Congratulations to our 2001 Everyday Heroes! Their actions exemplify a spirit of humanitarianism their acts of courage, kindness and unselfish character.

For more information about how to become a supporter of our Everyday Heroes Awards, or to nominate a hero, call the American Red Cross Greater Ozarks Chapter at

On the morning of December 18, 2000, as Steve Williams prepared to leave his Forsyth, Missouri home for work, he was distracted by the screams of several neighborhood children. Steve�s attention immediately focused on the home of his neighbor; an elderly gentleman with Alzheimer�s who lives alone. Smoke was billowing out of the house and the elderly resident was hopelessly confused as to how to escape.

Without regard for his own personal safety, Steve began crawling through the smoke filled house in search of his neighbor. Steve called out to the gentleman �where are you?� and the gentleman replied, �I don�t know where I am�. Finally locating the gentleman in a rear bedroom, Steve attempted to enter the room, but was unable to open the door. At this point, Steve retreated from the burning home and located the resident through an outside window. By breaking the window, Steve was able to pull the gentleman to safety.

Steve�s quick but careful response made the rescue operation a success. Avoiding the dangerous smoke by staying low to the ground as he entered and exited the burning home kept Steve safe. His clear-headedness in locating the trapped resident from the outside proved to be the key to the successful rescue. 

Although the home was a total loss, Steve courageously rescued his neighbor without a second thought. Everyone should have a neighbor like Steve; he truly is an Everyday Hero.

Steve Koehler Adult Hero Sponsored by KY3

Sometimes the opportunity to make a difference in someone�s life boldly confronts us, and sometimes, opportunistic circumstances have to be pieced together. Two people have experienced life-threatening situations where the outcome was positive because Steve Koehler acted on the opportunities to make a difference.

Before the start of a Southwest Missouri State University basketball game one Friday night, Steve stopped by the media room to visit with reporters, game officials and school personnel. Former Greenwood High School Basketball Coach Larry Atwood choked on the chicken he was eating. Steve approached the opportunity after Larry was unsuccessful in coughing up the lodged food. Positioning himself behind Larry, Steve began administering abdominal thrusts more commonly known as the Heimlich maneuver. When the first thrusts were unsuccessful, Steve repositioned his hands and continued his life-saving efforts. The lodged food was finally expelled and Larry regained his color and the ability to breathe again. Fortunately for Larry, this blatant opportunity presented itself to Steve who knew exactly what needed to be done.

On one of the coldest days when the wind chill was well below zero, Steve went out of his way to make a difference in the life of a child. When other motorist passed by a twelve-year old boy walking along a busy street on a miserable winter day, Steve pieced together several factors to determine that this child needed his help. This child wore no hat, coat, gloves or even socks. His jeans and long-sleeved t-shirt were little protection from the bitter cold. Steve convinced the boy to get out of the cold, determined the circumstances for the child�s predicament and drove him home. Steve then notified authorities to check on the well being of the child in the future. Many other motorists had passed this child on this particular day, but Steve was the Everyday Hero who stopped.

Jeff Trokey Fire Hero Sponsored by Greater Ozarks Chapter Disaster Services

Even a combat lifesaving course didn�t prepare Jeff Trokey for the situation he found himself in one day last June. A Camden county woman was trapped in her vehicle after it veered off the side of the road, hit a tree, flipped and caught fire. On his way to work Jeff happened upon the accident and stopped to assist the passenger trapped in her car that was now engulfed in flames.

When other stopped motorists warned Jeff that an attempt to enter the flaming vehicle was too dangerous, Jeff continued his rescue attempt. All the windows were closed and the woman was screaming for help. Unable to open any of the doors, Jeff broke out the rear car window, covered himself with a blanket secured from another passerby and scrambled over the back seat to reach the victim. Taking the blanket from around himself, Jeff covered the burning woman with the blanket and pulled her out of the car through the back window.

The seriously burned woman was screaming for her baby and Jeff noticed a child car seat in the car and again ran to the car. Failing to locate a child, Jeff returned to the woman�s side who was then able to recall that she had just dropped off the child at the sitters.

The woman was airlifted to a local hospital with severe injuries, and both of her legs had to be amputated. Because Jeff Trokey stopped his car that day, and because he didn�t give up one family still has a wife and mother. This is what real heroes do everyday.

