One of Us: Bill McClure

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A Ponte Vedra Beach resident, Bill McClure is the president and chief operating officer of 1st Rescue Mission Critical Aerial Emergency Support Systems, a Jacksonville-based company that makes incident system software for police, fire rescue/EMS, hospitals, utilities, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, pipelines and railways, universities and more.

Can you please tell us about your background? 

I was born in Georgia with three siblings. When I was 18 years old, I started my first business by turning an old car wash into a drive through convenience store, just off the campus of the University of Florida. After college, I spent the next decade building three successful healthcare information technology companies, all with very successful exit strategies. I have been visiting Crescent Beach since 1972 and fell in love with the area. I moved to St Johns County in 2002, just after the birth of my youngest son. I have been shareholder, director, early stage investor or member of board of directors of 1st Rescue Mission Critical Emergency Support Systems, Healthcare EDI Bank, U.S. Bamboo, i360 Media, McGil Environmental, MediCompanies, Colo 5 Data Center, TPA eXchange, WLT Software, Recall Systems and MicroMed Healthcare Information Systems (NASDAQ:QSII).

I could live anywhere in the world, but I chose St Johns County because of the schools and a wonderful neighborhood: Palencia. I have served as a public servant, as well as volunteer for a variety of local causes. I was elected to serve as St Johns County commissioner from 2012-2016. I led the initiatives to repeal more than 300 old laws; refinance the county debt, saving more than $41 million dollars in interest payments for taxpayers; slow residential growth while increasing commercial growth; reduce unemployment from 8.5 percent to 3.2 percent; and I created the idea for the half cent sales tax to fund school growth issues. Today, I am the president of Scenic and Historic A1A, as well as the St Johns County Civilian Law Enforcement Academy. Above all, I am most proud of my two sons, Blake and Bryce.

What differentiates 1st Rescue Mission Critical Aerial Emergency Support Systems?

We are a revolutionary software because we utilize disruptive technology. Particularly, we utilize commercial autonomous drones and real-time video 911 and telemedicine. We integrate all data (video, pictures, audio, all agencies and personnel responding, time tracking, personnel tracking, procedures used and billing system, evidence tracking and automated reporting) into our system that intelligently evolves, allowing security and emergency responders to concentrate on their respective jobs.

For example, our technology can be used during a 911 call for sudden cardiac arrest. The 1st Rescue drone arrives in two minutes and delivers an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) and a video chat session with a trained EMT/paramedic/doctor to begin CPR and use the AED. This is required within six minutes, otherwise the survival rate is 8 percent. Our system helps with the need for an increase in response time for medical emergencies, leading to maximum survival outcomes.

 The cost is about 25 cents per taxpayer population for a municipality per month. We think that is great insurance to protect quality of life in an area.

How would you characterize the software industry today?

The software industry today is still very young. I remember teaching people how to use Windows programs and a mouse back in 1997. It was not that long ago. Systems are being developed today to ease a process, or a system. There are still plenty of legacy systems, built prior to 2000, being used today. So, software is a good place to be.

What’s the future of the software/tech world?

The software of tomorrow will include automated intelligence, meaning the software will suggest better processes or systems to use. An example of that in healthcare would be integrating medical university research into a database and searching for your particular disease state or problem and the outcome and studies done in the past. This data could be mined, and the AI would recommend a best course of action, success ratios, alternative courses or even spot a specific cure for your particular disease by simply calculating and interpreting data. The problem with this scenario today is that nobody shares their medical research, but this will change.

What do you enjoy most about living in Ponte Vedra?

I enjoy the people. Whether having a lunch at one of my PGA friend’s place, Nona Blue, or eating dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant, Poppy’s, everyone is involved in making the experiences the best. It doesn’t matter where you came from, whether you are the server or the one being served, everyone cares and respects one another.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I enjoy ballroom dancing with my wife Kimberly on some weekends, while racing moto-Cross on others.

Edited by Jon Blauvelt