Certified Chef Cody Stewart is one of Siloam Springs' newest business owners. But Stewart won't be taking any reservations for a table for two any time soon. That's because Stewart is the new owner of Pulse EMS service, not a restaurant.
Stewart's journey from high school in Siloam Springs to business owner is anything but direct. The first step of his circuitous path was when Stewart went to college in Texas to become a nurse. But after a year of school, Stewart said nursing wasn't for him.
The next step was to move several states away, to Tennessee, where Stewart joined his best friend at a university studying physical therapy. A year later, and Stewart wasn't there, either.
He would graduate instead from another school in Atlanta, Le Cordon Bleu culinary school.
"I am a certified chef," Stewart said, chuckling.
From there, Stewart made his return to Northwest Arkansas, working in a kitchen in Fayetteville for a year and a half and then helping start a restaurant in Gentry. It was called Fleur De Lis Grill, a french/creole style eatery, which has since closed.
But when it closed, Stewart wasn't left out of a job. That was because he left six months after it opened.
"It was hot, and a lot of screaming and yelling," Stewart said. "It wasn't worth it."
About that time, Stewart heard from one of his friends who was starting work in Emergency Medical Services, who said he loved the field.
"I said, 'Well, I've done all this; might as well try that,'" Stewart said. "I wanted to be in the medical field originally anyway."
Stewart went to get his EMS certification at Northwest Arkansas Community College and got a job at Pulse as a driver on a basic life support truck. He's worked his way through the ranks at the service for six years, and enjoyed it so much he asked the previous owner if he would be willing to sell. That was six months ago; he closed on the deal Aug. 5.
Stewart is just 28 years old.
He said his age hasn't gotten in the way of running his business, and he hasn't seen other business owners or people he works with treat him differently.
"I've actually gotten a lot of positive feedback," Stewart said. He knew most of the doctors and nurses at the hospital, and said he had gotten plenty of congratulations from them. "So far, so good."
Pulse's ambulances usually are called upon to do inter-facility transfers, taking patients from one medical facility to another. Stewart said up to 95 percent of his calls are for transfers, though if the Siloam Springs Fire Department has most or all of its four ambulance units responding to calls, Pulse will be called upon to stand by for emergency calls. Stewart said his service averages 85 to 115 runs per month.
Stewart said he liked that the EMS field was more independent and not restricted like being a nurse in a hospital setting.
"This was definitely, definitely for me," Stewart said.
Though he owns the business and now spends more of his working time behind a desk than a dashboard, Stewart still works on the trucks two or three times per week.
Stewart said the transition from working at Pulse to owning Pulse has been a little more work than expected, but good. He is in the office five days a week and on call 24/7.
"It's a step up -- a little more stress, but worth it."
Pulse just purchased two new ambulances, and is in the process of downsizing from its fleet of six trucks to three, as Stewart said typically only two trucks run in a day.
General News on 08/28/2016