Issue link: http://southshoremagazine.uberflip.com/i/987785
26 For a century, Brewster Ambulance Service has provided the highest quality emergency medical transport care. It is the only family- owned ambulance service on the South Shore, and one of only a few in the entire state. Brewster has a storied history dating back to 1906, when George W. Brewster started the business. In the 1920s, George W.'s son Harold took it over for the next four decades. When he passed away in 1963, Harold's wife, Marion, took over the company and successfully ran it herself. A woman running a company was a true rarity at the time and she did so expertly—while also raising six sons. Her son, George, took over in 1975 and grew the company from 2 ambulances to 150 at the time of sale. George sold the business in 1997, which was the end of Brewster Ambulance Service for 13 years. Then George's sons Mark and George Jr., noticed something: ambulance services were lacking the professionalism that Brewster had embodied for decades. Employees were unkempt and ambulances were late; quality had gone down. It was not the ambulance industry Mark and George Jr. remembered. Mark, President and CEO, had been missing the ambulance business. Growing up, Brewster Ambulance Service had always been part of his life; he even remembers booking service calls on the home phone when he was a kid. Seeing the lowered standards at his grandmother's nursing home was the extra inspiration he needed to get back into the business. He and his brother, Brewster's Chief Operations Officer George Jr., decided to relaunch the service. Mark was surprised to find that the Brewster name was still available. With the same branding, logo, imaging and name, Brewster Ambulance Service (version 2.0) was born. They started with three trucks and 30 team members. Just eight years later, Brewster is in 26 locations in Massachusetts and 100 Years of Service and Commitment By Erica Ford, photography by Terry Pappy