Patricia Grassa Educator Hero Sponsored by Meek�s Building Center

All children can learn. There is not a classroom where this statement is more truthful than in the classroom of teacher Patricia Grassa. One parent notes that �there are good teachers and then there is Patricia Grassa.� As a teacher of students with learning disabilities, Patricia recognizes all the needs of all of her students and makes it her personal mission to see that these needs are met. Her students are part of the Business Assisted Student Education (BASE) program that allows them to attend classes in the morning and work in St. John�s hospital in the afternoon. 

Patricia works with each student to identify their strengths, and instills in each one a sense of self-pride and self-confidence. Through her own love for the community Patricia�s students learn community responsibilities and how to reach their full potential, their goals, their dreams. 

Jana Wole who has a daughter in Patricia�s class for the fourth year said, �I did not want my daughter to be a �burden on society�, but I didn�t know what to do or where to go.� Jana�s daughter will graduate this May and now has a brighter future than was ever thought possible.
Although her students may never achieve high scholastic awards, in Patricia�s mind, they all have special talents and gifts that make presidential material. Going the extra mile beyond the day to day demands of teaching, Patricia helps support her students with basic daily needs such as breakfast, work clothes, transportation and even toothbrushes and toothpaste. She understands the importance of laying a foundation for her students to build on. Because of all of Patricia�s hard work there is a building boom in Springfield Pubic Schools.

This family hero emerged following the devastating death of a young mother. Agnes Crowley has unselfishly spent the last 27 months as the primary caregiver for her son�s five children. When Julie Crowley suddenly died less than seven weeks after giving birth to quadruplets, Agnes moved in with her son Jesse to provide an environment for the children that would give them consistency in their young lives as well as strong Christian values.

The children, now two-year-old quadruplets and their five-year-old big sister are thriving in all possible ways. Agnes� unwavering gift of her time, dedication and love is responsible for this. 

While Agnes lives with her son and grandchildren in Mountain Home, Arkansas, her husband Richard lives and works in Searcy, Arkansas. Agnes and Richard had purchased a new home in Searcy just one year before Julie�s death. Agnes and Richard now have a commuter marriage and visit each other on the weekends. 

Jackie Buxton, Julie�s mother, stated that she nominated Agnes as an Everyday Hero because, ��we love and appreciate Agnes for all that she has done and continues to do. This nomination gives me an opportunity to express my feelings. Thank you!�

Mitzi Huffman Medical Hero Sponsored by Greater Ozarks Chapter Health & Safety Services

Children who are physically and sexually abused in five southwest Missouri counties have Mitzi Huffman as a special advocate. Mitzi has been instrumental in opening the only rural child advocacy center in Missouri. This center provides a safe place to interview and examine child abuse victims. A licensed nurse practitioner, Mitzi previously worked with her husband in a local clinic, but her heart told her she needed to work for these children. 

Working extremely long hours for little or no pay, Mitzi chooses to continue her battle against child abuse. Spending many unpaid hours securing grants and funding to open the Child Advocacy Council has been her private mission. Mitzi is paid very little to work in the Child Advocacy Council, but could make a substantial salary working with her husband in a medical clinic. Mitzi�s dedication to the abused children of southwest Missouri has made a definite impact in her community. 

�We feel so fortunate to have Mitzi in this area and truly believe she is an angel on earth,� stated Vicki Barrett of Reeds Spring. Mitzi has been known to send medical clinic patients to the pharmacy to have their prescriptions filled, and billed to her own account. Her willingness to go the extra mile for her community and assists with any child-related projects makes her a hero. 



Jeff Criger, Dan Sims, Brian Thompson
Industrial Safety Heroes

Sponsored by Corning Cable Systems

When Dave Barrett collapsed in Litton�s central maintenance department, three men implemented their CPR training to save his life. Litton Interconnect Technologies employee Brian Thompson was the first to reach and assess Dave�s life-threatening situation. Jeff Criger, a fellow Litton employee, and Dan Sims, an outside contractor from BearCo Mechanical soon joined him. Never giving up, these men performed CPR on Dave for over 18 minutes. Witnesses explained that the efforts given by these three men was not only because they cared, but because of their Red Cross CPR training. All three focused on the task at hand, and zoned-in to work as one life-saving team.

When Dave collapsed, he hit his face causing several facial injuries. Not the typical heart attack victim they learned to resuscitate in classroom training, Dave�s facial bleeding and trauma made rescue breathing a little more complicated, but Brian, Jeff and Dan continued. Because Dave was experiencing cardiac fibrillation, a condition where the heart muscles rapidly contract and cause ineffective pumping of the blood, doctors were amazed by his survival. Dave is alive and doing well thanks to these heroes and a new pacemaker. 

