Red Cross honors locals for heroic and community acts
Dave Hardman, left, presents the Youth Hero award to Sullivyn Vedaa during the American Red Cross of Northern Utah's Hero Luncheon in Ogden on Thursday, March 19, 2015. Vedaa was in a car with his grandfather when his grandfather went into diabetic shock. Vedaa, who was six years old, leaped out of the moving car and ran to a home to get help and call 911.
SYRACUSE - Sgt. Stan Penrod was the first officer to respond to the scene where an 11-year-old boy had fallen into an icy pond. He used a rope to pull the boy out of the pond. (ANDREAS RIVERA/ Standard-Examiner staff)
SYRACUSE --- Syracuse Police Sgt. Lance Call (on the left) and Officer Stan Penrod (on the right) recently received awards from the Utah Police Officer’s Association for their involvement in the ice rescue on Jensen Pond in Syracuse in January 2014.
Emily and Noelle Therstensen pose for a photo with the Thursday's print edition of the Standard-Examiner. Noelle heard an injured man crying for help while running a Standard-Examiner paper route early Thursday morning, and the two were able to find him help. (BEN LOCKHART/ Standard-examiner)
Emily and Noelle Therstensen pose for a photo with the Thursday's print edition of the Standard-Examiner. Noelle heard an injured man crying for help while running a Standard-Examiner paper route early Thursday morning, and the two were able to find him help. (BEN LOCKHART/ Standard-examiner)
Dave Hardman, left, presents the Youth Hero award to Sullivyn Vedaa during the American Red Cross of Northern Utah's Hero Luncheon in Ogden on Thursday, March 19, 2015. Vedaa was in a car with his grandfather when his grandfather went into diabetic shock. Vedaa, who was six years old, leaped out of the moving car and ran to a home to get help and call 911.
Sullivyn Vedaa, left, watches a video explain how he saved his grandfather's life during the American Red Cross of Northern Utah's Hero Luncheon in Ogden on Thursday, March 19, 2015. Vedaa, who received the Youth Hero award, was in a car with his grandfather when his grandfather went into diabetic shock. Vedaa, who was six years old, leaped out of the moving car and ran to a home to get help and call 911.
Dave Hardman, right, presents the Outstanding Community Partner award to Jeffrey Charlesworth during the American Red Cross of Northern Utah's Hero Luncheon in Ogden on Thursday, March 19, 2015. Charlesworth accepted the award on behalf of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Kym Buttschardt speaks about to importance of community service during the American Red Cross of Northern Utah's Hero Luncheon in Ogden on Thursday, March 19, 2015. Kym and her husband Pete Buttschardt, left, received the Lifetime Community Service Award.
OGDEN — Syracuse Police Sgt. Lance Call was off duty when he decided to go for a run at Jensen Park a year ago January.
While there, another police officer, Sgt. Stan Penrod, pulled up and rolled down his window next to Call.
“He told me he had been dispatched to the pond and a young man had fallen into the ice, so I followed him over,” Call said.
When they arrived, they found 11-year-old Noah Holguin struggling to stay above water. Penrod had retrieved a rope, but it wasn’t long enough to reach the boy. As he continued to step closer to the boy, the ice gave in.
“Officer Penrod fell in the pond,” Call said. “Another officer, Bill Stone, arrived on the scene with a longer rope and we were able to pull the young man out of the ice. I pulled him in and removed his clothing and dried him off with my shirt. Then I gave him a big bear hug to keep him warm until we got him transported to the hospital.”
Noah, who had been in the ice water approximately five to seven minutes, made a full recovery.
Because of their rescue efforts, the American Red Cross of Northern Utah honored the three officers Thursday with the First Responders award at the Community Heroes Recognition Event.
“We appreciate being recognized, but at the end of the day, we all got into law enforcement to help people,” Call said in an interview earlier. “We are just grateful we were there that day to save his life. We were just three guys doing our jobs.”
Several other individuals and organizations received awards as well:
— Sullivyn Vedaa received the Youth award. On Christmas Day 2013, the 6-year-old and his grandfather Ronald were driving to a relative’s home for dinner when Ronald went into diabetic shock. Sullivyn, who was sitting in the back seat, noticed his grandfather acting strangely and very sleepy. When Sullivyn realized Ronald was not responsive, he decided to jump out of the moving vehicle and run to the nearest house to call for help. Sullivyn happened to knock on the door of a man who was also a diabetic.The man was able to help Ronald until first responders could arrive at the scene. The paramedics say the boy saved his grandfather’s life by acting so quickly.
— The Good Samaritan’s award went to Emily and Noelle Thorstensen. On June 6, 2014 at 6 a.m., Thorstensen and her daughter Noelle were delivering newspapers. As Noelle was dropping off a paper, she heard someone from inside the house calling for help. She ran back and told her mother, and the two went into the home where they found Robert Calder lying in his shower. Robert had fallen, torn ligaments in his legs and had been immobilized for over seven hours. Emily and Noelle called 911 and stayed with Calder to comfort and take care of him until help arrived. Unfortunately, Calder died a month after falling, but his family knows that without the quick action of Emily and Noelle, he may have suffered for many more hours and died alone in his shower.
— Julie Rich received the International award. Rich, a geography professor at Weber State University, has served as president of the Worldwide Organization of Women. She worked with students and community partners to install wells and solar lighting in Rwanda. She provided wheelchairs and playground equipment for an orphanage in Kyrgyzstan.
In the summer of 2014, Rich and her students and community members raised $50,000 to build a women’s center in Mozambique. The group traveled to Mozambique and worked together to prepare materials on gardening and composting, first aid, hygiene and the business of raising chickens to empower the women to develop sustainable programs.
— The Military award was given to Sue Munson and the Wolf Creek Foundation. In 2006, the foundation began to support weekend retreats for families from Hill Air Force Base. The retreats provide deploying military personnel a weekend getaway for the whole family at no expense. More than 1,000 airmen and their families have had the opportunity to leave their worries behind for a few days and enjoy their families before deployment. Wolf Creek has also invited them for a complementary weekend that includes luxury second home accommodations, all meals, recreation opportunities, a structured program to help both parents and children deal with deployment issues, and a dinner dance.
— Jared Balmer and Mike Bulloch received the Educator’s award. The two worked together for years in clinical practice as therapists working with adolescents and their families. They recognized there was a need for a focused program that could help boys who were suffering from acute anxiety. Together they established the WayPoint Academy in Huntsville, which uses a specialized therapeutic approach in treating young men whose lives have been overtaken by anxiety. The accredited school has been in operation for two years, and annually serves up to 40 children and their families.
— The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints received the Special award. The American Red Cross and the LDS Church have worked together to help people in need for nearly 100 years, said American Red Cross of Northern Utah Executive Director Stephanie Christiansen. During that time the Red Cross and the humanitarian services of the LDS Church have responded to local, regional, national, and international disasters and emergencies. Over the past 30 years, the two organizations have been partners on more than 220 projects across the U.S. in which approximately 200,000 individuals have benefitted following an emergency. Nearly $10 million has been invested by LDS Charities into projects in partnership with the national Red Cross.
In 2014, the LDS Church decided to donate all the net proceeds from the theatrical release of “Meet the Mormons” to the American Red Cross.
— The Lifetime Community Service award was given to Pete and Kym Buttschardt. In 1995, the couple opened Roosters Brewing Co. in downtown Ogden.The restaurant has become an anchor in the community and contributed to the restoration effort of Historic 25th Street.