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Red Cross program recognizes local heroes

  • Published
  • By Christi Spargur
  • 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  The American Red Cross's Lifesaver Award recognizes individuals who save or sustain the lives of others using first aid skills like CPR. 

"Lifesaver stories are a great way for the Red Cross to communicate to the public the importance of preventing, preparing for and responding to emergencies through Red Cross training," said Gina Joly, an American Red Cross of St. Louis Area Chapter customer service representative and Lifesaver Award program coordinator. 

Lifesaver Awards are divided into four categories: 

Good Samaritan Lifesaver - presented to an ordinary citizen who used their life-saving training skills to save the life of another person 

Professional Responder Lifesaver - presented to an individual or group who as part of their employment or while on duty, saved or sustained a human life 

Blood Donor Lifesaver - presented to someone whose lifetime donation of whole blood or platelets has saved many lives and influenced others to do the same 

Animal Rescue Lifesaver - presented to a person who has performed a heroic rescue using American Red Cross Pet First Aid skills and knowledge to save the life of an animal 

To be eligible, nominees for the awards cannot have caused or contributed to the incident. Nominees do not have to be certified in Red Cross training, however, if they are certified at the time of the incident they can also be nominated for the National Certificate of Merit. All nominations are subject to an approval process. There is no age restriction and the lifesaving event must occur within the past year. 

The American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter has participated in the Lifesaver Award program for more than 20 years and has honored more than 400 local residents. "It is our goal to hold four Lifesaver Award events each year presenting six to 10 awards at each event," said Ms. Joly. "We receive approximately 24 to 40 nominations per year."
Stephanie Pitts, Scott Air Force Base American Red Cross station manager, added "We want to recognize people who do good things. The Lifesaver Award makes sure that the heroic actions taken to save the life of another do not go unnoticed. 

"We haven't had any awards presented here at Scott, yet, but I think that is because many people do not know about the award. We are working very hard now to get the word out.
"If anyone, commander, first sergeant, coworker, spouse, or friend knows of a lifesaver, they need to submit him or her for the award." 

Nomination forms are available on line at www.red  crossstl.org/Portals/0/2007Lifesa   verNominationForm.pdf or through the Scott Red Cross Office at 256-3292. 

"To help in a time of crisis, it's important to be prepared and ready whenever and wherever the situation arises. The Red Cross on base offers a number of training classes like CPR," said Ms. Pitt. "Anyone at Team Scott can take advantage of these classes. 

"The Lifesaver Award highlights the importance of lifesaving skills training. Getting those skills and using them properly can be a matter of life and death, literally. 

"We want to acknowledge people who know what to do during life-threatening situations and the Lifesaver Award program gives us the means to do that," said Ms. Pitt. "If anyone from Team Scott is nominated and accepted for the award, I'm going to make sure the presentation of it is a big celebration."