fellow employees healthy, Wendall implemented the use of ultra violet light units for ambulances and crew quarters.

The first encounter that sparked Wendall’s interest in EMS was while he was a member of the Mt. Pleasant, Iowa Volunteer Fire Dept.  He was called to a major accident with multiple people injured.  Being strictly on the fire side, he felt helpless on scene and wanted to be able to do more. Soon after, his volunteer department offered an EMS Basic class, and he signed up right away. At the time, Wendall was married with 3 boys and figured at a minimum, the knowledge he would obtain would help with all the bumps, scrapes, and injuries his boys were seeming to acquire daily. He also had experience in being in stressful and dangerous situations because he served as a Combat Life Saver during the first Desert Storm. He always has a smile on his face and is ready to help with any task that is needed to make Ryan Brothers a better place. He will truly be missed upon his retirement. Congratulations Wendall, a 2020 Wisconsin Star of Life!