im ULSEISSUE 5 • MARCH 2006 A Periodic Newsletter of the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission 2005 IN REVIEW ON THIS DATE An enhancement to the Hero Fund’s Web site Hero Fund’s second century off to solid start (www.carnegiehero.org) allows readers to link By Sybil P. Veeder, Chair • Executive Committee to the summary of a heroic act that took place (Note: The following report was given at the 102nd annual meeting of the Carnegie Hero Fund “on this date” in the Commission’s history. Commission, held Feb. 16 in Pittsburgh.) The idea came in November from Patrick O’Malia of Capitalizing on the Commission’s strengths, the Executive Committee oversaw a Bellevue, Pa. “I would like to see a ‘hero of the day’ strong year in 2005, the first full one of our second century: on your site,” O’Malia emailed. “I would use this to be inspired and to remember the heroes every day.” mission As a result of Andrew Carnegie’s foresight, our core and only mission remains viable after 100 years. There appears to be no shortage of those who put the The feature commenced Jan. 1. Readers need only betterment of others first, even to the extreme. click the “On this date” button on the lower left corner of the site’s homepage to view a selected management There have been no changes on the board in two years. Three act of heroism that occurred that day. Given that of our members (William P. Snyder III, Arthur M. Scully, Jr., and Frank Brooks 8,961 awards have been made during the Hero Robinson) have, in fact, reached or exceeded 40 years of continuous service, and three Fund’s 102 years, an average of 24 cases took staff members marked 20-, 30-, and 50-year hiring anniversaries in 2005. During place every day of the year, statistically speaking, the year, the Committee solidified the Commission’s governance by adopting various including Feb. 29, leap day. ethics standards that call for commitment to “honesty, integrity, and openness in As the cases are not chosen randomly, the their dealings” by both board and staff members. Commission welcomes requests—by awardees, (continued on page 2) their families, or others—to feature a specific heroic act on its anniversary date. Requests are to be submitted to Douglas R. Chambers, director of external affairs ([email protected]), who assures that every effort will be made to have the requests accommodated. In other “Web” news, what do Michael Redice, of Charlotte, N.C., and Stephen F. Coenen, of San Francisco, have in common? In addition to being named Carnegie Medal awardees in September, each is the subject of an on-line profile that is appearing on the Hero Fund’s site over the next several weeks. Redice was recognized for his efforts in saving a young boy from attack by four pit bulls, and Coenen received his medal for intervening in a beating assault in his French Quarter neighborhood in New Orleans. Mark J. Friedrich, 16, of Edinburgh, Ind., and his former neighbor, Edward L. Hudson, 82, of Seymour, Ind., are the youngest and oldest awardees of the Carnegie Medal in 2005. They Mr. Redice Mr. Coenen fought off 80-pound Rottweilers that had attacked a small girl in their Seymour neighborhood on January 26, 2004. inside: LATEST AWARDEES OF THE CARNEGIE MEDAL • GREAT SCOTS • 1906 EARTHQUAKE • ASSIGNMENT: HEROES board notes Hero Fund’s second century off to solid start (continued from cover) means Solid performance by a portfolio under prudent management has resulted in HEROISM IN A near-record holdings, which in turn allows for expanded programs and levels of aid. The SAFER SOCIETY Committee increased the hero’s initial grant for the first time in six years and in June implemented a new program whereby awardees are eligible for assistance with the cost By Mark Laskow, President Carnegie Hero Fund Commission of treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) brought on by their heroic actions. Much of the Committee’s time was given over to casework, its primary function. A common question about Ninety-two acts of heroism were selected for recognition. The traditional categorizing the Carnegie Hero award of awardees… is, “How many people can win the medal every By geography: 86 medals went to residents of 28 U.S. states, and six went to resi- year?” The question even dents of four Canadian provinces. California and Pennsylvania were home to the comes up in conversations highest number of U.S. awardees, 10 and nine respectively, and in Canada, Ontario with our international counterparts at the Hero Funds and British Columbia each claimed two heroes. established by Andrew Carnegie in 10 Western By age: Five of the awardees were in their teens at the time of their heroic acts, 20 of European countries. Do