Be A Hero

For Nasir Ahmad, deployment was nothing new. As an Air Force veteran, he'd been on multiple deployments. But this his first as a member of the American Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces team was new territory for him. 

In this episode five Red Cross disaster responders from Northern Ohio talk about how they helped people impacted by hurricanes Helene and Milton during the early autumn of 2024.  

Officers Holly Alferio and Alexis Dixon of the Avon, Ohio police department saved the life of a choking child on Halloween in 2023.  They have been chosen as winners of a 2024 Hero Award, presented by the American Red Cross of North Central Ohio.  On this episode, the officers explain how they came across a panicked mother on the side of the road, as they were on their way to pass out candy.

Jerry Klear and Bob Verhoff teamed up to save a physically-challenged woman and her young granddaughter from a home fire in rural Ottawa County, and for their heroics, they are receiving a 2024 Hero Award from the American Red Cross of North Central Ohio.  Jerry was driving by when he noticed smoke coming from the home, and Bob is a niehgbor who also saw the fire.  They describe what they did and why.

A team effort helped save a young driver who fell asleep behind the wheel and flipped his car into a water-filled ditch.  The first bystander to stop called 9-1-1, while two others broke a window in an attempt to pull the driver out of the upside down car. Deputy Dylan Rohrbaugh and Lt. Craig Ritz of the Erie County, Ohio Sheriff's Department arrived shortly thereafter, and describe the way in which they were able to save the driver.  All three bystanders and the two law enforcement officers will be presented with Hero Awards on October 23, 2024 from the American Red Cross of North Central Ohio.

September is National Preparedness Month. The American Red Cross encourages residents to get ready for disasters by making a plan to stay safe, gathering important supplies and knowing how you'll stay connected.  19 News Meteorologist Jeff Tanchak explains the current weather patterns that may have a bearing on what kind of winter we should expect in Northern Ohio.

Five years following a bone marrow transplant and a lot of blood and platelet transfusiojns, Charlotte Rerko remains cancer free.  But it was a challenging journey, made possible only because of generous blood and platelet donors.  Charlotte talks about her journey with Red Cross communicators Jim McIntyre and Christy Peters of the Northern Ohio Region.

Tim Graichen witnessed a violent car crash while on his way back to Akron from a work event in Tennessee.  He used his Red Cross First Aid and CPR training to help save the life of the driver, who showed no signs of life at the scene of the crash.  Tim talks about performing CPR for more than 15 minutes, his worry over being contaminated with the stranger's blood, and what became of the driver he assisted.

She's the Sandra Bullock of the Akron Fire Department.  If you're familiar with the movie Speed, Terra's harrowing story of survival will be familiar to you.  If not - just wait until you hear this veteran firefighter/paramedic calmly recount the scary seconds that could have meant life or death for her and her partner when the ambulance she was riding in went out of control. "I'm pretty sure that our ambulance is gonna need a new set of brakes, along with some body work," Terra said during the interview.  She is a 2024 Acts of Courage Award Winner, sponsored by the American Red Cross of Greater Akron and the Mahoning Valley.

Three students of the Kent State University School of Nursing helped save a man in distress in downtown Wooster, Ohio.  The man was experiencing a violent seizure when students Audrey Jokovich, Keenan Orr, and Marissa Tyger happened to be walking by as they were working on a school assignment.  They provided aid and obtained valuable information about the patient before EMS arrived on the scene.  All three credit their Red Cross Basic Life Support training for helping them know what to do and how to stay calm in a very stressful situation.  Hosted by Jim McIntyre, Regional Communications Director of the American Red Cross of Northern Ohio (and proud KSU grad - class of '81.)

Hannah Stein saved a woman from drowning in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and Jenna Omar performed abdominal thrusts in her school cafeteria to save a fellow seventh-grader.  Both tell their stories to Jim McIntyre and Christy Peters of the Red Cross Communications Department.

Summit County Sherrif's deputy Brian Gorham and Don Sedlock, a bystander who spotted a fire in his neighborhood teamed up to help rescue an elderly man who was trapped in the home, and have been named Acts of Courage award winners for 2024 in the Greater Akron and the Mahoning Valley chapter. Red Cross Communicators Christy Peters and Jim McIntyre of the Northern Ohio Region get their story, and talk to Brunswick Fire Chief Greg Glauner about the importance of the partnershipp with the Red Cross to end home fires.

