Instant Hero • Charlene Townsend of Thurman, is currently an EMT student. Charlene had to suddenly put her new training to the test when a distraught mother put her baby, who was not breathing, in her arms and begged for her help. Charlene's subsequent actions saved the baby's life. 

Extra Mile Hero • Carl Schnackel of Crescent, is a Boy Scout with Troup 3. Carl used his Red Cross First Aid training and his strong leadership skills to attend to an injured scout after the tornado at the Little Sioux Scout Ranch in June, 2008.

Lifetime Hero • Laura Collins of Council Bluffs, has been a Boy Scout leader for twelve years. Laura is also a volunteer CPR and First Aid Instructor with the American Red Cross.  Her passion for scouting and teaching lifesaving skills, empowered her scouts to be of service at the Little Sioux Scout Ranch.  

2008 Honorees

Instant Heroes- Todd Bladt, Dick Wettengel and Matt Kuhlman of Council Bluffs worked together to save an Abraham Lincoln High School student's life by administering CPR and an AED after the student collapsed during class.

Extra Mile Hero- Joe Moore of Clarinda, has been a volunteer firefighter and E.M.T for over thirty years, and each year he responds to 90% of the fire calls. After three decades of service, Moore continues to bring compassion to his patients.

Lifetime Hero- Mary Ann Pedersen of Council Bluffs has committed over three decades of her life to volunteer service in the community.  Her lifetime commitment as a volunteer has positively impacted blood donation for the American Red Cross and volunteer recruitment and leadership for Jennie Edmundson Hospital . 

2007 Honorees

Lifetime Hero- Phyllis Miller has worked as an educator in Council Bluffs for over fifty years. She retired as a fifth grade teacher from Rue Elementary in 1988, but did not stay away from the classroom.  In 1992, Miller began substitute teaching for Council Bluffs Community School District and is a dedicated substitute teacher for Longfellow Elementary.  Miller is a the school almost every day, even when she is not "on duty."  Mrs. Miller is just as committed to supporting the staff at Longfellow and serves as a mentor to new teachers.

Extra Mile Hero- Rick Kiolbasa of Omaha, Nebraska was nominateD by the Council Bluffs police chief, Keith Mehlin.  According to Chief Mehlin, on October 8 at about 3:30 p.m., Kiolbasa saw a truck pull out onto I-2- with police officer Matt Kuhlmann hanging onto the side of the vehicle.  Kiolbasa decided to take action.  He passed the truck and slowed his vehicle down to become an obstacle.  In addition, when the chase ended, Kiolbasa got out and checked to see if the officer was okay. 

Instant Hero- Julie Klein was swimming with her children at Prairie Rose State Park in August of 2006, when she was alerted to two children struggling to swim.  Klein, who as a child was trained in Red Cross swimming lessons, swam out to the boys and brought them to shore.  She went back into the water to look for a missing teenage boy.  She continued to dive for twenty minutes until the park's dive team arrived and took over the search. 

2006 Honorees 

Lifetime Hero- Debra Grote Schwiesow of Council Bluffs uses her expertise as a school psychologist in her volunteer work for the "Iowa Critical Incident Stress Management Team."  She is among a team of first responders who on short notice are dispatched for critical incidents involving children such as : suicides, serious accidents and other tragedies.  Schwiesow went to New York City after the 9-11 attack as part of the Iowa Crisis Response Team.  She is also a dedicated volunteer at First Congregational United Church of Christ.

Extra Mile Heroes- Dale Crampton and Darren Thompson  Dale Crampton of Vail, Iowa and Darren Thompson of Denison, Iowa went out of their way on a cold morning of December 20, to inquire about a car they saw overturned off Highway 30.  After learning that no accident had been reported, the pair returned to the scene.  After a search of the area they found and gave aid to Richard Mahoney who had been thrown from his vehicle the night before.

Instant Heroes- Ed Nemacek, Trish Higgins, Julie Theulen and Wendy Zaloudek all live or work in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  In a split second decisions, they all intervened to give aid and CPR to Steve VanderHelm, who suffered a heart attack while riding his bike on September 24, 2005.  According to VanderHelm, "These individuals each played a key role in saving my life.  They are most definately heroes and are very deserving of special recognition for their lifesaving actions."