The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation Board of Directors has elected two new members: Gary A. Runco, PE, PLS, and Robert H. Trenkamp, Jr. “We are delighted that Gary and Bob will be joining our team,” said Norman S. Abramson, MD, FACEP, FCCM, Professor Emeritus, University of Pittsburgh Department of Emergency Medicine and Chairman of the SCA Foundation Board of Directors. "Their expertise and enthusiasm will be great assets to the organization."
Gary Runco is Pittsburgh Area Manager for Borton-Lawson, an engineering and architecture design firm. He has 35 years of experience with an expertise in bridge inspection and analysis. He previously taught as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Pittsburgh and taught courses for the Federal Highway Administration in 26 states and Puerto Rico. Gary earned his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.
Gary has been active in the Pittsburgh community and with non-profit professional societies. He is a graduate of Leadership Pittsburgh (Class XI) and has served on professional society boards such as the Pittsburgh Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (where he is a Past President), the Association of Bridge Construction and Design (Past President) and the International Bridge Conference (Past General Chairman). He is currently active with the Marcellus Shale Coalition serving on the general committee, road use committee and safety committee. His years of service on non-profit boards and connections within the Pittsburgh community should prove to be valuable resources in his new role.
Gary and his wife have four children.
Robert H. Trenkamp, Jr, MBA, EMT-P is president and co-founder of Saving Lives in Chatham County (“SLICC”), a 501(c)(3) public charity founded to reduce the needless death and disability that occurs when someone suffers a cardiac arrest or a stroke and nobody nearby knows what to do. SLICC, with content guided by a six-physician Medical Advisory Board, has:
- Taken its test zip code from approximately six percent of the population being CPR trained to more than 36 percent trained
- Developed a Neighborhood CPR Training program through which local organizations such as houses of worship, can launch their own programs using materials that SLICC furnishes without charge
- Launched a CPR in the Schools product that helps school systems provide CPR training in their 7th through 12th grade curricula.
School faculty members facilitate class sessions using SLICC’s 35 minute DVD. The program is provided to schools without charge. This program has been adopted by 36 schools and is growing in popularity.
Robert earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering and Applied Science from Yale University and his MBA from Case-Western Reserve University. He began his career as an electrical engineer, soon moving into management, eventually having P&L management responsibility for a $300 million group of four high-tech companies within a Fortune 500 corporation. In 1981 Robert founded Lloyd Harbor Resources, a consultancy that specialized in reversing the trajectory of troubled high tech companies, both large and small.
Following his retirement in 2001, he earned his EMT and Paramedic credentials in both New York and Georgia. He successfully completed the Critical Care Emergency Medical Transport-Paramedic course at the Medical College of Georgia. He then began working the night shift twice a week at Savannah’s Level I Trauma Center and filling in on ambulances with Southside Fire Department. It was these work experiences that prompted the formation of SLICC.
Robert and his wife have two children and five grandsons.