The event will take place on Tuesday, March 15 at 7:30 a.m . at the Oregon Convention Center . The event will be co-chaired by Gert Boyle, chairwoman of the board of Columbia Sportswear Company and Gerry Frank, columnist for The Oregonian and president of Gerry's Frankly Speaking. Kerry Tymchuk , state director for U.S. Senator Gordon Smith, will be master of ceremonies.
Last year's event raised almost $190,000 to support relief from residential fires and other disasters; lifesaving training such as first aid and CPR; emergency preparedness; and transportation for seniors and the disabled throughout the seven-county area served by the Oregon Trail Chapter . Tickets are still available for the event. Visit www.redcross-pdx.org or call Kristin Connolly at (503) 528-5663.
This year's Breakfast of Champions will continue the Oregon Trail Chapter's tradition of celebrating a wide range of heroic acts – from well-known acts of courage to individuals who have not yet been recognized by the community for reaching out to help.
Seven hero stories were chosen from 30 nominations, by a ion committee representing business and organizations in the community. The 2005 Breakfast of Champions heroes include:
WILDERNESS HERO – presented by Spirit Media
Robert Saari – Rosburg , Washington
Around the northern Oregon and southern Washington coast, Robert Saari is the man local folks call to help remove trees. But on one night in October 2004, Saari's expert skills at climbing trees saved another man's life. Stuck among the branches of one of the tallest trees on a ridge overlooking Ecola State Park near Seaside was OHSU emergency physician Charles Phillips. Phillips, a paraglider for 12 years, had to crash-land into the tree's branches after being suddenly blown off course by a mighty gust of wind. Hanging from the fragile branches by the threads of his chute, Phillips looked down. It was more than 100 feet to the ground. Rescuers on land and in a Coast Guard helicopter could not safely reach him. Twenty minutes after he arrived, Saari climbed about 140 feet up the tree and made his way next to Phillips. Saari tied together a rescue rope and helped Phillips to the ground.
ADULT GOOD SAMARITANS – presented by Fred Meyer
Kathleen Imel – Beaverton
Matt and Tracy Woods – Aloha
Joshua Pia-Perez couldn't run fast enough from them. The little boy was chased down on a July 2004 morning by two pit bulls in his Aloha neighborhood. And they showed no mercy. Joshua was being bitten badly, wounded on his head, face, arms, hands, side and stomach. Kathleen Imel, from Beaverton , saw Joshua being mauled and did not hesitate to come to the boy's aid. She tried fighting them off. When the dogs did not stop their relentless attack, she laid on top of Joshua in a desperate act to protect him. Imel became prey. The dogs' barking and the screams from the victims alerted the Woods that morning. Matt Woods ran out the door, saw Joshua and Imel being attacked, and grabbed a piece of aluminum to try to beat the dogs away. Tracy Woods took her shoes off and used them to stop the animals from attacking. The Woods' rescue worked. Matt Woods held the dogs until local emergency personnel arrived, while Tracy Woods rendered first aid to Imel. Joshua and Imel were taken to the hospital, but they were both alive. Imel almost lost an eye and suffered wounds to her arm, back and face. Because of her selfless act that July morning, a little boy lives today.
ANIMAL HEROES – presented by the Portland Tribune
Joey and Katie (owner Carol Markt) – West Linn
Rest and comfort for some of the young patients at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland don't come without a bedside visit from Katie and Joey. Katie the dog and Joey the cat soothe the feelings of afflicted or injured children as well as those of their anxious mothers and fathers. The beloved pet duo is part of the Dove Lewis Animal Assisted Therapy and Education program (DLAAT). Together, Katie's and Joey's effect on kids is measured by the serenity they help bring every day. If they draw just a small smile from a child, Katie's and Joey's work is done. Through tears, one grandparent told about how his granddaughter's recovery from spinal injury may have been helped along by Katie and Joey. The granddaughter, who was nervous about using a walker, overcame her fear when she realized she had to use one to get closer to the pets. The first tentative step toward rehabilitation had begun, thanks to two pets that bring out the hope and joy of children.
BLOOD HEROES – presented by Pacific Northwest Regional Blood Services
Dale Cooper – St. Helens
Frank Weber – Scappoose
Jim White – St. Helens
Dale Cooper, Frank Weber and Jim White, all paper mill workers, have combined to donate hundreds of units of blood while organizing blood drives in St. Helens and Scappoose for two decades. Since he joined Crown Zellerbach's paper mill in St. Helens in 1955, Cooper has donated blood. An Air Force veteran and 2000 First Citizen of St. Helens, Cooper continues to give – even past his retirement in 1988. He has donated a total of 121 units of blood during much of his lifetime. Weber first gave blood while with the U.S. Navy during World War II. No one knows how much blood he donated while serving in the Navy until 1962. After taking a job at Boise Cascade as a pipe fitter in 1963, he regularly chaired the mill's blood drive and encouraged his fellow employees to give. White has given 228 units of blood, which includes whole blood and platelets. The meaning of community service has been understood by White since he was in high school, where he first began donating. White worked 45 years for the St. Helens mill before retiring.
