May 26, 2025 | Allies, Community, Our Patients, Our Team

STARS Founder Dr. Greg Powell Remembers STARS’ First Mission

STARS founder Dr. Greg Powell and his wife Linda Powell stand on either side of Tyler Waldron, STARS' first Very important Patient Kelly Waldron and their daughter Reese. They pose in front of a STARS BK117 air ambulance during a STARS event in 2018.

This story was written before Dr. Powell’s passing in April 2025.

Dr. Greg Powell wasn’t on board the first STARS mission, but he remembers how it played out.

Dr. Powell was chief of emergency medicine at Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary at the time. While other helicopter emergency medical service flights had occurred earlier in southern Alberta, Kelly Waldron’s mission in 1985 was the first under the Lions Air Ambulance/STARS banner.

“We went as a STARS team,” said Dr. Powell, noting that Kelly’s brother, Travis, was transported in care of the neonatal team on a government-run airplane ambulance. “Kelly went on the helicopter with the neonatal team orchestrating the whole event as clinical providers in the background. That was definitely a STARS flight. When she arrived at the Foothills and went through all of the early neonatal care that she required, that was a memorable event.

“Kelly is an amazing story. But her relationship [with STARS] to this day is due to Linda,” Dr. Powell said of his wife. “Linda recognized that continuing the relationship with Kelly was important to patient care and exemplifies that STARS is a family.

“When Kelly grew up, got married, and had a family, then came to STARS’ 10th and 20th anniversaries and cut the cake, I was always amazingly appreciative. And I was absolutely honoured to take a helicopter model to her that had her initials on it.

“But the real credit goes to Linda for fostering that story and making sure STARS has an organizational memory framed around that. That’s really important because people see the benefit of caring in the long term.”