Taking it personally: Kristina-LI Neknez-Dalton is the EMT of the Year
It was a long trip.
Starting on Shelter Island the couple drove to Florida, and then headed north and west, traveling to Colorado and on to Utah before turning back toward home.
For Kristina-LI Neknez-Dalton and TJ Dalton, the road trip in 2022 was a chance to get away from routines and see the country. But it was also, Ms. Neknez-Dalton said, an opportunity to go over their time together and plan the future. One plan was to get married, which they did a year later. Another was what they would do with their lives.
They met at Stony Brook University studying music and both are musicians of high quality. Mr. Dalton has taught and performed. But he wanted more, and by the time they returned he had decided to dedicate himself to helping others and began training as a paramedic. Ms. Neknez-Dalton had followed his example and joined the Island’s EMS as a volunteer, serving her fellow Islanders.
At the EMS gala annual dinner on June 11, Ms. Neknez-Dalton was named Emergency Medical Technician of the Year. From volunteer to driver to an officer in the EMS, she has been a steady, positive and professional presence with the agency. EMS Chief Mark Kanarvogel said she never forgot her commitment to Shelter Island even while making her way through a crowded daily schedule over the past year. She and Mr. Dalton bought a house and her work as assistant comptroller for the Shelter Island Yacht Club demanded a lot of hours.
“But Kristina still kept her percentages up,” Chief Kanarvogel added. “She shows compassion to everyone, especially young women, and relates personally with every patient. That’s something you can’t teach. It has to come from within.”
Chief Kanarvogel’s use of the word percentages means the percent of calls answered by the volunteers. Ms. Neknez-Dalton was one of 19 who were honored at the dinner for answering at least 10% of emergency calls: She responded to 32% of the 383 emergencies in 2025.
Her work as an EMT is one of constant reward, she said. “We see people on their worst days, and we take care of them, we help them through. It’s a personal thing. In a way, by helping one person in need, we’re helping the whole community.”
She doesn’t deny it’s difficult at times, and with the Island being a small place, she at times has to help those she knows who are in medical distress. “But we’re well trained to focus on what we have to do,” she said.
A road trip won’t be necessary for the next big decision for the EMT of the Year and Mr. Dalton: They’re expecting their first child in December.