we have a quota, giving a limited number of medals to the “best” rescues? them were in their 20s, 19 in their 30s, 27 in their 40s, 14 in their 50s, four in their 60s, and three were over 70. The oldest and youngest awardees were co-rescuers in The answer is simple. The Carnegie Hero Fund the same act: Mark J. Friedrich, 14, responded to an 8-year-old neighbor girl under Commission attempts to find every rescue act with assault by two 80-pound Rottweilers, and his neighbor, Edward L. Hudson, just five the potential to warrant recognition, and we award days shy of his 80th birthday, responded to Mark’s aid when the dogs then turned on the medal in every case that meets our criteria. The him. Mark and the girl required hospital treatment for bite wounds, and they recovered. standards are rigorous—and deeply rooted in the philosophy articulated by Carnegie—but the process is By gender: Nine of the year’s awardees, or 9.8%, are female, in no sense a competition among deserving rescuers. in keeping with the traditional 8.9% over the life of the Fund. As a consequence, the number of awards varies with By type of act: Twenty-five rescuers acted in behalf of drowning the number of qualifying cases we can identify. In victims, and 18 responded to those endangered by burning recent years, that has been about 100 cases per year. buildings. Burning-vehicle rescuers numbered 16 for the year. There seem to be two conflicting forces at work. On Nine heroes responded to victims under human assault, and the one hand, our society is generally getting safer, eight acted in animal-assault cases, including two California and professional fire and rescue services are much men who literally fought off the mountain lion that was Dr. Veeder, a retired more pervasive than in 1904 when Carnegie created mauling a friend during a forest hike. Moving-vehicle rescuers psychotherapist, joined 2 the hero award. Consider that it struck us as unusually numbered seven, and five men were cited for saving two con- the Commission in tragic when 12 miners died recently in West Virginia. struction workers from the bottom of a deep shaft following 1992 and has chaired That was not quite as unusual before World War I a coal-mine explosion. The remaining categories are ice, two the Executive when coal mining was widespread, much more labor- rescues; and suffocation and submerging vehicle, one each. Committee since 2002. intensive, and much, much more dangerous. Concluding that these types of actions are representative of the best that humans On the other hand, changing technology plays a role, have to offer, the Commission elected to expand on its mission by seeking greater perhaps increasing the number of rescues. Consider the exposure of the heroes and their deeds. Five medal presentations were made in cases that involve a “runaway vehicle.” Not unusual among the awards from a century ago are rescues from 2005, including one in Thunder Bay, Ont., involving Commissioner Alfred W. wagons drawn by out-of-control horses, or even mules. Wishart, Jr., who urged other board members to participate in the program when In the first such case, in 1905, an Atlanta man grabbed available. A quarterly newsletter for awardees and Hero Fund friends—imPULSE— the reins of one of a team of horses pulling a landau was inaugurated early in the year, and work to introduce the heroic ethic to school containing a six-year-old girl and a maid. Dragged a students by means of curricula and presentation was begun. There was greater expo- distance, the hero threw the horse, which then fell sure for the organization itself as was evidenced by its strong showing at the third on him. One of the more dramatic cases, occurring in biennial presentation of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, which took place Arkansas in 1936, involved a horse and a train. We in Edinburgh, Scotland, in October. Six board and staff members made the trip, haven’t seen a runaway-horse rescue in many years, which included a visit to Dunfermline, Carnegie’s birthplace. Finally, word of the but rescues involving motorized vehicles are not at Hero Fund’s work was taken to Sri Lanka by the executive director, who spoke at all rare. On the facing page of this newsletter is the the annual awards ceremony of that country’s civilian bravery foundation. account of a Fairfax, Va., woman who saved her niece The Committee also oversaw administration of the heroes’ awards. Each award consists from being struck by an approaching motorboat. The of the medal, a standard financial grant, scholarship eligibility, and assistance with the case was awarded in December. The nature of danger may change over time, but not so the valor of the hero.