Of the men and women honored Friday at the annual American Red Cross Heroes Breakfast, nearly all of them had the same claim: I am not a hero; I just did what anyone would do.
The event is in its 20 years of honoring local, ordinary people who did extraordinary things to help save others. It also celebrated another milestone: a century of the Red Cross serving the Oregon and Southwest Washington area.
“We’re here because there’s always a need here,” said Dennis Rugg, executive director for Red Cross Southwest Washington Cascades Region.
Moreover, Rugg said, there are volunteers here willing to help with that need. Ninety five percent of the organization’s workforce is volunteer, and they do a majority of the work: installing smoke alarms, collecting blood donations and comforting victims after disaster.
“The opportunity to recognize the courageous and lifesaving acts of our heroes is something we look forward to throughout the entire year,” Rugg said.
And those honored Friday had a similar story. They saw someone in need and acted to meet it.
One of those heroes is Vancouver resident Dan Windon.
On his way to drop off his 10-year-old son, Windon drove a stretch of Goodwin Road on an early morning in December 2015 and had no problems. But when he took the same route back later to go to work, he encountered a woman on the side of the road waving her hands.
“The road had a small river going across it,” he said. The water pooling in the ditches alongside the road that had crested over the road and then he saw it: The top of a car submerged in the water.
“She says, ‘Can you break the window? Can you get to the car?'” Windon said. “I thought it was her car and that she’d gotten out. I said, “There’s somebody in the car?'” Yes, the woman said.
Within seconds, Windon jumped out and went to the back of his truck, grabbed a tow hitch and ran into the water toward the submerged vehicle.
He waded into the chest-deep water. Though it was the middle of winter, he didn’t feel the cold.
All that went through Windon’s head, he said, was: “I have to get to this car. I’m too close. I’m not going to be able to live with myself if I don’t.”
Keeping his head above water, Windon slammed the hitch against the driver’s side window. He hit it again and again and again until it broke and a hand reached out and grabbed his. Shocked that the man was alive, Windon pulled the man out and brought him safely to the road.
In that moment, Windon said, “I felt like a million bucks.”
Because the annual heroes event is also a fundraiser for the Red Cross, Windon said he was proud to help promote it.
“They do a lot of good things in the community, and I’m happy they picked me and happy to try to help promote that,” he said.
Many of the attendees at the events were donors to the organization, heroes and those they saved.
Colin Helt, 16, was doing conditioning for football practice after school last May when he went into sudden cardiac arrest.
School Resource Deputy Albin Boyse and security officer Joe Reed heard the call over the radio and sprung into action, performing CPR and administering the AED (automated external defibrillator) until medics arrived. Helt made a full recovery.
To see the two men honored on Friday, Helt said, was a special moment.
“I’m more than forever grateful for what they’ve done to save my life,” Helt said. “It’s cool to see that as much as I appreciate them, other people can hear and learn from their experience and recognize their actions.”