The tones have sounded at Rescue Headquarters -- there's an emergency in progress and someone's life may be in danger.

Station watch Gary Hadley begins his run report; emergency medical technician Tony Grider sprints for a medic unit.

Each does his job well.

So well, that both have been named the best in the state at their respective jobs.

The Kentucky Ambulance Providers Association at its Sept. 15 Kentucky EMS Conference and Expo in Owensboro named Grider EMT-Basic of the Year and Hadley as Dispatcher of the Year.

"The awards represent the best the profession has to offer," award presenters said. "Recipients have demonstrated proficiency ... and have displayed professionalism which commands respect from patients and peers alike."

Campbellsville Mayor Paul Osborne said he is proud of Grider and Hadley's accomplishments.

"I'm very excited," he said. "I certainly want to maintain that quality and level of service and these awards show that we have that high quality."

Rescue became a department of city government on July 1 and came under Osborne's administration. However, the mayor said he couldn't take any credit for the awards.

"I inherited it," he said. "Charlie Shaw did the recruiting, the hiring, the training.

"They're under his leadership."

Shaw said he's also proud of Grider and Hadley.

"I think all of our personnel, whatever their position, are personnel of the year for one reason -- the fact that we serve the community," Shaw said.

"But, for us to have these two men so honored -- and Tony at the start of his career -- is a credit to them, their families and the teams they work with.

"Gary and Tony are part of the team and the organization and, by that, they are a part of the community. "By them winning this award," Shaw added, "I think the community is really winning this award."

EMT of the Year

"It's easy to come to work when you love what you do," Grider said, "and I love my job."

Grider, 27, has been a member of Campbellsville/Taylor County Rescue for two years. He has also earned certification as a firefighter, haz/mat technician and swift-water technician.

The son of Orvis and Shirley Grider of Adair County, Grider said he got into emergency services to help people, to try to make a difference.

"A lot of times you don't feel like you do," he admitted. "But it only takes that one person to make it all worthwhile."

Grider said it feels good to know that his work doesn't seem like a job. Each day his work is different. An emergency run, he said, can happen inside or outside, in rain or snow, in weather that's cold or hot. In addition, Grider noted, a call for assistance can involve a rescue in water or a confined space.

"It's intriguing to me that you never know how your day's going to go," he said. "I realize I'm fortunate, because I choose to do it."

Grider, paired with a paramedic, works a 24-hour shift before having 48 hours off. His supervisor is Battalion Chief Barry Dobson.

With three runs already completed before noon last Wednesday, Grider took a moment to reflect on his award.

"I still have yet to figure that out," he said. "To me, it's just another day.

"One person can't do it all," he said. "It's only with the support of the people I work with that I could have gotten it."

Grider said it's good to know that when it seems as if a patient has no chance at all, he can prove it's possible ... to make that difference.

"It's a lot about knowing that you're there, being entrusted with that responsibility."

Grider attended Lindsey Wilson College before transferring to the University of Louisville. Then, he said, he got sidetracked to cosmetology school. After graduation he became a hairdresser.

"It's funny," he said. "People sit down in a hairdresser's chair and they think they have an emergency. "But when you have a run, you know someone really does have an emergency ... the rewards are more," Grider said.

"The thanks, the sincerity -- when they're truly sincere -- it's more heartfelt when your job is done." Grider's award states that he has "demonstrated that patient care and professionalism are most important. He provides quality patient care, displays a positive attitude and is totally community-oriented."

And quality patient care is important to Grider.

"I've honestly started thinking about becoming a paramedic," he said, "just within the last 2 to 3 months." Emergency services is definitely where Grider wants to stay.

"I don't want to forget where I've come from," he admitted, "because I don't want to lose sight of where I'm going.

"I enjoy what I'm doing," said Grider. "And I don't think I'll ever quit enjoying it."

Dispatcher of the Year

A member of Campbellsville/Taylor County Rescue for the past 11 years, award presenters said Hadley has always made a special effort to accommodate all with whom he comes in contact.

Hadley, however, says he's just doing his job.

"Basically, I do what they pay me for," he said. "Apparently, I've done well with it, I guess."

Born in Campbellsville, Hadley, 50, works the midnight shift at Rescue's station watch.

"It's generally the quieter shift," he noted. "But if we do have runs, they're generally more of the emergency type."

Before his employment at Rescue, he worked at Louisville's Central State Hospital with children's treatment services. Besides being a six-year Navy veteran, Hadley has pastored a church in Wisconsin and worked at a Texas veterans' hospital.

The son of Oleda Curry of Campbellsville, Hadley is married and has a 16-year-old daughter, Emily who lives in Wisconsin, and three stepchildren.

When an emergency call comes through to Rescue, Hadley said one of the first things he does is begin a run report.

"My job is to gather, process and disseminate information," he said. "By the time the tones go off and the guys are running to the truck, I've already got the door open and am looking for any other information I can gather that will help them."

Hadley said he has, at times, gone back to prior runs at an address to search for information that he believed might help. In years past, he said, he also dispatched emergency calls for other counties.

"You know," he said, "what other people would call disasters ... the tense moments ... they're the most fun."

Several years ago while dispatching for another county, Hadley said a man called in and said, "My mother's dying," and hung up.

An operator overhead the call, Hadley said, and called him back with the person's number. He immediately returned the call to see what happened.

"He basically just panicked," Hadley said. "I had to be stern with him before I could get some information. "His mother didn't die."

Hadley said his job at Rescue is similar to what he did in the Navy.

"I've been here 11 years," he said, "and they still seem to like me and I still like the work." Of his award, Hadley said he's still stunned.

"I'm a little flabbergasted myself," he admitted. "I wasn't even going to go to the banquet."

If anything might have contributed to his being named Dispatcher of the Year, Hadley said it would be Volunteer Chief Charlie Shaw and Deputy Chief Mike Ramsey.

"It's got to be Chief Shaw's total insistence on quality and Deputy Chief Ramsey's always having the right answer to any question you might ask."

Hadley's examples of quality, honesty and integrity have boosted morale for his department, officials said when presenting the award.