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Integrity Headlines
Integrity Employee Receives Award for Saving Boy from Drowning
Shannon Gerwick, Business Builders Development Manager, was recently awarded with the Good Samaritan Individual Award from the American Red Cross of the Heartland during its fourth annual “Saluting Our Heroes” event. Shannon saved the life of a boy who was in distress at a local pool over the summer.
Following is the full article as it appeared in the November 7, 2008 issue of the Pantagraph
American Red Cross honors local heroes
Firefighting was Brian Munz's passion. "He was never one to leave Fairbury," said his mother, Karen Munz. "He was scared he would miss a call." On July 22, Munz, 24, a volunteer firefighter, died fighting a house fire in Forrest.
On Thursday, he posthumously received the Public Service Award from the American Red Cross of the Heartland during its fourth annual Saluting Our Heroes event, attended by 310 people at the DoubleTree Hotel & Conference Center.
“I’m just very proud of him,” Karen Munz said after the event.
Receiving the Good Samaritan Group Award were the Friends of Adam Denzer. Accepting the award was Denzer’s widow, Marie Denzer.
Adam Denzer, a Danvers hog farmer, died in a farming accident on Jan. 23. Denzer, 43, was well-known in 4-H and in Unit 5 schools, where he was a bus dispatcher and a regular at sporting events.
On March 9, about 100 friends came to the farm owned by his father, Wally Denzer, to do spring clean-ing.
“It was amazing to see how many lives Adam touched,” Marie Denzer said. “So many people were will-ing to lend a helping hand.”
Also receiving awards were:
• Dan Lane of Washington, Ambassador Award, for saving the life of a pilot whose crop-dusting plane crashed.
• U.S. Air Force Major Eric Cook of Clinton, Armed Forces Award, for donating clothes and soccer balls to children while he was serving in Afghanistan.
• Shannon Gerwick of Normal, Good Samaritan Individual Award, for saving the life of a young boy in distress at a local pool.
• Tom Jackson of Cooksville, Health & Safety Award, for performing an abdominal thrust to save the life of a Bloomington Junior High School student who was choking on a pen cap.
• Kathleen Sprinkle of Bloomington, Volunteer Award, for overseeing the Community Wig Bank for cancer survivors at Fox & Hounds Hair Studio and Day Spa.
• Preston Brown of Towanda, Youth Award, for rallying businesses and groups to donate items for his birthday boxes for area troops deployed in Iraq.
• Donna Thomas of Normal, WJBC Don Munson Spirit of McLean County Award, for passing out homemade sandwiches and other food to homeless people in Bloomington at 5:30 a.m. each weekday.
Integrity Headlines
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