Dylan Fink, who underwent treatment for non-hodgkin's lymphoma at age 14, talks about the importance of having an adequate blood supply for patients like him.  His treatment included multiple blood transfusions.  He's joined by his father, Ed Fink, who with wife Krista started the Fearless Fighters Foundation. Red Cross biomedical expert Christy Peters sheds light on the reasons for the current blood shortage and ways to end it.  Hosted by Jim McIntyre, regional communications manager for tghe American Red Cross of Northern Ohio.

Regional Communications Director Jim McIntyre is joined by Mike Parks, CEO of the American Red Cross of Northern Ohio, Emily Probst, Regional Disaster Officer, and Rebecca Siedler, a Red Cross volunteer as they discuss a number of disaster responses that took place in the region and across the country in 2023.

Petty Officer Nathaniel Howard, a Boatswain's Mate Second Class based at the United States Coast Guard Station Cleveland Harbor was off-duty and out to dinner with his girlfriend (soon-to-be fiance') when he was unexpectedly pressed into action.  He rescued a wife and husband who were floating helplessly in the rushing Cuyahoga River in April, 2022.  It's as much a cautionary tale as it is a harrowing story that would likely have had a much different outcome had Petty Officer Hoaward taken his girlfirend somewhere else for dinner that night!

Several people were honored with 2023 American Red Cross of Northeast Ohio Hero Awards, after pulling people out of their burning homes.  Amazon driver John Davis, Ubert East driver Christopher Baldwin, Euclid police officers Trevor Thomas and George Harper, and several members of the Cleveland Rams semi-pro football team describe the actions that led to their Hero Awards.  Host:  Jim McIntyre, Regional Communications Director, American Red Cross of Northern Ohio.

Two Toledo firefighters - both athletes - were pressed into service at separate times in 2022 to save a life.  Jim Schule is a lieutenant and a hockey player on a 50-and-over league, and helped save the life of a fellow hockey player.  Firefighter Miles Copleland plays semi-pro basketball and helped save  the life of a referee.  Both used their CPR skills, and the stories both athletes share in this episode are testaments to the benefit of knowing how to perform CPR and to use an AED.  

Johna Rushlow and Kim Murray were not on duty, but were at home, enjoying a mild December evening when their flight attendant training kicked-in, as they rescued a neighbor from his burning home.  As a result, the neighbor is alive and well, and Johna and Kim are recipients of Acts of Courage Awards from the American Red Cross of Western Lake Erie.

Hundreds of responders helped injured and stranded motorists in blizzard-like conditions on the Ohio Turnpike on December 23, 2022.  The Red Cross of Western Lake Erie is recognizxing them with the first-ever First Responder award, to be presented at the Acts of Courage Award dinner on April 27, 2023.  Three of those responders are featured on this episode - Trooper Andrew Lash of the Ohio Highway Patrol, Captain Ben Quaintence of the Freemont, Ohio Fire Department, and Lora Taylor, Disaster Program Manager for the Red Cross of North Central Ohio. The Executive Director of the Red Cross of Western Lake Erie joins Regional Communications Director Jim McIntyre as they learn of the heroic actions of so many firsr responders.

Red Cross volunteer Coleen Kulkin provided assistance to people in Mississippi following a rash of tornadoes in the spring of 2023.  She describes the heartbreak and the hope she witnessed in this episode.

Sisters Nicole and Lindsey Bechter performed CPR and used an AED on a fallen volleyball player while they were working as referees at Clutch Lanes in Cuyahoga Falls last summer.  They talk about the ordeal, and update the condition of the fallen player.

An Akron police officer who ran into a burning house, and the Akron firefighter/paramedic who arrived a short time later talk about their harrowing experience trying to save a disabled woman from the home.  And two Akron school teachers describe their separate but similar experiences helpingh choking children.  Hosts:  Jim McIntyre and Christy Peters, American Red Cross regional communicators.

