Former Councilman Brian Boms was cited and praised at the December meeting of the Atlantic Highlands Mayor and Council not once but twice for his volunteer activity with the Atlantic Highlands First Aid Squad.
Boms, who is also head of the Republican County Committee for the borough, received the Walter B. Curry Award in recognition of his service to the First Aid Squad. He also received the EMS Top Responder Award for all the emergency calls to which he responded this year.
Boms joined the fire department in the fall of 2022 and while serving as a volunteer there was asked if he could drive the ambulance if needed for emergency calls. It seemed “like a logical fit,” the former councilman said, so he joined the First Aid Squad as well.
He was also a member of the borough’s Office of Emergency Management so he felt he could be more involved, more ready to meet any emergency and update on all business and activity by being involved in all three.
Boms attended training at the fire academy for fire and police training, and in January will begin the intensive training as a certified EMT, emergency management technician.
Both the department and the first aid squad hold drills monthly so Boms attended them while also going to the Fire Academy for their training.
When he begins EMT training next month, it will be the start of a program that includes two nights a week as well as Saturdays from January through mid-May.
For his OEM position, Broms completed all the coursework and passed all the exams in more than 30 classes. “But I will continue to take more classes when I have time,” he said, noting the importance of being knowledgeable on all aspects of emergency training.
Boms, who served three years on Council, one of them as council president, said he has taken up the challenge and intensive hours of volunteer service simply because “I l love the town we live in and enjoy giving back to it however I can.”
In addition to his volunteer service to the borough, Boms is a real estate agent with Stack & Stack Real Estate in Hoboken where he heads the distressed property division. A majority of his work focuses on his duties as an appointed agent for the Federal Bankruptcy court and State receivers.
He also is in ownership with a local construction company which does home remodeling, kitchens and baths as well as other construction. That business involvement sprang up from his years of volunteer work helping Hurricane Sandy victims with The Foundation to Save the Jersey Shore. After three years on that board, he was named board president.