CPR training in the workplace paid off. A life was saved. These three heroes were thankfully in the right place at the right time to save Dave Barrett. This is the third life that Brian Thompson has saved by using CPR. Dan Sims had put off renewing his CPR skills for several weeks and had just attended class the night before this incident. We know that CPR in the workplace saves lives. Thanks to Jeff, Brian and Dan for proving it. 

Quick action by Cabool teenager Jodie Flageolle turned a near tragedy into a life-saving event at a popular Texas county swimming hole last summer. When a five-year-old Wade Farner was found on the bottom of the creek, Jodie put the life guarding skills she learned a few weeks earlier to test. Someone who had been wading in the shallow, muddy waters discovered the child who was then brought to shore. Jodie checked the scene and determined that Wade was not breathing, his eyes were rolled back in his head and he had no pulse. Jodie called out for someone to call 911 and began CPR. 

After one minute of CPR, Jodie was joined by her aunt, Sherry Curry who assisted with 2-man CPR through instructions from Jodie. Wade began breathing on his own before ambulance crews arrived on the scene. A trip to the hospital for a check-up found Wade to be in good health. Jodie�s quick, accurate assessment of the situation resulted in saving this young life.

Jodie recalls that her first thoughts when Wade was being brought to shore were that she needed to check for a pulse and be prepared to perform CPR. �I was pretty scared but I knew that if I didn�t keep my cool, it wouldn�t help anyone there,� said Jodie. 

Jodie, a sophomore at Cabool High School this year, took American Red Cross Lifeguard training last May. Jamie doesn�t see herself as a hero, she just thinks she reacted to the situation and did what needed to be done. For Wade Farner and his family, Jodie will always be a hero. 

Chris Hubler Youth Hero Sponsored by Dr. & Mrs. Gregory Haake

Chris Hubler has faced danger. He has also been used by God to save the life of a young boy who was facing a most certain death. That�s how Chris� parents explain his part in the incident that occurred one day last summer following a father-son camp out. After Chris and his friends placed an empty pop can on train tracks on the Black Bridge trestle near Everton, their thrill of excitement turned to sheer terror. Looking back at the tracks that were rumbling with the approaching train, they noticed a smaller boy standing frozen on the trestle tracks.

The younger boy had been following the older boys and unknowing moved out on the tracks to set upright the pop can that had fallen over. Frantic screams from the boys failed to move the fear-frozen figure off the tracks. Seeing the approaching lights of the train, Chris made a split-second life-saving decision. He ran toward the boy, grabbed him and pushed him off the trestle and then jumped himself. At this point, the train was so close to the boys that the crew couldn�t tell if they had hit them or not. 

When the train was finally stopped, train crewmen found Chris in shallow water with a badly fractured leg. The boy Chris threw from the trestle landed in deeper water and was not harmed. The entire incident occurred in less than a minute. Chris endured surgery to have pins inserted to repair his broken leg. 

Although Chris now realizes that he should not have been on the tracks in the first place, the outcome deserves recognition. If Chris had not been with the other boys on the track that day, the young boy�s life might not have been saved. All the �what ifs� in the world can�t change the facts. Chris Hubler saved a life. He put his own safety above another human being. Thanks Chris.

Participation in a mock emergency drill provided valuable training for Hartville junior volunteer fireman Danny Dudley. During the training exercise, Danny portrayed a patient suffering from anaphylactic shock, and he carefully observed all the symptoms and treatment he received for his ailment. Just a few weeks later and Danny would put his valuable training to test.

After school one day, Danny and his cousin Mae were at work at the Town and Country Theater when Mae experienced a bee sting. Danny immediately recognized that his cousin began experiencing symptoms just as he had for anaphylactic shock during the training exercise. Because Mae was experiencing difficulty breathing, Danny encouraged Mae to sit down while he notified the storeowner. After explaining to the storeowner that the symptoms Mae was exhibiting required immediate medical attention, Danny convinced the storeowner to call 911. Before help arrived, Danny drove to the fire station to retrieve oxygen to assist Mae�s breathing difficulty. 

When medical help did arrive, Mae was stable enough to be transported to the hospital via ambulance where she was treated and released that evening. Although Mae did experience a set back the next day, the initial observation and treatment Danny provided saved Mae�s life. Danny continues his training as volunteer fireman and first responder; he has experienced first hand the rewarding results, and so has Mae.

Cory Wiggins 911 Hero Sponsored by a Friend of the American Red Cross

Mary Wiggins has always been proud of her son Danny. Everyday he overcomes daily challenges with his prosthetic leg he wears due to a birth defect. Mary believes this has made Cory very aware and more sensitive to other peoples� needs because of what he has been through. She doesn�t call him a perfect child, but on October 23, 2000, Danny became her hero.

