He’s reliable, honest, smart.  And no matter what role he is in, Bob Stollenwerk adapts to the situation.

"I like the idea that everyone is there because they want to be."

For the past four years, one role Bob has filled has been that of a Red Cross First Aid Service Team (FAST) member. He has worked up to the position of Station Coordinator. He also trains new FAST members every spring.

Bob’s path to FAST was paved by experiences gained through his other roles in the community. He is Captain of the Hales Corner Fire Department, which led him to the Traumatic Incident Resource (TIR) group, where he met another FAST member who encouraged him to join.

Now he organizes shifts at many of the estimated 80 events that FAST staffs during the summer. As Station Coordinator, he takes calls about first aid emergencies and sends out run teams to event participants who need help. He also makes sure that first aid kits are stocked and handles inquiries from the public. If there is more than one FAST station at an event, Bob decides which members staff each station.

“The reason I continue working as a FAST member is that I enjoy working with people and I feel we provide a great service to people,” Bob says. The list of reasons Bob takes on this challenge does not stop there. “It’s so diverse,” he explains, “every event is different.”

That’s where his flexible personality comes in handy, just as it did last year at Summerfest. During one of Bob’s shifts, he and three other FAST members were sent by Security to a picnic table by the US Cellular Stage, where a popular local band was playing. In 40 minutes and with four people, Bob’s team triaged and cared for more than 100 people that needed some kind of first aid. “It was intense,” Bob remembers, “You just did what you were trained to do.”

Whether it’s caring for or working with, Bob, by his own admission, is definitely a people person. He deals with people through his sales job, the fire department and the TIR group.

When you lead a busy life like he does, Bob says it’s all about priorities. His top priority is his favorite group of people, his wife and three children. They love to spend time at his parent’s house on a local lake, swimming, tubing and water skiing.

But when there’s an emergency, Bob is there, as he has been for 25 years on the fire department and for four years as a FAST member.