New station, new executive director, new era at Waterbury Ambulance Service
June 13, 2025 | By Lisa Scagliotti Correction: This story was updated to correct the name of the nonprofit ski area where Zachary Rounds previously worked.
Big changes are afoot at Waterbury Ambulance Service as the crew is settling into its new station in downtown Waterbury and it welcomes a new executive director starting Monday, June 16.
A grand opening celebration will be held on June 28 for Waterbury Ambulance Service Inc.’s new station on Demeritt Place. Photo by Gordon Miller
Final touches are being put on the new ambulance station on Demeritt Place, just off South Main Street, that’s been under construction for the past year. They should be completed by the ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony scheduled for June 28. The just over 6,100-square-foot, two-story facility bears the name Steele Rescue Station in honor of its top individual benefactors, Karen Steele and her late husband Edward Steele.
Zachary Rounds starts as executive director at Waterbury Ambulance Service Inc. on June 16. Courtesy photo
On Monday, Zachary Rounds starts work in his new role as executive director. Rounds comes to Waterbury from Rescue Inc., a nonprofit ambulance service based in Brattleboro that serves 14 towns in southern Vermont and two in New Hampshire, according to its website.
His role there was as a lieutenant and an Advanced Emergency Medical Technician. His resume also includes leadership experience as the executive director of the Brattleboro Ski Hill, a nonprofit ski area in Brattleboro where he worked on strategic planning, public health initiatives, and emergency services. In 2021, Rounds at age 24 was recognized by Vermont Business Magazine with a Vermont Rising Star Award that highlights young leaders under the age of 40 in the state.
Rounds succeeds Maggie Burke who stepped down in late April after serving in the ambulance service’s top position since October 2022 and more than a decade after she joined the agency as a volunteer. Burke this week began a new job on the Vermont staff of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., working on issues including health care.
“Over the past few years, I’ve poured my heart into emergency medicine, nonprofit leadership, and advocating for better health care access here in Vermont. To now be working alongside a team that’s advocating every day for equity, dignity, and justice, is both humbling and energizing,” she said.
Having recently completed her training as a paramedic, Burke said she will remain active with Waterbury Ambulance as a crew member in the rotation to respond to ambulance calls. “I remain deeply committed to showing up for my neighbors,” the Moretown resident said.
Burke said she also will be available to help Rounds get settled in the executive director role and button up details for the station project that’s concluding.
For about the past two months, crew member Kirsten Savage has served as interim executive director, overseeing the day-to-day management duties and the move from the Guptil Road ambulance station that began at the start of May. Burke said she was grateful Savage was available and willing to take on the role short-term, allowing her to take time off for travel before beginning her new position. “It was wonderful how it worked out, she’s part of the team,” Burke said.
Sen. Bernie Sanders visits with Waterbury Ambulance Service staff and crew members in Feb. 2024 at the Guptil Road station. Second from left is then-Executive Director Maggie Burke and (far left) crew member Kirsten Savage, who stepped up as interim executive director recently. Photo by Gordon Miller
Sally Dillon is president of the Waterbury Ambulance Service’s Board of Trustees. She said the agency wishes Burke well in her new full-time job, stressing that Burke has been an invaluable employee who guided the organization through an important transition. Dillon recounted how Burke stepped into the executive director role when her predecessor, Mark Podgwaite, passed away unexpectedly in October 2022.
“Since then she has made sure to keep Mark's dream of a new station alive. I don't believe that we would be in our new building today if it wasn't for Maggie's true love for Waterbury Ambulance and her tenacity to raise the funds to get us to the finish line,” Dillon said.
Looking ahead, Dillon said the organization has taken some time to find their next leader. “We are very excited for Zach to start. It has been a long and tedious process to find the right candidate,” she said. “He comes to us with both EMS and nonprofit experience.”
Both Burke and Dillon said they think Rounds is a good fit for the role. “Based on our conversations with not only Zach, but his references and past employers, we expect great things for Waterbury Ambulance in the coming years,” Dillon said.
June 28 Grand Opening
Rounds will have two weeks on the job before the new ambulance station officially opens to the public.
Saturday, June 28, will be a busy day in Waterbury as it’s the Not Quite Independence Day celebration with the annual parade, block party and fireworks. Waterbury Ambulance will add to the celebration with its ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening of the new station at 11 a.m. (The parade and other festivities kick off later in the day, starting at 3 p.m.)
Between now and then, the final push is on to complete the project’s fundraising. In April, the agency had raised $4.3 million of its overall $4.8 million goal for the project. It announced that former Executive Director John Kueffner and his wife Carolyn Goodwin Kueffner pledged to donate up to $75,000 as a matching gift to spur contributions. They’ve since increased their offer to $90,000, Burke said, and donations are coming in.
The outstanding balance now is under $400,000. Burke explained that it’s a priority to end the project with the organization having funds in the bank comparable to before the building project began. “We have the ability to use a loan if needed, but haven't had to touch it yet,” she said. “This won’t leave the organization in debt.”
New digs
Founded in 1971, Waterbury Ambulance Service is an independent nonprofit emergency medical provider serving Waterbury, Duxbury, and Moretown and assisting other EMS agencies in nearby communities. Its financial support comes from municipal contributions, subscriber fees, donations, grants and reimbursements from insurance carriers. The volunteer local search and rescue service, Waterbury Backcountry Rescue, also is part of Waterbury Ambulance Service. After ramping up its work during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing thousands of tests and vaccines, Waterbury Ambulance was named the Vermont Ambulance Service of the Year in 2021 by the state.
Planning for the new station project began a decade ago as the agency long outgrew its modest two-bay, 2,400-square-foot facility built by Harwood Union High School students in 1986. Located near the Waterbury Highway Department garages on Guptil Road, the former station is owned by the town of Waterbury, which is now looking to lease the space.
Maggie Burke served as Waterbury Ambulance executive director from October 2022 until April. She will continue as a paramedic. Photo by Gordon Miller
The agency initially looked to construct its new station at a site along Vermont Route 100 alongside Copley Hospital’s new Mansfield Orthopaedics offices. Costs with that location climbed, prompting the ambulance service to seek out an alternative and it settled on the two-acre downtown parcel situated on Demeritt Place between the Sunoco station and the railroad tracks.
The new three-bay station was designed by St. Johnsbury architectural firm E.H. Danson and Associates with Grenier Engineering in Waterbury and built by Barre contractor E.F. Wall. The modern facility has office and training room, sleeping quarters for on-call staff, showers, laundry and kitchen space.
“I spent the night there for the first time this week,” Burke said on Thursday, praising the accommodations that meant sleeping in a room with a bed and a washer and dryer for the laundry. She marveled at the new security system, explaining that when she swipes her badge to enter the building, the reader unlocks the door and says, “Welcome, Maggie,” followed by a chime sound. “It’s so stinking exciting,” she laughed.