Hail to the heroes
Red Cross honors 10 for showing brave, heroic behavior in community

By MICHELLE GEORGE
The Eagle-Gazette Staff
mgeorge@nncogannett.com


The heroes line up at the back of the banquet hall after the American Red Cross of Fairfield County 2008 Heroes Breakfast at Fraternal Order of Eagles on Tuesday. E-G photo by Shino Omura


FAIRFIELD COUNTY - A major snow storm struck on the same day as Fairfield County's annual Heroes Breakfast for the third straight year.

And for the third straight year, nasty weather didn't stop The American Red Cross of Fairfield County from honoring its local heroes.

More than 450 Fairfield County residents filled the Fraternal Order of the Eagles Event Center on Tuesday in Lancaster to honor 10 local heroes.

The event honors local educators, teens, health care professionals and law enforcement officials who have been nominated by peers for heroic behavior.
Audience members dabbed their eyes with complimentary tissues as the stories of each winner were told through video presentations.

"Now I understand why the parking lot here is full on the day of a big snowstorm," joked Janet Watkins, a former reporter on 10TV Eyewitness News and this year's master of ceremonies.

One story involved Benjamin Thimmes, the recipient of the Education Hero award. Thimmes, who has Lou Gehrig's disease, is an English teacher at William V. Fisher Catholic High School.

Assistant Principal Tiffany Wade nominated Thimmes, whom she described a "true educator."

"He has been stricken with a disease that has taken some of his body, but not his heart," Wade said in her video.

Bob Competti, owner of Innerphase Video Productions, put together the video tributes for this year's event. He said Thimmes' story inspired him.

"I know Ben and I know his family, and you can't help but admire how he's handling this," Competti said.

Thimmes, who has taught at the high school for seven years, said he was surprised to have been chosen.

"It was a real honor to have been nominated for this very special award," Thimmes said.

Joint recipients Sheryl "Hutch" Hutchison and Joan Schulze, both of Hocking County, echoed a similar sentiment. Both were recipients of the "Community Hero" award for their work in coordinating sports programs for teens who use wheelchairs.

"I was shocked and even a little embarrassed at first," Hutchinson said. "I'm just out there doing my job."

The program, called the SE Ohio Wheels of Fire, was formed by Hutchinson about three years ago. Hutchinson and Schulze, in conjunction with Blaze SportsAmerica in Columbus, now coordinate sports activities in everything from basketball to football to soccer.

"We found that, outside of Columbus, there were really no wheelchair sports programs around in Southeast Ohio," Schulze said.

Awards were presented to three local students for their artwork, which answered the question "What is a hero?"

"It takes a lot of bravery to be a hero and everyone comes across a hero sometime in their life," said Julia Davenport, a third-grader at Amanda-Clearcreek Elementary, whose drawing took the third-place award.

Executive Director Susan Nixon-Stoughton said she is pleased with this year's turnout. The Red Cross sold 456 tickets for the event, generating the biggest audience thus far.

"It just goes to show how much this event means to people that they would come out on a morning like this to be a part of the good news," Nixon-Stoughton said.

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