William “Bill” Vidacovich

B.S. Industrial Technology – 1975

Vice-President for Fleet Management and Purchasing - Acadian Ambulance Service

A New Orleans native, Bill joined the United States Marine Corps after graduating from Saint Aloysius High School. Sergeant Vidacovich served for four years, including a 13-month deployment to Vietnam, until honorably discharged in 1969.

While attending UL Lafayette (USL), Bill began his career with Acadian Ambulance Service in 1973, working the night shift until he graduated in 1975. During his 41 years at Acadian, he served as director of maintenance and safety, driver safety instructor, infection control officer, coordinator for Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services, and vice president for Fleet Management and Purchasing. With an eye on innovation and streamlining expenses and efficiencies, Bill was instrumental in developing the company’s operating policies and procedures, safety systems, and ambulance body refurbishment and manufacturing. He also mentored numerous employees, helping them to realize their full potential.

Bill served as president of the Acadiana Safety Association and Boys and Girls Clubs of Acadiana. He served  and as a member of the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce’s Transportation Committee and UL Lafayette’s Industrial Technology Advisory Board. Bill was a Leadership Lafayette Class V graduate and honored in 2004 as the National Industrial Technologist of the Year. Now retired from Acadian Ambulance, Bill serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland’s Emergency Health Science Division where he teaches a graduate course.