Paul Leonard, Upper Dublin township manager, received the Emergency First Responder of the Year Award from the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce at their annual awards banquet, held last week at the Four Seasons Banquet Hall in Norristown. 

“I cannot think of a more deserving person than Paul to receive this award. He is an active member of emergency first responders and we wanted to both recognize him for his work and create awareness for all emergency responders,” said Kathleen Brandon, President and CEO of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce.

Leonard has been involved in city and emergency management for more than 30 years. Currently the township manager, he also acts as the Governor’s appointed emergency management coordinator, and has responded to numerous incidents acting as Incident Commander of three “disasters,” as designated by national criteria. In addition, Leonard has trained and responded as an active firefighter, having served with four fire departments, including some eight years as a fire officer at the company operations level.

“I love what I do,” Leonard said. “I was very surprised when I heard I was going to receive the award and tried to think who could have nominated me for this honor. I love what I do as Township Manager, I literally get to do it all, from asphalt to zoning. I have the pleasure of working with all kinds of people in different positions from police and fire to sanitation and sewer.”

Currently, Leonard is an active member of the Fort Washington Fire Company and the Montgomery County Incident Support Team. He is a member of the Eastern Montgomery County Emergency Management Group, an innovative association of 14 regional municipal emergency managers who are partners in planning, response and recovery. The group received the PA Governor’s Award for Excellence in Local Government.

Leonard holds a Bachelors degree from Niagara University, a Masters degree in Public Administration from the Pennsylvania State University and is an alumnus of the University of Virginia’s Senior Executive Institute, held in the college’s Darden School of Business.

Leonard said he has always been involved in some form of service.

“When my wife and I first married, our neighbor Mr. Henry encouraged me to join the fire company – he said, ‘come down, you’ll meet the guys.’ I did and I loved it,” Leonard recalled.

While Leonard is an active member of the township’s emergency response teams, he said all the credit for sacrifice goes to his family – his two grown children and his wife Cathy.

“She is wonderful, so many times I am called out to an emergency and she and the kids are left behind, sometimes to worry. I couldn’t have done any of this without her support,” Leonard said.

His enthusiasm for emergency response seems to have struck a chord with his children

“My daughter is currently both an EMT and in her third year of nursing school. I think serving in any capacity of emergency response is important-- it is an opportunity to challenge yourself and for men and women to showcase their talents,” he said.

Leonard said if he was not serving as township manager and perhaps even later in life, post-retirement and as a second career, he would want to continue in the emergency response field.

“I love what I do and would absolutely always want to be a part of this kind of a career,” he said.