WESTPORT — The new president of the Westport Volunteer Emergency Medical Service, at 26 years old, has been involved with the organization nearly half of his life.

Jaime Bairaktaris, elected by the WVEMS board to assume the presidency as of July 1, began volunteering with the service in 2013 as a Staples High School freshman.

When Bairaktaris succeeds Michael Burns, EMT and current WVEMS president, he will be the youngest person to hold the position in the group’s history.

Bairaktaris, a former Representative Town Meeting member from District 4, previously was named WVEMS “Volunteer of the Year” in 2016 and “Crew Chief of the Year” in 2022.

He also works at John Read Middle School in Redding.

After July 1, Burns will transition to be the WVEMS vice president, focusing on the organization’s endowment goals to suppot its long-term financial sustainability.

Bairaktaris will focus on initiatives for current volunteers as well as recruiting new EMTs. He also hopes to promote “public education, alongside the organization’s team of volunteer instructors, with new classes focused on mental health,” according to the WVEMS announcement.

“Westport EMS is a second home to me, and its members, a second family. I’m excited for this opportunity to foster our organization’s mission to save lives in our community,” Bairaktaris said in the agency’s statement.

Visit the Westport Volunteer Emergency Medical Service website for more information.