2010 VITA Honorees

Ryan Bank
Chicago, IL

Ryan Bank is a Coast Guard volunteer who created a social media monitoring tool that was used by relief workers following the Port-au-Prince earthquake in January. From a base in Miami, Ryan monitored Facebook updates, Twitter statuses, and SMS messages from people in distress and directed aid from the Coast Guard and Department of Defense where it was most needed. The system relied on the fact that mobile data networks were quickly operational after the disaster, and generated hundreds of requests for aid sent to commanders.

Darrin Boehmer, Joshua Schertenlieb & Mayann Young
Hillsboro, OR

The Tualatin Valley Workshop trains disabled people in a variety of trades and skills to prepare them for the workplace. One morning production supervisor Mayann Young noticed that one of their regular workers was leaning over, obviously short of breath. She called for someone to dial 9-1-1 and raced over to perform the Heimlich maneuver. Her coworker, Josh Schertenlieb tried dialing 9-1-1 from his office phone, but got a recording. He ran back over and dialed 9-1-1 again on his cell phone. As Josh performed chest compressions on the man, another coworker, Darrin Boehmer, administered breathing aid for about five minutes until emergency responders arrived. Paramedics praised the employees at TVW for keeping the victim alive until they arrived.

Shane Burger & Jim McKenzie
Le Roy, NY

Shane’s shift at his plant began with the unfortunate news that he and several of his coworkers were to be laid off. Although obviously disappointed, Shane continued to follow his daily routine. Several hours later, a call went over the PA system alerting employees to an emergency in the plant. Shane raced over to find a coworker collapsed on the ground with no pulse. Shane dialed 9-1-1 on his phone and ran across the plant to get the emergency defibrillator. As Shane’s manager Jim McKenzie performed chest compressions, Shane administered mouth to mouth resuscitation. They administered two shocks from the defibrillator and continued to perform CPR until paramedics arrived. Their coworker underwent triple bypass surgery and is recovering. In the meantime, Shane’s employment was fortunately extended.

Maranda Chatman
Decatur, IL

Maranda was walking to her school bus stop when a man she did not recognize drove up, asked her name and then offered her a ride to school. Maranda got her cell phone out of her bag and called her mother. As soon as she did, the man sped off. Police are still looking for the suspect, but praised Maranda for handling the terrifying situation so well.

JP Failor

Carlisle, PA

JP and his father were hunting when they heard a cry for help from nearby in the woods. They raced over to find another hunter having an apparent heart attack. JP raced to the top of a nearby ridge to get a wireless signal in the remote wilderness and dialed 9-1-1. An ambulance was summoned to an intersection, so JP’s father and the hunter’s brother began assisting him to the edge of the forest while JP waited to meet the ambulance. Emergency responders arrived and assisted in evacuating the man from the forest using a Stokes basket. Given the difficulty in reaching the area, it was almost three hours from the 9-1-1 call until they reached the ambulance. Doctors noted that the man was hypothermic when he arrived at the hospital and would not have survived the ordeal had it not been for JP and his father’s intervention.

Chad Long
Farmersville, OH

A missing 91 year-old man suffering from dementia mobilized a community-wide search and rescue effort in October 2009. In addition to emergency responders, members of the community joined the search for the missing man. Among them was Chad, a middle school student who used his ATV to cover ground as quickly as possible. Chad located the man just as night was falling, lying on his back stuck on a fence. Chad used his wireless phone to alert officials to the man’s location.

Jacob Ratliff

Liberty Township, OH

Sara Ratliff had been feeling unwell all day but had just picked up her son Jacob from school, thinking she could drive the short distance home. She quickly realized that her condition was more serious than she’d thought and pulled her car over to the side of the road. She called her husband to let him know, but then lost consciousness. Jacob unbuckled himself from his car seat and found his mom’s wireless phone. After dialing 9-1-1, Jacob stayed on the line for six minutes, giving dispatchers nearby addresses and updates on his mother’s condition. When the ambulance arrived, Jacob honked the car’s horn so that they could identify the vehicle.

Kyle Sparks
Virginia Beach, VA

Kyle was at home with his mother, who had been feeling unwell that day. While in the kitchen, she lost consciousness and collapsed. Kyle went in after hearing the commotion and grabbed her wireless phone. Despite being only four years old, Kyle had his father’s phone number memorized and called him as he had been instructed to do in an emergency. Although he was out of town Kyle’s father called for an ambulance to go to their home, where Kyle then let in emergency personnel. In recognition of his level-headed response, Kyle received the Virginia Beach Lifesaving Award from the city’s mayor of for saving his mother’s life.

Dan Woolley
Colorado Springs, CO/Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Dan Woolley was working for Compassion International, filming a documentary about poverty in Haiti, when the devastating January earthquake struck Port-au-Prince. The Hotel Montana where he was staying collapsed, causing him serious injury and trapping him in rubble. Dan used his iPhone’s light to illuminate the area where he was trapped and find the elevator shaft to take refuge, and accessed a first-aid app, Pocket First Aid and CPR, in order to treat excessive bleeding and shock. After being trapped for 64 hours and writing farewell letters to his family, Dan was rescued by a team dispatched from Fairfax, Virginia.