Veniamin “Ben” Granchukoff, a firefighter/paramedic with the Walla Walla Fire Department, recently received a letter from the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians, congratulating him on achieving 30 consecutive years of National EMS Certification.
The letter, signed by the registry’s Executive Director William Seifarth, states this is a “rare achievement,” and thanks Ben for his “dedication to National Certification, your state EMS efforts and your local EMS development, as well as for providing outstanding care to the citizens of your community.”
Ben’s given name is a nod to his Russian heritage. Fleeing Communism in Siberia, his parents’ families settled as refugees in remote northwestern China. They spent their formative years there, then around 1950 emigrated to America, where they got married and raised a family.