If you asked Ray Bias, he’d tell you he always knew he wanted to serve others.
“I always intended to work in the medical field,” Ray said.
Ray joined the Navy back in 1967, where he served four years of active duty as a hospital corpsman in Vietnam for 13 months when he was wounded, earning him a Purple Heart.
In 1971, Ray enrolled at the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette). He worked part time with Acadian from 6 p.m. until 8 a.m. while studying and receiving his Bachelor of Science as a registered nurse.
“I thought that I would stay with this little startup until I graduated and go make my fortune in the hospital industry,” Ray joked. “Little did I know that when I graduated, Acadian started to grow, and they asked me to stay on as their first medical director.”
Joining the company full time in January 1973, Ray has seen it all and done it all with Acadian. He was part of the medical education development when Acadian first started.
Serving as an EMT, paramedic, EMS educator, medical director, vice president and in governmental relations, there is no question about it: Ray was the standard in which Acadian stood for.
Ray Bias is all about serving others. A veteran of the Navy and Acadian, Ray retired a few years ago, but that hasn’t stopped him from helping others.
“And the rest is history,” Ray said.
Ray retired from the Navy as a Captain in 2007 and from Acadian in 2015 after more than 48 years of service. And he is proud of every step of his journey.
“It has been a very enjoyable, pleasant journey,” he said. “I’ve worked with some great people and they have always shown me respect and gratitude for the work I have done.”
A native of Opelousas, LA, and now a resident of Scott, LA, Ray is spending retirement still serving others. Ray currently works on a handful of boards for veterans in the Lafayette, LA,area.
He is part of the volunteer Committee for the VA Clinic, as well as a member of the EMS Committee for Lafayette Parish.
“It’s part of my nature to be helpful and try to help those who need to be helped,” Ray said. “This is the United States of America and I have always been a patriot and enjoyed the freedoms that we have.”
Ray and his wife, Betty, are the proud parents of two daughters, Lebra and Megan, and even more proud grandparents to their first-born grandson, Terry.