Part one of our Hero interviews. Bus driver Jim Kuhn explains how he reacted when a passenger passed out at the door of his bus, likely saving the passenger's life.  And five-year old Easton Spann talks about helping his grandmother after she suffered a seizure.  Both are among the winners of the 2023 Acts of Courage Awards presented by the American Red Cross of Greater Akron and the Mahoning Valley

American Red Cross CPR Instructor Erin Hosek explains how to perform the lifesaving skill, how to use an AED, and how to help someone who's choking.

Red Cross volunteer Lisa Mize of Huron, Ohio and employee Jill Patterson reflect on their experiences during their first-ever deployment to a disaster response.  They both went, at different times, to Florida to help people who had been affected by Hurricane Ian.

Jamell Fetter, an employee of the Estes Express Lines terminal in Toledo was recently honored by the American Red Cross with a Lifesaving Award for Extraordinary Personal Action.  This episode features Jamell explaining how he was able to perform lifesaving CPR on a coworker, despite having no formal training.  Also featured, the coworker whose life was saved, and the Director of Corporate Training and Development for Estes Express Lines, who explains how this episode inspired a corporate-wide initiative to have the Red Cross teach FIrst Aid/CPR/AED skills to employees.

Four employees of the Giant Eagle supermarket in Boardman, Ohio are being honored with an Acts of Courage award for using CPR and an AED to save the life of a five-year old girl.

As a freshman at Hubbard High School, Baron Reynolds recognized a classmate in trouble and stepped up, performing abdominal thrusts to clear his choking friend's airway.  This enthusiastic young man equates his act of courage to that of a superhero. 

The first-responder team at Classic Optical in Liberty Township, Trumbull County responded when a coworker collapsed in April of 2022.  Thanks to their First Aid/CPR/AED training, Bill Mikesell, Chris Hartzell and superviror Frank Zagotti helped save a life that day.  They tell their story in this episode.

High School student Alexis Starnes is the winner of a Certificate of Merit, the highest honor bestowed by the American Red Cross on someone who used their Red Cross training to save or sustain a life.  On this episode, Alexis is joined by Erin Hosek, the Red Cross instructor who taught Alexis the lifesaving skills she used to help save the life of an infant.  Hosted by Jim McIntyre, Regional Communications Director, American Red Cross of Northern Ohio.

The winners of the 2022 Acts of Courage Awards hosted by the American Red Cross of Northwest Ohio describe the events that made them award winners.

Mike Thome, Division Vice President of the American Red Cross Central Atlantic Division and Emily Fortman, Division Disaster Executive discuss Sound the Alarm, the nationwide effort to install 50,000 smoke alarms across the country this spring, and how the program is modeled in part after a smoke alarm program begun in Cleveland in 1992.  Mike and Emily also discuss volunteering to help with upcoming disasters and maintaining an adequate blood supply for the nation's hospitals.  Hosted by Jim McIntyre, Regional Communications Director, Red Cross of Northern Ohio.

The final three winners of the 2022 Acts of Courage Awards, hosted by the American Red Cross of Greater Akron and the Mahoning Valley tell their stories of heroism.

Barberton Middle School assistant principal Anthony Hermann explains how his training helped him save a choking student in the school cafeteria.  

Tim Haas, the assistant chief of the Brunswick Hills Fire Department and full-time firefighter and EMT with the Shaker Heights Fire Department was on vacation with his family in Mexico when he needed his knowledge of pediatric CPR to save a child's life.

Travis Shrout, a college student from Stow, Ohio explains how he was able to save a mother and her child from a rip current in the Atlantic Ocean be using the lifeguard training he receivedfrom the American Red Cross.  He is a recipient of the 2022 Acts of Courage Awards presented by the Red Cross of Greater Akron and the Mahoning Valley.

Adrienne Kapr-Ford, a Disaster Mental Health Supervisor, explains the role of the DMH worker.  She also explains how her volunteer Red Cross career began on the Disaster Action Team, responding to the immediate aftermath of home fires.  And she discusses the heartbreak of counselling people who have lost everything during last summer's wildfires in California.

Glinda Dames-Fincher, who has lived with sickle cell disease all her life, advocates for expanding the blood donor pool with more diverse donors, in order to help those with sickle cell and other diseases.

