FIRST RESPONDERS are seen as the calm in the chaos for almost all of us. They are trained professionals who remain calm in high-pressure situations. Serving as a source of comfort and reassurance, they work diligently and efficiently to mitigate panic and confusion. Their collaborative efforts lead to successful outcomes. Despite the challenges, first responders continuously serve their communities with dedication and commitment, often risking their own lives to save others. They are everyday heroes who keep us safe.
Stephen Alderman is one of these heroes. While he doesn’t consider himself one, he does feel that helping people is, without a doubt, his calling.
“A hero, to me, is somebody who puts others above themselves and is focused on other people rather than themselves,” he said. “When I think of a hero, I think of calm in the chaos — somebody who runs to the rescue when everyone else may be running away. Helping people is my purpose on this earth. I’m 100% confident that God has put me in this spot to do what I do. My form of ministry just so happens to be a job. I minister daily to patients and my crews and make their jobs easier. All I do is give myself away daily, and I love that.”
Diving in
Alderman began his first responder career as a firefighter. However, during his time as such, he fell in love with helping on the medical side.
“I got my EMT certification and began to take that pathway,” he explained. “During my clinical for the EMT class that I took, I was in an ambulance, and I took medical calls. I just kind of fell head over heels for it. I believe it was one of the first clinical [calls] I went on where there was an elderly lady who was having a heart attack. I watched the paramedics and EMTs completely turn her around, get her to a hospital, and save her life.”
Currently, Alderman is the district chief for Williamson Health Emergency Medical Services.
“I’ve been there since 2016. I was quickly promoted through the ranks there and went from a paramedic to a field training officer to a critical care paramedic. Now I’m a district chief,” he said. “We run 18 ambulances, so it’s a big and busy system. As a supervisor, I respond to high acuity calls like cardiac arrests and any kind of dangerous situations with assaults, stabbings, or shootings. Anytime there are multiple casualty [situations], I will respond to those, and then I can dispatch to other calls that possibly need my help.”
After hours
Alderdman’s love of helping others also follows him off the job. Currently, he is helping to educate up-and-coming first responders by serving as the instructor for both EMT and Advanced EMT programs at Motlow College.
“I had some folks reach out to me to see if I was interested,” he said. “Of course once I started doing it, I loved it. I like reaching them from that early stage and teaching them how I would handle and approach things.”
In the same vain of molding young minds, Alderman works as a character development coach for Tullahoma High School football.
“We are around the football program as a positive figure and mentor,” said Alderman. “It’s about getting to know and developing positive relationships with those students. We create lessons that offer a little bit of gospel and a little bit of life lessons here. And we kind of get the feeling of the team through the coaches and how the team is doing, which will dictate where we go with our lessons. I also bring my children along and hope that the kids can see a good father/son/daughter relationship.”
A legacy of impact
Whether Alderman is racing to a call, instructing a class, or on the sidelines, he hopes his impact will be felt and carried on through his influences.
“I am creating a tree, so to speak, of people I impact at my job,” he explained. “I’ve probably impacted thousands and thousands of people. I want to impact those I’m around positively and then see them going to impact others. I want to be positive and to help people. I want people to see what I do and say, ‘I want to do that. I want to serve like that. I want to be like that.’ And as far as the football team goes, I want to be the person I needed when I was growing up and just display a good role model around kids.” GN
