Every day, real people in southeast Nebraska perform heroic deeds that change and save lives. The Cornhusker Chapter is proud to honor these local heroes at the 2011 Tribute to Heroes Awards on Wednesday, May 11, 2011.

 
Mike Gates, a Red Cross First Aid Team volunteer, arrived for his shift at a Nebraska Huskers men’s basketball game at Devaney Center to find a good Samaritan giving CPR to Gary Ryken, who had collapsed from cardiac arrest. Gates grabbed the team’s automated external defibrillator (AED) and with the help the good Samaritan and others, used the AED to deliver two shocks to the unconscious Ryken. Lincoln Fire & Rescue transported Ryken to a local hospital. Paramedics at the scene credit Gates and the good Samaritan with saving Ryken’s life with their quick response. Mike’s willingness to help others and use an AED is what makes Gates this year’s Emergency Medical Hero.

Richard Lichtenfeld & Andy Gallagher
Good Samaritans

Rich Lichtenfeld, a fire and casualty claim representative for State Farm Insurance was driving towards 63rd and Adam Streets, when he noticed a commotion and stopped to see if he could help. Ernie Rogman’s heart had stopped while he was snow blowing. Without hesitation, Rich began chest compressions. Another passerby, Andy Gallagher, a Nebraska Wesleyan student, stopped and help maintain Ernie’s airway. Rich and Andy continued CPR until first responders arrived and transported Ernie to the hospital.  A few days later, Ernie’s wife called to thank Rich for saving her husband’s life. She said that the chest compressions had restarted her husband’s heart and that he wouldn’t have survived if Rich and Andy hadn’t jumped in. For their selfless act, Rich and Andy are good Samaritans.

Myshell Roach
Call to Action

Police were dispatched to a grocery store on a report that a shoplifter was in custody after a disturbance. Police arrived to find Myshell Roach, a shopper, straddling the suspect near the front doors of the store. She was holding the suspect’s bleeding hand, keeping pressure on it to control the bleeding. Myshell had observed the attempted shoplifting. After the suspect tried to flee, he dropped the bottle he was trying to steal and then fell on the broken glass, cutting his hand. Myshell positioned herself near the front door. She knocked the suspect to the ground and took control. As she held him down, she used her cell phone to call police.  Myshell put herself at great risk, and did not hesitate to help where she could. 

Brent Foxhoven, Jamie Kraft & Mike Mullendore
Children's Hero

Brent, Jamie and Mike were working near 35th and Baldwin Streets when they noticed smoke rising from an apartment building. Mike immediately ran to their truck, called 911 and grabbed a fire extinguisher. Brent and Jamie ran to the four-plex and began knocking on windows. When they got no response, the crew entered the building and began evacuating apartments. The crew encountered a man who held two small children in his arms. He told them that there was another child, an infant, still inside. They told the man to leave and went in to get the baby. By this time, the smoke was so thick there was less than one foot of visibility. Mike ran into the bedroom in search of the baby. He found the child on the bed, wrapped him in a blanket and left the burning building. The LES crew’s bravery insured that all the apartment’s residents escaped the fire unharmed.

Officer Vicki Bourg (posthumous)

Mentor/Role Model

Vicki Bourg joined the police department in 1996, and quickly developed into an excellent police officer. Early in her career, she became a field training officer, responsible for training new recruits into skilled police officers. In 2001, she was named Field Officer of the Year. In 2003, she became the North Star High School Resource Officer. Vicki’s interpersonal skills and warm demeanor enabled crime victims to open up to her. For eight years, Vicki battled cancer, but she seldom let it get her down. Students at North Star held a fundraiser on her behalf, selling baseball caps bearing her name and pink ribbons. On her 40th birthday in October 2010, the North Star band welcomed her arrival at a special birthday party and the choir sang ‘Happy Birthday.’ Vicki lost her battle with cancer in January 2011. Chief Tom Casady said about Vicki, “Her legacy is the people whose lives she touched—victims, co-workers, new recruits, students, friends, a school, a community, this department.” We present this award to Vicki’s family in recognition of her incredible work as a mentor and role model to everyone she touched.

 

  Contributing Sponsors
BKD, LLP
Brester Construction
Davis Design
Sampson Construction
West Gate Bank

Corporate Table Sponsors

Corporate Partners
Abel Foundation
Archer Daniels Midland
Duteau Chevrolet
Frontier Bank
Reg Kuhn
Lester Electrical
Lincoln Benefit Life
Mapes Industries
NAI FMA Realty
Nebraska Book Company Nelnet
Peed Foundation
Pinnacle Bank
Radcliffe & Associates
Runza Restaurants
Scheels All Sports
Security First
Sysco Food Services Co.
US Bank
Walmart & Sam’s Club