Huntington Man, Shelton's Echo Hose Fire to Receive Hero Awards from American Red Cross

Red Cross Announces Heroes Honorees

Heroes Breakfast Set for Friday, January 30, in Stamford

FARMINGTON, CONN., December 4, 2014 – The American Red Cross announced honorees for its 16th annual Community Heroes Breakfast, to be held January 30 in Stamford. The honorees represent individuals and organizations that have made a life-saving or life-changing difference in their communities.

The American Red Cross Community Heroes Breakfast will be held on Friday, January 30, in Stamford at the Stamford Marriott Hotel and Spa, 243 Tresser Boulevard. Breakfast is served at 7:30 a.m. Registration begins at 7:00 a.m. Tickets for the event are $40. Wells Fargo is Statewide Leadership Sponsor.

“The Heroes Breakfast is an inspiring highlight of the year for us,” said American Red Cross Connecticut and Rhode Island Region CEO Mario Bruno. “The people and organizations we are honoring do extraordinary things. They represent the best in the human spirit and reflect the Red Cross ideal of helping others.”

This year’s honorees are:

· Workplace Hero Award: General Electric, for its commitment to supporting American Red Cross disaster relief work and programs as well as its outstanding philanthropic and volunteer commitment to communities across Connecticut and the nation.

· Life Saving Award: Town of Westport employees Ian Chasnow, David Ellis and Joseph Bairaktaris for their quick thinking and collaborative actions in saving the life of a co-worker who suffered a heart attack at work.

· Community Resilience Award: The City of Norwalk, for its multiple programs to better support its citizens and strengthen its infrastructure in disaster preparedness, response and recovery.

· Military Hero Award: Alfred Meadows, of Huntington, a U.S. Army veteran, Purple Heart Medal recipient and founder of “Operation Gift Cards,” which has presented more than 17,000 thank you kits valued at more than $800,000 to wounded troops and additional military support groups.

· Spirit of the Red Cross Award: The Echo Hose Hook & Ladder Company 1, in Shelton, for their extraordinary work at a major fire in Shelton, in which they successfully evacuated 28 residents from the building, directly rescuing five of those residents. In the days after the fire, the fire company became a central point of coordination to support the recovery needs for the building residents.

· Water Safety Award: Brenda Moratoya, of Stamford, for her role in saving a drowning swimmer off Cummings Beach in Stamford last summer.

Bruno said the Heroes celebration provides the community to recognize the good works of others while celebrating and supporting the mission of the American Red Cross. “Nearly 96% of the American Red Cross workforce is made up of volunteers who work every day to change lives and save lives. They are everyday people doing extraordinary things, like the heroes we will honor on January 30.”

The American Red Cross Community Heroes Breakfast is set for Friday, January 30, at the Stamford Marriott Hotel & Spa, 243 Tresser Boulevard, Stamford. Statewide Leadership Sponsor is Wells Fargo. Registration is at 7:00 a.m. and breakfast is served at 7:30 a.m. Tickets are $40 each and must be purchased in advance. To purchase tickets online, visit www.redcross.org/ct/heroes. For more information about the event or to reserve tickets contact Melissa Fazzio at (860) 678-2724 or email him at Melissa.Fazzio@redcross.org.

About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org/ct or visit us on Twitter at @CTRedCross.

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