Jim Bradshaw: Eyes rolled, but Zuschlag persisted

I remember well the day in 1971 that Richard Zuschlag appeared before the Lafayette Parish Police Jury and said that he and two partners wanted to start an ambulance service.
The parish needed one badly.
Funeral homes had used their hearses as ambulances for years, but new federal regulations made it prohibitively expensive for them to keep doing it.
They were quitting the business and nobody knew how to replace them,
I was at that meeting as a reporter, and remember that the police jurors were skeptical that three guys who’d never run an ambulance service before were likely to make a success of it. But no one else wanted to do it and so the jurors gave them their blessing, wished them well, sat back in their chairs, and rolled their eyes.
I was an eye-roller myself. We had no idea of the energy, far-sightedness, and plain old gumption of this young guy from Pennsylvania who’d been sent by Westinghouse to Lafayette a year before to help train hospital employees. Simply put, Richard was the reason we skeptics were wrong.
Acadian Ambulance began operations on Sept. 1, 1971, with two ambulances and eight medics covering only Lafayette, the smallest parish in the state.
It was tough going at first.
The three co-founders sometimes drove the ambulances themselves and cleaned them after use. Those first ambulances were not much more than cabs on pickup trucks that had to share a radio frequency with a local lumber company, which at first had the stronger transmitter;
Richard was not CEO when the company started. That was Roland Dugas. He was the assistant administrator at Lafayette General before taking on the ambulance business. But Richard was the face of the new company, and he was good at it. He was a persuasive and persistent communicator who never missed an opportunity to shamelessly promote his company. Those who knew him warned only half in jest that one of the most dangerous places to be was between Richard and a camera.
Part of his success was that he made it a point to meet anyone and everyone who could help make his business grow, and to make sure that they knew who he was and his plans for the ambulance service.
Everyone.
In 2007, when I wrote a series of articles on the 50th anniversary of Hurricane Audrey, I found out that George H.W. Bush had gone to Cameron right after the storm. The President-to-be was CEO of Zapata Marine at the time and had boats there. I thought it would be neat to get a comment from him, but had no idea how to get in touch.
I called Richard.
Within two hours I got a call from President Bush’s personal secretary and the next day I had an e-mailed comment from the former President of the United States. It concluded with, “Give my regards to Richard.”
Another part of Richard’s success was that he genuinely enjoyed meeting people and building his company. And, as we all know, he built it into a huge success — success that he shared abundantly with the growing number of communities that Acadian served.
Almost all of the tributes that poured in following the announcement of his death included the word “philanthropist,” and rightfully so. It is probably impossible to compile a list of causes that he supported over the years because he did it without fanfare.
Gov. John Bel Edwards remembered that “as one of the greatest philanthropic leaders I know, he continuously demonstrated a commitment to servant leadership that deeply transformed the lives of people around him — family, friends, employees, and countless organizations included.”
Randy Strozyk, president of the American Ambulance Association, said that he “was indeed a trailblazer” who personified “innovative capabilities, scrappiness and tenacity, and entrepreneurial spirit” and who was “always looking for ways to give back to the community and utilize his personal and business resources to give to those in need.” 
I know from personal experience with several organizations and causes that all you had to do was ask.
A tiny example: A decade ago I helped set up a scholarship program for kids who would otherwise not be able to continue their education.
I sent out what I called my “begging letter” each year for donations to fund it. Richard’s substantial check was invariably the first to arrive. He quietly helped send a score of young people to school and to a better life.
Multiply that by hundreds of causes and thousands of people and you may come close to the lives enriched by Richard Zuschlag’s generosity and vision, not to mention those saved by prompt, expert medical attention from the ambulance service that was given little chance to succeed.
:You can contact Jim Bradshaw at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.