On arriving home from school that day, Cory discovered his nearly unconscious mother lying in the floor. She was having a diabetic hypoglycemic reaction. He immediately identified the problem, called 911, and directed an ambulance to their home. Mary states that when she has one of these reactions she experiences difficulty seeing and talking, and becomes incoherent. 

Cory was able to tell the dispatcher what was wrong because he had helped his mother in the past with similar situations. Cory located his mother�s medication and medical equipment so it was ready and waiting when the paramedics arrived. This was a great help in getting the proper treatment for Mary as quickly as possible. 

Mary is thankful for Cory�s brave and quick thinking action that afternoon. She said that witnessing a diabetic reaction is hard for any adult, but Cory remained calm and did exactly what needed to be done. His bravery and fast thinking was instrumental in saving his mother�s life. Cory made a big difference in his mother�s life that October day-that�s what heroes do.

Molly McCann Animal Rescue Hero Sponsored by Roark Printing

It takes a special person to search out homeless animals and provide the proper measures to help control the pet population. Molly McCann, a volunteer for the Spay and Neuter Clinic of the Ozarks, has become a special advocate of several feral cat colonies in Springfield and the surrounding area.

One Springfield neighborhood witnessed Molly�s work first-hand when she captured more than 100 wild cats. The homeless creatures were taken to area veterinarians to be either spayed or neutered before being returned to the neighborhoods where they live.

Molly takes these proactive measures in an effort to control the feral cat colonies� population. She has also experienced success in taming several feral kittens and finding people to adopt these homeless felines. 

Molly has made it her personal mission to make a difference in the lives of area homeless animals. The financial responsibility of purchasing food to feed the feral cats is also making a difference. Thanks to Molly, these homeless animals are experiencing the benefit of having regular meals, and someone to watch over them.

Vance Free Good Samaritan Hero Sponsored by Howard Bailey Company

Look in the dictionary under giving and you will find Vance Free. As a children�s pastor, Vance plans and carries out programs for the children of his church in limitless ways. Knowing each child by his or her first name is important for Vance. He reaches beyond his church with special projects for children through special mission projects and The Convoy of Hope. Vance has been instrumental in helping his church to catch the vision to reach beyond the walls and make difference in the lives of others.

Vance and his wife visited an organization called the Royal Family Kids Camp in California, and instantly decided to bring this kind of service to the Springfield area. The Royal Family Kids Camp cares for foster children ages 5-15, who have been mentally, physically or sexually abused, abandoned or neglected. 

At the camp, that is located just across the Kansas state line, Vance serves as the volunteer camp director. He accepts no salary for this position and has been responsible for recruiting a completely volunteer camp staff. The Division of Family Services works directly with Vance to make it possible for children to attend this camp. One on one counseling at this camp is a priority for the children at Royal Family Kids Camp. 

Vance has put his giving practices to work at home as well by opening his doors to foster children. He and his wife are in the process of adopting their first child. Never complaining or asking for thanks, Vance has mastered the art of giving in a covert manner. He gives to those who cannot pay him back without drawing attention to himself. Vance is a good Samaritan and worthy of being called an everyday hero.

Russell Reavis Law Enforcement Hero Sponsored by Office Concepts

On Christmas night, a single car accident north of Crane, Missouri claimed the lives of two area youths and seriously injured two others. The accident hit very close to the Stone County Sheriff�s office-one of the deceased youths and one of the injured were brothers of two Stone County Deputies. Russell Reavis knew all involved in the accident. His own daughter had a close relationship with all four who had spent many hours visiting at Russell�s home.

The tremendous expenses from funerals and medical bills put a strain on all of the families. Russell�s concern resulted in a fundraiser to benefit all four families.

All of Russell�s hard work and organization resulted in a Chili Supper and Pie Auction held at the Crane High School where all the victims had attended. He arranged for the Roaring River Jubilee to provide entertainment throughout the evening, and local auctioneers Jerry Baker and Terry Plank conducted the dessert auction. Many delicious desserts as well as non-food items sold at remarkable prices to support this tragic cause. 

�If asked, Russell will say he had a very small roll in this effort. There are many that helped and should be thanked, but they all will tell you that it never would have happened without Russell,� stated Stone County Sheriff Richard Hill.

Russell was able to translate his own care and concern for the affected family members into a project that helped when help was needed most. Thanks for making a difference Russell.

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