Back ST. LOUIS (Thursday, November 21, 2002) – The American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter recently honored four individuals for their lifesaving actions. The Lifesaver Award honorees include: • Rose Mary Robertson, a volunteer cafeteria/playground aid at Bel-Ridge Intermediate School in the Normandy School District who saved the life of a 4th grade student. During lunch on September 26, Rose Mary was alerted by a fourth grade student that his friend, ten-year-old Lamont Slaughter, was choking on a hot dog. Lamont was unable to talk, his eyes were bulging and he was gasping for air, so Rose Mary quickly wrapped her hands around his abdomen and gave rapid thrusts up. Eventually, the piece of hotdog from Lamont’s throat was dislodged and he began breathing again. • Joseph Valis, of St. Louis, for using an AED to save the life of a passenger who went into cardiac arrest at Lambert Airport. This past June, Joseph, a City of St. Louis firefighter, was returning from a trip to New York when he noticed an elderly man on the floor of the Lambert Airport Terminal. Joseph stopped to help Lester Gifford, a Colorado resident, and quickly assessed that Lester’s heart was not beating. Joseph immediately began administering traditional CPR (chest compressions and breathing) with the help of a bystander. He then noticed an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) hanging on a nearby wall and asked a stewardess to bring the AED to him. Joseph then placed the electrodes or shock patches onto Lester’s chest. After one shock, Lester’s pulse returned and rescue breathing was continued until EMS crews arrived. • Connie Cook, a Webster Groves resident, who saved the life of her three-year-old neighbor. On September 5, Linda Briggs-Harty was making breakfast for her three–year-old son, Joey, at their home in Webster Groves. As Linda scrambled eggs and Joey waited for his breakfast, Joey snacked on a few grapes. Suddenly, Joey began gasping for air. Linda realized her son needed the Heimlich to dislodge the grape from his airway—but she couldn’t remember all the specifics (ironically, Linda was signed up to take a CPR and First Aid class in a few weeks). Linda immediately called 911 and took Joey outside to flag down the EMS crew being dispatched to the scene. She began yelling desperately for help when a neighbor, Connie Cook, stopped her car and ran over. Connie works as a nanny, and had been trained in Red Cross Infant/Child CPR. Using the proper Heimlich Maneuver technique for young children, Connie dislodged the grape from Joey’s airway and Joey was finally able to breathe. • Keith Harder, a Creve Coeur resident, who saved the life of a man who had a heart attack at a local doughnut shop. This past April, Keith, a track coach for Ladue High School was at LaMar’s Donuts in Olivette to grab a quick bite before a track meet. After Keith got his order, he looked around for a place to sit and noticed Eugene Rubin in the back of the doughnut shop slumped over in a booth. Keith walked over to Eugene and realized he was having a heart attack. With the help of a bystander (who was unable to be located) Keith administered CPR until the EMS crews arrived. Because of Keith’s quick thinking and his CPR training, Eugene is alive today. "Each of the Lifesaver Awardees was in the right place at the right time and had the necessary training to be able to intervene in an emergency situation," said Mary Jo Blackwood, Lifesaver Program chair and American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter volunteer. "The selfless actions of the Lifesaver awardees should inspire others to become CPR and First Aid trained. No one can predict when a life or death situation will occur, but being prepared can be the difference between life or death." The Lifesaver Program, sponsored by AT&T Wireless and Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., is designed to honor everyday heroes who saved a life. Since 1984 the Red Cross Lifesaver Program has honored nearly 150 local citizens who have used First Aid, CPR or other actions to save a life. Expanded stories on all honorees as well as information on how to nominate someone who has saved a life can be found at www.redcrossstl.org or by calling 314-516-2740. CPR and First Aid class schedules are also available online. About the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter Founded in 1917, the American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter provides emergency and preparedness assistance more than 354,000 times to St. Louis-area residents each year. The Red Cross depends on the efforts of 14,700 volunteers and 150 staff to provide a wide range of community support services, including disaster relief, first aid and CPR training, water safety, adult daytime professional care, services to military personnel, assistance to homeless families, and support for blood services. The Chapter provides programs and services to St. Louis City, St. Louis County, St. Charles County and Jefferson County in Missouri, as well as Monroe, Madison and St. Clair counties in Illinois. In 2001, the St. Louis Area Chapter trained 57,854 people in CPR/First Aid.

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