A special Corporate Hero Award was presented to Tesoro Corporation, and Bragg Companies were recognized as the Centennial Sponsor for their generosity and dedication to the mission of the American Red Cross.
Margaret Arbini-Madonna, executive director, and Paul Conrad, chairman of the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross Greater Long Beach, presented the Hometown Heroes Award recipients with a medal and plaque for their heroic acts.
“We celebrate these heroes so that from them and their stories we will be inspired to become and stay prepared, so that when the time comes, when our fellow man needs help, when it falls to you or me to be everything, to be the whole world to another human being, we will rise to the occasion,” Conrad said.
Each year the Red Cross honors individuals who demonstrate selfless acts of courage and humanitarian service— people whose extraordinary acts exemplify the American Red Cross mission to prevent and alleviate human suffering. Honored were men and women who went above and beyond to help save lives by responding to extraordinary circumstances.
The event brought together Red Cross community partners like Southern California Edison, Valero, Andelson, Atkinson, Loya, Ruud & Romo, AES Alamitos Generating, Cal Water, Mitsubishi Cement, Toyota Auto Body Company, and UPS. Also in attendance were local elected officials, business leaders, family and friends. Mat Kaplan, host and producer of Planetary Radio for the Planetary Society was emcee.
The 16 individuals honored were:
Bernd Stevens After World War II began, Bernd joined the U.S. Army. On April 16, 1945, Bernd was captured by the Gestapo and taken to prison but was able to escape and returned to the U.S. The war was ending, but Bernd wanted to help free more prisoners. He charted a plane, risked his life by parachuting near his prison and helped stop the killing of many innocent people.
Bridget Hains, Lisa Montoya, & Alonso Serna One morning in January 2016, a patron at the La Mirada Civic Center notified employees Bridget Hains and Lisa Montoya that a patron had fallen and was unresponsive. Bridget rushed to get the AED machine while Lisa performed CPR. Suddenly, Alonso Serna, arrived at the civic center to process some forms, he noticed Bridget and Lisa helping a woman on the floor. He asked if he could assist and began CPR compressions and helped the woman until paramedics arrived. It took all three heroes working together to save Ms. Adler’s life.
Erin Grissom, Max James-Jolly, Julia Jaynes, Mark Ryan On a busy Memorial Day weekend at Alamitos Bay, sailing instructor Mark Ryan heard screaming. He ran to the source and found a young girl floating face down in the lagoon. He dove in and initiated CPR. His co-worker, Erin Grissom, began to assist. Ryan, who had been in a training session, rushed to the scene and sent another co-worker, Julia Jaynes to get a lifeguard and call 911. By the time the EMT’s and lifeguards arrived, the girl was already breathing on her own. The four had saved the girl’s life.
Michael Cravin Cravin became CPR-certified through the Red Cross and never imagined that he would be using that skill to save his mom. He was visiting his parents and was on his way out when he discovered his mother lying face-down on the floor. While his father dialed 911, Cravin realized his mom wasn’t breathing, and as trained by the Red Cross, he performed CPR on her until the paramedics arrived. He saved his mother’s life.
Andre & Joelle Mary Andre and Joelle Mary were biking in El Dorado Park when they saw a girl standing out on a freeway overpass. Andre thought she might jump, so he dropped his bike and began moving toward her. Joelle, on the other hand, got a hold of the girl’s shirt, pulled her back to safety and asked a passerby to call 911. Joelle was also concerned for the safety of her husband Andre, who was standing on the other side of the fence full of passing cars. The fire department arrived and assisted.
Cuauhtémoc Blancas Little did Blancas know that, just after five days after attending a CPR class at the Red Cross, he’d have to use his new skills to save his best friend’s life. On a windy day last November, he and his friend Chon were working together unloading sand bags at a work site in Malibu when suddenly the wind picked up and Chon started to choke on sand that had blown up into the air. At that moment, Blancas’s Red Cross training kicked in, and he started performing CPR compressions until an ambulance arrived. Chon has since made a full recovery.
Ed Hano On Dec. 18, 2015, off-duty officer Ed Hano was at home when his daughter ran inside to tell him that a woman was out in the street with her unresponsive baby that had fallen into a swimming pool. He immediately started CPR, and finally the baby gurgled and water poured out. Shortly thereafter, paramedics arrived. The baby was taken to a hospital and has since recovered at home with her parent.
Rory Willeford & Alex Novak On Mother’s Day, Rory Willeford and his family were having dinner at a restaurant when his mother in-law started choking. Right away, Willeford put her in the Heimlich position, but she began to go limp. Novak, the manager of the restaurant who was trained in CPR by the Red Cross, asked one of the servers to call 9-1-1 as he rushed to Willeford’s table to help. Thanks to his CPR training, Novak was able to help Willeford save his mother-in-law.
Susie Powell One morning last March, Susie Powell was on her way to work when she looked to her right at an intersection and saw a driver slumped backwards in his car. Susie pulled over, called 9-1-1, and the dispatcher told her to begin chest compressions on the man. Within moments, the paramedics arrived and took over his care.
To learn more about the American Red Cross’s preparedness tips, visit preparesocal.org.
Source: American Red Cross
