3 minute read
Spotlight
KEVIN DILLARD PRESIDENT AND CEO, LIFECARE MEDICAL TRANSPORTS
“I deeply care for Fredericksburg and its surrounding communities, and when I saw the nursing shortage facing the region, I knew that I had to take action.” – Kevin Dillard
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At 16, Kevin Dillard realized that he was destined for a career in the emergency medical service industry. With a passion for helping others, he began his journey as a junior member of the Fredericksburg Rescue Squad. Dillard graduated from Germanna Community College and went on to pursue his master’s degree in business administration from Averett College. With a passion in EMS, he began his lifelong dedication to the medical services. Not only has he been a trailblazer in the Fredericksburg community for over three decades, he has continuously contributed to and supported Germanna. After working in medical services for years, Dillard noticed a need for quality medical transport. He and his business partner Dan Wildman set out to fill this void in the market, and in 1994, founded LifeCare Medical Transports. Since its founding, LifeCare Medical Transports has grown to become one of Virginia’s largest and most respected medical transportation providers. Today, the company serves more than 70,000 patients each year, providing services to hospitals and medical facilities throughout the state. Dillard is now the CEO of the Stafford County-based company.
Dillard contributed $1 million towards Germanna’s nursing and allied health technologies expansion to help meet the College’s goal of doubling its nursing capacity. One of the new health sciences facilities will be named in his honor to recognize his incredible community work and contribution to the college. A Germanna alum, Kevin Dillard continues to make Germanna proud.
SPOTLIGHT
COUNTESS HARRIS OWNER AND DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, CLEANING FOR COLLEGE, LLC
What started as an idea to generate extra income to put her son through college turned into a successful business giving back to the community. Countess Harris, a Fredericksburg-area resident for over 20 years, found herself at a crossroads when her son expressed interest in attending college well into his senior year of high school. With such short notice, she needed a way to gather the funds necessary for tuition costs—and she needed it fast. In 2017, Harris started a cleaning business to earn extra income outside of her two other jobs. She started by cleaning residential properties, but as her business began to take off, she started acquiring commercial properties. In 2019, she left her two other jobs to pursue her business full-time. For five years, Cleaning for College, LLC, has been delivering janitorial services to the greater Fredericksburg area. And though the business was already successful in providing a high-quality cleaning service to Fredericksburg, especially in the height of the pandemic, Harris had a bigger vision for her business.
“The end goal was always to establish our own scholarship,” she said. And in May of 2022, Harris achieved her goal. She gifted the Germanna Educational Foundation $16,000 to establish the Cleaning for College, LLC, Educational Scholarship Fund. The scholarship is to be awarded to financially disadvantaged students who have overcome adversity and have the drive and determination to succeed in college. “The fact that we were able to establish the scholarship at Germanna within a year of setting the goal is something that I’m proud of,” said Harris. A full circle moment for both her and her son, Harris is thrilled that she was not only able to successfully fund her son’s education, but that she can now help do the same for other area students. The first recipient of this scholarship was awarded this fall.