BLOOD HEROES – presented by Pacific Northwest Regional Blood Services
Bill McGinnis – Corbett
Teddy Peetz – Vancouver
Bill McGinnis and Teddy Peetz give like clockwork. When you donate platelets, timing matters. So every two weeks, these lifelong friends from Troutdale come into the Portland Apheresis Center and spend two hours of their day to donate platelets. Platelets stop severe bleeding in patients undergoing chemotherapy, bone marrow transplants or open-heart surgery. But platelets don't live long. They must be transfused within five days, whereas red blood cells can be transfused up to 42 days. That's why regular donors like McGinnis and Peetz are invaluable. Peetz first began donating blood after his students at Centennial High School challenged him to give. It didn't take long for Peetz to donate platelets as well. The two friends were unaware the other was giving platelets, until they happened to be scheduled to donate at the same time on the same day. They have given together since. Their numerous acts of generosity, their gift of life, have been felt by countless people in need.
FIRE RESPONSE HEROES – presented by Bank of the West
Nick Bramlett and Dan Pallas – Gresham
Dan Pallas and Nick Bramlett heard shouting on a night in November 2004 while watching television in Nick's apartment in Gresham. It didn't take them long to see their next door neighbor's unit on fire, and their neighbor, 85-year-old Helen Shilz, in trouble. They tried to break through Shilz's window with a fire extinguisher. It didn't work. Not giving up, they used a rock to shatter the window and enter the apartment. Shilz's cries for help guided Pallas and Bramlett as they crawled through the thick, black smoke to reach her. One of the men grabbed Shilz by the upper body, the other took her by the legs. Together, Pallas and Bramlett pulled the 85-year-old woman into the courtyard and to safety just before firefighters came to the apartment complex. Shilz was taken to the hospital and survived.
YOUTH GOOD SAMARITAN – presented by The Standard
JB Freeby – Milwaukie
JB Freeby's father, Jesse Freeby, was chasing a suspect on the run from police in his Milwaukie neighborhood in the summer of 2004 when a freak mishap occurred. While attempting to go over a fence in pursuit of the suspect, the fence collapsed. Jesse Freeby crashed to the ground headfirst. JB Freeby, then 17-years-old, rushed to his father's aid and instantly recognized the signs of a back and neck injury. Police, believing that Jesse Freeby was the suspect they were after, tried to move and arrest the injured man. But JB Freeby kept police away while attempting to stabilize his father. JB Freeby kept his father breathing and as calm as possible until emergency personnel arrived. Jesse Freeby broke bones in his back and injured his spinal cord as a result of the accident. The former defensive end from Salem 's Willamette University found himself paralyzed from the chest down.
A couple months later, JB once again found himself in a situation where his calm demeanor and swift response saved lives. At a swim meet in St. Helens , JB moved quickly into action, pulling two teens struggling in the pool. As a water safety instructor trained in first aid and CPR, JB had a dramatic impact on three lives in 2004 and is an inspiration to many.
SPORTS HEROES – presented by the American Red Cross Oregon Trail Chapter
Midge Hulihan-Meade – Sandy
Michele Kelley – Gresham
Meg Linza – Lake Oswego
Claudia Peterson – Sandy
Kevin Gladysz was refereeing a girl's soccer game, when toward the end of the match, he suddenly doubled over. He felt lightheaded, he told one of the players. Midge Hulihan-Meade, Claudia Peterson, and Michele Kelley, three ICU nurses from Sandy and Gresham, saw trouble and ran from one side of the field to check on Gladysz. CPR instructor Meg Linza, from Lake Oswego , also made her way over to him. It was about to get worse. Gladysz's legs gave, and he began to fall. Their emergency instincts kicked in, and the women immediately began CPR on the fallen referee. American Medical Response arrived shortly after, and revived Gladysz with the help of an automated external defibrillator (AED). Teaming together and working quickly, Hulihan-Meade, Peterson, Kelley and Linza saved Gladysz's life. Without the women's swift response, Gladysz also risked permanent brain damage. Gladysz is recovering and hopes to return to the field this spring.
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