By Ashley Tusan Joyner as published in the Belleville News-Democrat .

Seldom does a day pass when the myriad acts of humanity among us get noticed. Busy lifestyles seem to take precedence over moments both slight and phenomenal, where good will for others shines through.

But every now and then, ordinary people are recognized for their exceptional deeds.

On Monday, more than 20 local heroes from Missouri and Illinois were honored at the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter's Lifesaver Awards, which were held at the chapter's headquarters in Creve Coeur, MO.

For more than 20 years, the event has acknowledged the deeds of good Samaritans who represent the Red Cross mission - to help others when they need it most.

This year, a record-breaking nine teams of lifesavers, four from the metro-east, were celebrated at the event. Each of the honorees had employed lifesaving techniques such as CPR and use of an automated external defibrillator to bring fellow citizens back to life and rescue others from danger.

"I think we just stepped in and did what any human being would do," said Principal Dennis Works of New Athens High School. "I don't like to feel like a hero."

In late March, Works and a team of three other school staff members used a defibrillator to save the life of New Athens student Nick Dilbeck, 15, who had collapsed during P.E. class at the school. Dilbeck fell to the floor, knocking him unconscious, stopped breathing and lost a pulse.

One year ago, Illinois mandated that all public schools acquire a defibrillator. In incidents like Dilbeck's emergency, the small electronic device can be attached to the body to analyze heart rhythm and deliver an electrical shock to restore normal beating when the organ has stopped working effectively.

Midge Corsi of Belleville talked about how the device saved her husband, Jim Corsi, who lost consciousness during a workout at the East Belleville YMCA in February.

"There were all kinds of angels around," said Midge Corsi. "It was everyone's actions together, but it was the defibrillator that brought him back."

Jim Cusic, 46, of Fairview Heights, a member of Corsi's five-person rescue team, had served as a CPR instructor for almost 30 years, but never actually used the technique in an emergency, when he intervened at the exercise facility to revive Corsi.

"In the heat of the moment you step up," he said.

Today, Cusic, who was previously honored by the Red Cross with a certificate of merit for his actions at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, volunteers at the YMCA to teach others CPR and defibrillator tactics.

Other honorees on Monday included Cahokia High School softball coach Terri Ettling-Shell, 44, of O'Fallon, who pulled 6-year-old Dylan Miller from the deep end of a pool where he had started to drown in May. U.S. Postal Service worker Terry Holcomb, of Renault, was honored for rescuing 96-year-old Esther Earnie from a fire in her home earlier in the year.