Twelve Local Heroes To Be Honored By The American Red Cross of Greater Chicago
  

The American Red Cross of Greater Chicago will pay tribute to 12 local heroes at its annual Heroes Breakfast on April 23, 2009 at The Fairmont Hotel in Chicago.  The program will begin at 7:30 a.m.  These heroes are being honored for courageously performing a variety of heroic acts including: rescuing family members and fellow Chicagoans from drowning, creating city-wide emergency networks and preventing crimes, performing CPR to save peoples lives and building safe havens for Chicago’s underprivileged youth and military veterans.

The American Red Cross of Greater Chicago is proud to honor the following heroes:

• William Osborn of Winnetka, Chairman of Northern Trust Corporation, will be honored with the prestigious Heritage Award for being a leader whose contributions have greatly enhanced the welfare of our community.
• Joe Geinosky of Brookfield and Michael Williams of Bolingbrook will receive the Adult Good Samaritan hero award for chasing, confronting and ultimately capturing a robber who had terrorized a fellow Chicagoan.
• Mandi Vinson of New Lenox will receive the Youth Good Samaritan hero award for courageously saving her family members from drowning in the Mississippi River’s undercurrent. Mandi was not only able to help her father put on a life jacket, but also use her techniques as a Red Cross trained lifeguard to rescue her uncle.
• Connie Polke of Geneva will receive the Disaster Relief hero award.  Polke has been an integral partner of The American Red Cross Chapter of Greater Chicago’s disaster preparedness and response plan. She not only founded the Collaborative Healthcare Urgency Group (CHUG) to educate people about evacuation plans, especially focusing on the needs of vulnerable and disabled people, but she tirelessly campaigned for adequate housing for a special needs victim of the DesPlaines River flooding in September 2008.
  Brian Otto of Chicago will receive the Firefighter hero award for his bravery while saving a toddler from drowning in Belmont Harbor last April. 
• Bob Adams of Wheaton will receive the Military hero award for his tireless efforts on behalf of veterans.  In 2007, he founded the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans, a shelter which provides veterans with the help they need to return to useful and productive lives, with medical and psychological treatment, education and job training.
• Irving Ibarez of Chicago will receive the Emergency Medical Assistance hero award.  Irving was at work when his coworker and friend collapsed beside him. After assessing the situation and determining the person was not breathing, he began performing CPR and saved his friend.
• Joseph Kellman of Chicago will receive the Citizenship hero award for serving Chicagoland’s underprivileged youth through his educational and community centers, the Better Boys Foundation and Kellman Corporate Community School. Kellman is a successful businessman who returned to his neighborhood of Norht Lawndale to offer families a continuum of support for their children, from preschool all the way through high school.  
• Paul J. Adams III of Chicago will receive the Community Impact hero award for his work serving a community beset by poverty, crime, violence, and sparse educational opportunities.  For more than 30 years, Adams has been an educational ambassador for the Garfield Park neighborhood.  His school, Providence St. Mel, consistently sends one hundred percent of the graduating seniors to four-year colleges and universities.
• Dr. Geraldine Gorman, RN, of Chicago will receive the inaugural Nurse Hero award for her humanitarian efforts.  She shows unbounded creativity and commitment to inspiring students, faculty and practicing nurses to be the best that they can be and to the provision of high quality nursing and health care to all.
• Officer Richard Francis (posthumous award) will be honored with the Law Enforcement Hero award. Officer Francis gave his life while he was on duty in July 2008. For 27 years, his sacrifice and service made Chicago a safer place.  

“We have many heroes among us. They draw on deep reservoirs of courage and commitment, but they also rely on training, education and experience to guide their actions,” said Fran Maher, chief executive officer of the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago. “The Heroes Breakfast is our way of honoring these exceptional individuals who, in addition to their courageous response efforts, inspire others to impart good will on their community.” 

The American Red Cross of Greater Chicago’s 2009 Hero Awards were generously sponsored by: Aon Corporation, Aramark, CDW Corporation, CNA Corporation, ComEd, Hewitt Associates, NES Rentals Holdings, Inc., Northern Trust Corporation, USG Corporation, and W. W. Grainger, Inc.  The Heroes Breakfast is presented by W.W. Grainger, Inc. Kirkland & Ellis LLP serves as the Breakfast sponsor.
 
MEDIA ONLY- To interview any of our heroes please contact Martha Carlos at 312-729-6204 or 312-907-0520 or CarlosM@usa.redcross.org.