Morrison Honored for Decades of Service

“Man of the Hour,” Glenn Morrison (seated, holding plaque) is surrounded by emergency medical services, volunteer firefighting and law enforcement  colleagues from Windham, Ashland and Hunter at a fond bidding adieu gathering, last Thursday night.

WINDHAM - The colleagues of Glenn Morrison packed the parking spots outside the Windham town hall, last Thursday evening, for a respectful professional sendoff.

Morrison is leaving local emergency medical services after 14 years as a paramedic with the Windham ambulance corps and 15 with the Greene County Emergency Medical Services flycars.

“We are truly going to miss Glenn,” Windham ambulance director Davia Montie said after a special “Plaque of Appreciation” was presented to Morrison by Windham town supervisor Thomas Hoyt.

“Glenn has literally saved many lives,” Montie said. “He is compassionate, calm under fire and has all the qualities of leadership and mentorship.”

Greene County’s loss will be Tennessee’s gain. Morrison and his girlfriend, Amber Hunlock, are relocating to the Volunteer State where both will be continuing their respective careers.

Amber is a practicing nurse and quarter-century member of the Haines Falls fire department, not necessarily wanting to say goodbye to the mountains, departing moreso out of necessity.

“I’ve been working one-hundred hours a week, like a lot of us are doing in this field just to make ends meet. Even with all that, it’s too hard to find a place we can afford to live around here,” Morrison said.

“We did some research. The cost of living in Tennessee is 40-to-50 percent less expensive, and we won’t be shoveling snow anymore,” Morrison said.

They will be settling in Chattanooga. “It’s a thriving area. Their program for relocation is highly beneficial for experienced providers,” Morrison said.

Originally from Cooperstown, he started out as a 911 dispatcher in Otsego and Delaware counties and was formerly the Delaware County Fire and Emergency Management deputy director and EMS coordinator.

Experience runs deep in his veins. “I have a family history in firefighting and emergency medical services,” Morrison said.

His total commitment, though, rests deeper still. “My dad was a firefighter. He died in the line of duty when I was five years old,” Morrison said.

As you read this, Glenn and Amber will already have left the Catskills, heading out this past Monday with Glenn scheduled to have his first Tennessee shift on July 7.

“This shocked me,” Morrison said of his compatriots from units in Windham, Ashland and Hunter who drove their ambulances, police cruisers and firetrucks to the plaque presentation for the Man of the Hour.

“I got into this to be a public servant, not draw any attention to myself. But coming like this from my co-workers, who understand what answering the call is all about, I feel truly honored,” Morrison said.

In other matters:

—Town council members, on the recommendation of Windham police chief Richard Selner, approved the purchase of a new police department vehicle.

The 2025, all-wheel drive Dodge Durango Pursuit, costs 50 cents less than $39,667, obtained from Sawyer Motors in Saugerties.

—Town council members approved a request from theTown of Windham Democratic Party to hold their political caucus on July 21, between 7-9 p.m., at the municipal building in Hensonville.

Republicans caucused in April, selecting candidates for six positions including town supervisor, town justice, highway superintendent, tax collector and two seats on the town council.

Among their choices were incumbent town supervisor Thomas Hoyt and town justice Marilyn Carreras, nominated for a full 4-year term after being appointed to replace Judge Carol Stevens, who has retired.

Also chosen to run in November were Robert “BJ” Murray for highway superintendent, potentially replacing Gary Thorington who has also announced his retirement after 30-plus years with the department.

A pair of longtime incumbents, Wayne Van Valin and Ian Peters, were selected to return to their respective town council seats. Incumbent Katherine Murray was nominated again to be tax collector.

Local resident Connor Exum, earlier this year, announced he was running for town supervisor, saying, “it is time for a change in Windham. For too long Windham has been monopolized by a single political vision.”