Emergency volunteer suffers setback but still serves
Born and raised in Fargo, Andy Lynch knows the community he serves well. He graduated from North Dakota State University in 2011 with a degree in electrical engineering. Upon graduation, he started working at Precision Diagnostic Services as a systems engineer, where he’s currently employed. Andy married last winter and he’s made a home with his wife in south Fargo where they have a bright future together. But wedded bliss didn’t come without a major struggle along the way.
Leukemia battle
Four years ago, on December 12, 2011, Andy was diagnosed with Leukemia at the age of 21. He went through four intensive rounds of chemotherapy. After every treatment he was hospitalized for 20 to 30 days. When one round of treatment was finished, he was only allowed to stay home for a brief time before he was back in the hospital for another round.
A devoted volunteer for The Salvation Army’s Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) team in Fargo while he was sick, he kept in close contact with the team. Despite not being able to help, Andy kept a scanner in his hospital room and paid attention to how the team was helping people. In fact, at one point in the middle of a round of chemotherapy treatment, he was able to respond to an emergency despite being sick. That was a few years ago, fortunately Andy is once again healthy and these days is back on the team “full time.”
Years of service
His dedication to service started more than five years ago when he joined the Fargo Salvation Army EDS team. He can still recall his first major incident, a fire in February 2010. He was also instrumental in the fight against the 2011 Fargo flood. Collectively over the years he’s logged nearly 500 volunteer hours and is regularly able to respond to three out of every four calls the EDS team receives.
He is a tireless contributor to the EDS team. Despite working at least 40 hours a week at the job that pays him, it doesn’t stop him from responding to a fire at 2 a.m. in the dead of winter. Andy’s a strong leader who still leaves plenty of room for others to express and offer their opinions. He values the input and skills of those around him and does an excellent job at problem solving and coming up with workable solutions.
Our sincere thanks
Andy is known by many area emergency managers, firefighters, police officers, and other public servants through his work with The Salvation Army. He has a firm grasp on what it takes to provide the best support to our first responders and those affected by the incidents as well as a vast knowledge of the technical side of operations.
Calm under pressure and able to maintain his focus to get things done, The Salvation Army is so proud to have Andy represent us in the community. The Army is truly grateful for the hundreds of hours of time and unending expertise he has given us.