The reins of Wimberley’s Emergency Medical Services will officially be handed from Director Ken Strange, to his successor, Cathy Montgomery on June 8. At the helm of this vital community service for 22 years, Strange’s retirement will be marked with a public ceremony on June 13 at Cypress Creek Church, 211 Stillwater Rd., from 3 to 6 p.m.
Under his leadership, Wimberley EMS has grown from three paid paramedics to 19, staffing three shifts, who are assisted by two full-time staff members.
“When I first took over, there were three of us. We worked 24 hours on and 24 hours off. Even on our 24 hours off, we were expected to respond,” he said.
In 2020, he oversaw the building of a new EMS station and managed to complete it on schedule without incurring debt. As the EMS duck race organizer and fundraiser from 2000 till 2020 he raised between $10 to 20,000 each year for the organization, which operates as a nonprofit.
“We ran many duck races to raise those funds.”
As further evidence of the financial health of the organization, he also confirmed that three new ambulances service the community and because of the EMS alliance with Wimberley Fire and Rescue, their new station will also house the third EMS crew. Property for the new fire station is the result of an agreement between Wimberley Independent School District and the Fire department. “Site work is underway and we expect the groundbreaking to take place by the end of the year,” he said
Strange moved to Wimberley from Florida in 1985 after serving four years in the U.S. Air Force. After his military duty, he worked for Lear-Siegler as an aircraft mechanic, rising to Team Supervisor at Bergstrom Air Force Base. During his free time at home in Wimberley he volunteered at the Wimberley Fire Department.
Ken's career as a paramedic began when he took a class to become an Emergency Care Attendant. He learned he enjoyed emergency medicine and had a gift for working with people. Ken was hired by Wimberley EMS on a part time basis in 1991 and by 1995 Strange earned his paramedic’s license and began full time employment in 1996.
Generous with his professional expertise, he served as an advisor to the Christus Santa Rosa San Marcos foundation board of directors for four years, on Barnabas Connection-Wimberley Community Emergency Response Team for three years, and as as an Emergency Preparedness/Strategic Planning member for their three-year Strategic and Emergency Plan. He continued his service with Barnabas as part of their Community Conversation for Mental Health and Medical Health. And for six years he served on the Executive board of the Capital Area of Texas Regional Advisory Council.
Strange has also given his energies to the wider community by serving 18 years on the WISD school board and for a term on the school board for Katherine Anne Porter School. He’s volunteered with Habitat for Humanity houses, participated as a Younglife/Wildlife leader for junior high school children, and presided over countless school dances, ice cream socials, and other events as a disk jockey.
Wimberley noticed and the accolades have flowed in. In 2019 he was named as “Patriot of the Year” and in 2025, named "Volunteer of the Year" by the Wimberley Chamber of Commerce.
Strange also received the honor of being singled out as a “Hays County First Responder Hero” after the 2015 flood. In 2024, Mayor Gina Fulkerson proclaimed August 9, 2024 as “Ken Strange Day in Wimberley.”
When asked to name the most impactful times of his career, Strange mentioned the 2015 flood that devastated Wimberley. “That was a hard time to live through for all of us,” he said. “I was the Hays County logistics coordinator for about four months and it was a big job since Wimberley took the biggest brunt of the flood, but I was fortunate to be able to do that.”
He also said that mentoring new EMTs and passing on the Wimberley EMS culture has been especially gratifying.
“We have many new guys here and it's been great to get to know them. Most of them are pretty experienced paramedics, so that part of the job has not been hard to teach. What has been satisfying is to teach them our culture of extending compassion and kindness on every call we make. If we need to take the dogs out or lock the house or call the kids or hang the shower curtain, whatever it is, that's part of our treatment plan. We treat the entire patient — not just the medical issue — and ensure the patient’s comfort and safety,” he said.
As far as turning over the leadership to Montgomery, both Strange and the EMS board unanimously agreed that she is “the best person for the job.” He has long publicly praised her work, especially during the dark days of the 2015 flood. “In fact,” he said, “she has been performing the director duties since I announced my retirement. Both Cathy and Shannon Palmer are doing everything to ensure a smooth transition.”
While his plans for retirement are still evolving, Strange says he “has plenty of energy left for future endeavors.” He and his wife, Yvette, expect to travel and perhaps expand their Spoon Mountain glamping business. Before that happens, though, he will take over as office manager for her Med Spa, which he says “has been a busy and challenging task.”
He expressed his gratitude to the people of Wimberley for their support over the past 30 years. "Never once have they failed to believe in me and allow me to do what I was able to do for the community.”