Laura Mattimoe, Michelle Nieswender, Kathy Bankowski and Beth Orgel - all volunteers from Northwest Ohio - talk about their recent experience helping people affected by the wildfires in California.

With many experts predicting an active wildfire and hurricane season, the American Red Cross is preparing to help people who will be forced to flee their homes.  In this episode, we hear from Mike Parks, Regional CEO of the Red Cross of Northern Ohio; Tim O'Toole, Regional Disaster Officer; Renee Palagyi, Regional Senior Disaster Program Manager; and Christy Peters, Regional Communications Manager.  They will explain the positions being sought and reveal how potential volunteers can apply to help people in their own communities and across the country.

The American Red Cross is experiencing a severe blood shortage as the number of trauma cases, organ transplants and elective surgeries rise – and deplete the nation's blood inventory. Jim McIntyre and Christy Peters of the American Red Cross of Northern Ohio are joined by Dr. Christine Schmotzer, Vice Chair of System Pathology Operations and Co-Director of University Hospitals Diagnostic Institute.  Dr. Schmotzer is also Medical Director of University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, and she shares her considerable expertise in describing why there's a blood shortage and why donors are in such high demand.

Dr. Joanne McKell and nurse Anita White of the Cleveland VA Medical Center discuss the adjustments that were necessary due to the challenges of treating their patients during the COVID -19 pandemic.  And Kristin Warzochka of the Greater Cleveland Foodbank talks about the challenges and adjustments her organization had to make to keep feeding families.

Interviews with three of the winners of the 2021 Northeast Ohio Hero awards are featured on this episode.  Jackie Otte is a long-time Red Cross disaster mental health volunteer, and talks about how she and her team of licensed professionals - all volunteers - have helped people cope during the COVID era.  And Allen Morinec and Michael Kuznik describe the way they roused a neighboring family from their home after spotting flames and smoke.

Two Red Cross blood drive partners - the Cuyahoga County Public Library System and Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse were honored with 2021 Hero Awards for continuing to host blood drives throughout the pandemic.  And Brandon Chrostowski of Edwins Leadership and Restaurant Institute is the non-profit partners featured on this episode.  He helps teach formerly incarcerated men and women the restaurant business and life skills.

The host of the virtual 2021 Northeast Ohio Hero Awards, veteran journalist Leon Bibb, divulges his Red Cross story, which begins at the beginning of his life.  The Army veteran also talks about the day he interviewed President Obama, and how race relations have changed since his father served in a segregated Army.

George Sortino has recovered from a severe case of COVID-19, and he credits a transfusion of convalescent plasma for pulling him through.  Debbi Grinstein recovered from a mild case, and donated her plasma to help others.  George and Debbi tell their stories here.

On October 24, 2020, Gail Renfro heard a smoke alarm sound in her bedroom - a smoke alarm installed by the Red Cross four years earlier.  Her home was destroyed that day, and the smoke alarm is being credited with saving her life.  In this episode, Gail is reunited with the Red Cross personnel who installed the alarm.

5 Red Cross volunteers who physically deployed to help victims of large-scale disasters in 2020 talk about their experiences. Mahogany Coward, Jani Memorich, Callene Derrick, Monica Bunner and Debby Levison tell us where they went, what they did to help people, and what they did to stay safe in the era of COVID-19.

Jessica Tischler, Regional Service to the Armed Forces Program Director, explains the vital services provided by the American Red Cross to members of the military, veterans and their families.  And Jessica Franco, SAF volunteer, explains her role and her reason for volunteering to help the armed forces through the Red Cross.

Kim Kroh, executive director of the American Red Cross of Heartland, Stark and Muskingum Lakes is joined by disaster program manager Tim Reichel and volunteers Tom Johnson, Dan Best and Brook Harless, who tells a compelling story about the reason she became a Red Cross volunteer.

Todd James, the executive director of the American Red Cross of North Central Ohio, is joined by volunteer Steve Mahler and disaster program managers Adam Warnament and Lora Taylor to highlight the service area that includes Erie, Hancock, Huron, Lorain, Putnam, Seneca, and Wyandot Counties in Ohio.