Donations were made to Town of Highlands and New Windsor
It’s been over a year since New Windsor Volunteer Ambulance Corps (NWVAC) took over the emergency services operation in Cornwall and created Cornwall EMS in the process, but a court order, signed last month, officially dissolved the Cornwall Volunteer Ambulance Corps (COVAC) after 67 years of service to the community.
Thomas Gardner, COVAC’s treasurer and designated director, said not enough members could be gathered to create a quorum to conduct business, so the only solution was to petition the court for an order of judicial dissolution.
“We are now in the process of distributing assets in accordance with the approved order, which reflects the wishes of the COVAC membership and Board of Directors,” said Gardner.
On July 1, 2022, the Town of Cornwall and Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson officially terminated their contract with COVAC. It wasn’t an easy decision and required a few joint board meetings to ultimately turn the reins over to New Windsor, but dropped calls and a few other issues forced the two governing bodies to put their residents’ safety first.
As part of the dissolution process, COVAC will transfer ambulance 326 and its contents, a Lucas compression device, and a Stryker power stretcher to NWVAC. These items total about $100,000.
“It was the wish of the COVAC membership that these items, purchased with funds generated by the many calls performed by the COVAC volunteers for residents of Cornwall and Cornwall-on-Hudson, go back to the community from whence these funds orientated,” Gardner said.
Since NWVAC, doing business as Cornwall EMS, is the EMS agency servicing this area, “COVAC they were thought deserving of this donation.”
In recognition of the mutual aid, after all outstanding debts have been paid, the remaining balance of COVAC’s funds will be donated to the Town of Highlands Volunteer Ambulance Corps. While that amount is still unknown, a partial distribution of $35,000 has already been awarded to the emergency services agency.
During its time in service, COVAC established a Cornwall Volunteer Ambulance Corps Scholarship Fund for the Cornwall Central School District. Management of the scholarship has been turned over to the Foundation of Orange and Sullivan, which also handles funds for other not-for-profit organizations.
The scholarship will remain active indefinitely as there’s enough money set aside for the principal that it should generate $1,000 in perpetuity. The foundation will continue to work with the school district to award a $1,000 scholarship to a graduating senior seeking to serve the Cornwall community in the field of emergency medical services or related educational activities.
