Anthony Brown, Leak Detection Specialist, City of Asheville. Anthony saved a man from committing suicide. - Read the story
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Purpose of the Award: This award shall constitute official recognition of an act of heroism on the part of an employee(s) in the water utility profession wherein he or she, in the process of aiding some other person or persons, must have placed himself/herself at great personal risk.
The Award: The award will be in the form of a medal embedded in a Lucite block.
Eligibility for the Award: To be eligible for this award the employee must, within the past three (3) years, have performed a significant rescue act either on or off the job toward saving another person or persons from loss of life or extreme injury, and in the process, must have placed himself/herself at great personal risk.
The award may be presented to an employee of any water utility, whether or not that utility holds membership in AWWA.
Entry Requirements: Recommendation by a Section board.
Nomination Procedure: Recommendation by a Section leader of the Section board submitted to AWWA Headquarters on a completed entry form supplied by AWWA.
Nomination or Submission Deadline: None.
Award Committee Membership: The AWWA Heroism and Courageous Service Committee shall consist of a chair and four other members appointed by the chair of the Technical & Educational Council, subject to Council approval. The chair serves one three-year term and members may serve two three-year terms. An Association staff member shall serve as advisor to the committee.
Method of Selecting Award Recipient: The procedure for selecting an award recipient shall be as follows:
Presentation of the Award: The section shall be notified of the committee's decision on all applications. If the award has been approved, AWWA shall make the award available for presentation by the AWWA official representative at the next annual meeting of the Section.
2000
Justin Curtis
New England
Rescued a 12-year old boy who fell through the ice in the Nashua River in NH.
John P. Ruehl
New Jersey
Apprehended an armed bank robber escaping on a bicycle.
Tony Nobles
Seeing an approaching train, he picked up a 92-year old man from from the railroad tracks and carried him to safety.
2002
Miguel Diaz
Florida
Witnessing a vehicle lose control and skid into a canal, he jumped in and retrieved the driver with a co-worker before the vehicle sank.
Geoff Menta
California
Resuscitated an infant who was not breathing while he was on the job in Lemon Grove, California.
2004
Michael McCormick
Thomas Rose, Jr.
Mark Graff
James Malay, Jr.
Tamaine Roellich
Richard Skiles
Patrick Wiley
Wisconsin
When a co-worker was having a heart attack, they got help, performed CPR, etc. Note: This did not strictly follow the criteria, but the Heroism Committee felt that the team were heros to the co-workers' family and had saved his life with their quick-thinking.
Pade Dam Municipal Water District
(The utility received the medallion encases in a lucite stand, and the 30 members of the utility received certificates.)
These employees assisted firefighters in a forest fire which impacted 100,000 residents of San Diego County.
2005
Bill Moran
Washington
While repairing a water main one night, he smelled smoke, ran to a house and through a yard with a pit bull, broke down a door and saved the resident form her smouldering home.
Rafael Figueroa
While carrying out emergency repairs due to Hurrican Wilma, he saved a co-worker from electrocution by kicking him from the electric field of a submerged meter box.
2007
Victor Ellis and Andy Farkas *
Chesapeake
The workers observed a man fall and lose consciousness in the road at a bus stop and arranged for traffic diversion and emergency services.
2008
Brian Alexander and David LaMar
Indiana
The employees rescued two persons from a pickup truck which crashed into an 8-foot deep water main break excavation and submerged.
Bert Cheney, Mike Wilhelm and Tom Leonard
Two workers were saved after being trapped for 40 minutes in the basement of a booster station which was filling with water by the three employees who quickly found the right shut-off valves and broke down the door with a valve truck.
Alvin A. Clark
Nebraska
Assisted a minor who had been assaulted.
Richard T. Lien*
Was attacked by an intruder tampering with water tower; called 911 and subdued the subject.
Eugene Klister
A 10-year old boy was dragged into the rain-swollen Fox River. Klister was working nearby and rushed to the boy’s rescue to pull him back to shore.
2009
Matthew Mulica
Rocky Mountain
Mulica was tubing in Clear Creak and saw a boy floating facedown in the water. He got the boy to shore, administered CPR and saved his life.
Terence Robinson
New York
While working at the site of a water main break, an accident occurred about ¼ mile away. Robinsin ran to the scene and pulled the driver from a burning car.
2010
Mike Sousek and Sam Barlean
The two were working to dismantle a beaver dam when a co-worker was pulled into an overflow pipe. They obtained help and during rescue operations, kept his head above water, and saved him from being drawn into the pipe.
Hank Wallenkamp
As Wallenkamp was driving to pick up repair parts for his utility, he came upon a serious accident. He blocked the road and turned on emergency flashers and assisted the injured passenger until the EMT’s arrived. He was commended by the emergency personnel for his professional job of preparing a splint and comforting the passenger.
2013
Mike Garofano (Posthumous)
Mike Garofano was an operator of the Rutland Vermont Water Treatment Facility who lost his life in the service of his community in August 2011 during tropical storm Irene. Mike and his son lost their lives while checking the drinking water source during the storm.
C.J. Gillaspie City of West PWD
Texas
C.J. Gillaspie was one of the first responders to the West Fertilizer plant fire, dealing with the water and wastewater system. He and the West Department of Public Works implemented strategies to safely supply water to surrounding systems and contractors.
2014
Branden Sorrels, Koby Haddock, Steven Gregory
Southwest
While working in a vault, a worker struck a gas line and caused an explosion and fire; Sorrels, Haddock and Gregory rescued him and obtained emergency medical attention.
Darlene Barnwell
North Carolina
Darlene Barnwell rescued an 8-year old from an attack by four large dogs.
2015
Milo Rust
South Dakota
Rescued a young boy who had fallen through the ice in northern South Dakota. Rust was on vacation ice fishing with friends in January when Rust saw an all-terrain vehicle fall through the ice. The vehicle was carrying two men and two children. Rust, along with Morris Most of Rapid City, rescued one of the children by tying a rope into a rescue tool to save the boy. The incident occurred on Shadehill Lake near Lemmon in Perkins County.
2016
Michael J. Stokes
Virginia
Mr. Stokes and two unknown citizens assisted in the rescue of (2) drivers involved in a car accident near his work site. Mr. Stokes used a large valve key from his City truck to pry open the door and remove the injured driver regardless of the immediate hazard of potential fire and passing traffic traveling at 45 mph.
Rick Hancock
Alaska
Assisted in putting out a fire and giving aid to the victim.
2021
Brandon Perry
California-Nevada
Assisted victims in a motor vehicle accident.