On Wednesday, friends and family gathered at Southwest Memorial Hospital to dedicate the new EMS building to longtime board member Fred M. DeWitt.

DeWitt served on the Montezuma County Hospital District Board as treasurer for 22 years, according to Southwest Memorial Hospital marketing specialist Jaycee Hart.

During his time serving on the MCHD board, DeWitt served as a voice and advocate for health and emergency care.

“DeWitt fought, at times, almost single-handedly, for the EMS building,” Hart said.

At the dedication, friends and his “amazing family” attended and spoke about the honor being bestowed upon DeWitt.

Brad Wayt, a longtime friend and former member of the MCHD board, read a letter in the ceremony that said, “This community can only be grateful for the careful, conservative and watchful eye Fred kept on the dollars allocated to MCHD.”

DeWitt’s son-in-law Joe Kelly said, “He was most passionate about the EMS Building. Fred was passionate about doing good for the hospital and community as a whole.”

Wayt also mentioned that during the time he served on the board with DeWitt, they were able to pass a more than $40 million bond issue, deal with construction issues, SHS issues and “hundreds of other problems and encounters.”

“My respect and admiration for this man skyrocketed,” Wayt said. “Fred you really are a GOAT – greatest of all time. There couldn’t be a more fitting honor for a more deserving man than they are bestowing you today.”

Hart said the ceremony was made possible with the support of the MCHD Board, the Southwest Memorial Hospital Foundation, Southwest Health System staff and many friends and family of DeWitt.

“You have no idea how much this means to me,” DeWitt said at the ceremony.