Whelen Everyday Champion

Since 1988, Sandy has been a member of the Volunteer Fire Department in Clinton, Connecticut, and has devoted countless hours to various fundraising and outreach events including fundraiser walks for cancer relief, toy drives and holiday events for children in foster care and giving trees for pediatric patients at the hospital where she works full-time as a patient care technician.

When asked what motivates her to serve, Sandy says simply, “It’ s just our way of life,” referring to her husband, 4 children, 14 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren with whom she shares her love of volunteer work. It was her granddaughter, Autumn, that nominated Sandy saying she is “...kind, loving, and always puts others before herself.” It was this commitment to selfless service and her tireless efforts to give back to her community that earned Sandy the title of 2023 Whelen Everyday Champion.

The paramedicine team, the only one of its kind in Kentucky and one of only a few across the country, uses traditional EMS resources in a non-traditional manner to meet the needs of the community. The team works to connect the dots between struggling community members and the resources available to help them like dispatching paramedics, but not ambulances, to patients who frequently call 911 for non-emergent reasons because they don’t have anyone else to call.

The small team, formed in 2017, impacts hundreds of individuals in Lexington each year. So far this year they’ve served more than 468 unique individuals and have followed up with more than 1,300 people suffering from non- fatal overdoses. “Community paramedicine is a win for everyone, especially the citizens whose quality of life is often improved through the services,” Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton has said in the past. The team is available seven days a week and provides training and guidance to other local first responders including firefighters, paramedics, and police officers on available resources to help the individuals they respond to.

Sergeant March has been dedicated to serving his community of Mobile, Alabama for over 20 years as a member of the police department and by founding the nonprofit organization Cops for Kids. He has impacted hundreds of children through his outreach efforts and is a beloved member of the community. Affectionately known as the “Dancing Cop,” from his enthusiastic participation in community events, March spreads joy and inspires connection between police officers and the youth of Mobile.

March’ s community members describe him as a local hero who devotes countless hours of his personal time developing positive relationships between local children and the police. He attends sporting events and school activities, makes hospital visits and organizes charitable events for children. “Sgt. March is a selfless and compassionate human, living a life of service for our children,” said Alisa Loper from Mobile.

Andre Harris rescued an infant from a burning vehicle on the night of July 27, 2018.

He was driving his tow truck back from a call when he took a detour due to a local fire department closing off a road to fight a house fire. Driving down Route 171 in Northport, Alabama, he saw a woman in the road frantically trying to flag him down. Off the shoulder and down a small hill, he noticed a car overturned and in flames. Jumping out of his truck, he asked if anyone was still inside. The woman told him her 7-month-old baby was trapped in the vehicle. She had gotten the infant out of his car seat but could not get him out of the car. The smoke was so dense that difficult for him to keep his eyes open as he felt around for the infant. The fire had increased in intensity, and he could feel the baby’s ankle. He pulled him out and cradled him in his left arm, running back up the hill to his mother. Worried that the car would burst into flames, he ushered them safely behind his tow truck.

On July 4, 2018, a bolt of lightning shot across the sky during the fireworks display in Sheridan, Illinois as St. Charles Fire Captain Darin Peterson andhis wife were sitting in their car. It hit a tree about 30 feet away. Peterson immediately ran toward the tree, where he found an 18-year-old male incardiac arrest, a victim of the lightning strike. As Peterson began CPR, Eric Watkins, a paramedic from the Plainfield Fire Protection District, joined himto help. As the two off-duty paramedics worked together to save the teen, they heard a blood-curdling scream. A 4-year-old girl had also been hit andwas unresponsive, laying on the ground. Peterson ran to help her while Watkins continued CPR on the first victim.

Both victims survived, largely in part to the quick response from both men and their administration of CPR in the first crucial minutes. They stronglyencourage everyone to learn CPR and educate themselves on storm safety.

After the funeral and interment services for Fire Fighter/Medic Lieutenant John “Skillet” Ulmschneider, Assistant Fire Chief Darren Ware saw a burning car on the side of the road in Brandywine, MD, and rushed to aid the woman inside. Retired Deputy Fire Chief Tyrone Wells saw Chief Ware running alongside the road and also noticed the vehicle.

During the initial extrication attempt, the driver pushed the accelerator, causing her vehicle to move forward and further down the embankment. The position of the vehicle prevented extrication from the driver’s side of the vehicle, but they were able to gain access and pull her through the passenger window.

In March of 2016, Officer Brandi Kamper of the Fort Worth PD rushed to the aid of fellow Officer Matt Pearce who was shot seven times when in pursuitof a fugitive. Kamper served in the U.S. Army as a combat medic, and she and a SWAT officer entered a thickly wooded area to locate Pearce.

Dressed in civilian clothing and with no weapons or body armor, Officer Kamper immediately began assessing and triaging Officer Pearce’s injuries,despite the danger of being in an open area. She applied a tourniquet to his leg, used a pressure bandage on his arm, and dressed three bulletwounds on his chest and shoulder. Kamper, along with other officers then carried Pearce up a wet, muddy hill to get him to a helicopter.

“We were just driving down St. Clair and just happened to see it,” said firefighter Rich Petras. “We were just talking, driving to go pick up somebodyand just happened to look over and saw the fire.”

By the time they arrived, the first floor was already engulfed in flames. “There were numerous neighbors and what not on the street alerting us to thefact that there were children in the home,” said firefighter Ron Vargo. A 10-year-old boy was trapped in his bedroom as the firefighters scrambled to put on their gear. “We heard him screaming for only a short period,” said firefighter David Shantery. Shantery and Vargo were able to get to the boy, who was soon unconscious, and brought him out. At the same time, firefighter Kenneth Guyton was at the back of the home, helping the boy’s 8-year-old sister who had jumped to save herself.

On a cold October morning in 2013, a car careened off I-90 in Ellensburg, Washington and crashed into a freezing pond. There was one man inside the vehicle.

When Trooper Jay Farmer responded to the emergency call, he immediately began to plan for a water rescue. Armed with a baton, Farmer entered the frigid pond, and a bystander jumped in to help as well. Trooper Farmer and the bystander swam out to the vehicle where it was nearly fully submerged. Farmer broke the passenger window with his baton and could hear the driver yelling for help from underwater. From the roof of the vehicle Farmer was able to pop the door open and free the driver from his seat belt, and the two men helped him ashore.