First Responders Children’s Foundation, the national non-profit organization that provides financial relief to the families of first responders who have been injured or killed in the line of duty, awarded a Public Service Hero Award to first responders from across America at A Celebration of First Responder Heroes, its 20th Anniversary Awards Gala and Concert, that was held at City Winery in New York on Wednesday, October 27th in tribute to National First Responders Day. All honorees performed selfless acts of bravery every day in their commitment to public service and community safety. Among the honored first responders were:
NURSE: Amy O’Sullivan of Brooklyn, NY. Amy is an emergency room nurse who treated the very first COVID-19 patient in Brooklyn at the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center. She then became ill and was intubated, but in a matter of weeks, she was back at work taking care of other people afflicted with the deadly virus. Mattel recently paid tribute to her selfless service by creating a one-of-a-kind Barbie doll in her likeness.
911 DISPATCHER: Gladys Mitchell of The Bronx, NY. As a NYPD 911 dispatcher, Ms. Mitchell’s voice provided a lifeline for the City for 26 years. On September 11, 2001, Gladys mobilized the entire World Trade Center area dispatching emergency personnel to those most desperately in need, and she helped save many lives.
POLICE OFFICER: Sergeant Robert Zoubek of City of Park Falls, WI. Sergeant Zoubek responded to a fire and saved three lives despite no personal protection gear. The lives were saved before firefighters arrived, and during the rescues he battled smoke inhalation but refused to leave the scene until all people made it safely out of the building.
FIREFIGHTER: Michael Mire of Houston, TX. Assistant Fire Chief Michael Mire has demonstrated exceptional heroism in his fire services career.
PARAMEDIC / EMT: Michael Liverzani of Mamaroneck, NY. Mr. Liverzani has been a leader in emergency medical services, advanced life support, and disaster coordination. He responded to 9/11 and developed Cancer as a result of his service.
MEDICAL PERSONNEL: Guy Soumah of Troy, NY. Mr. Soumah is a hospital security guard and Patient Care Technician who contracted COVID-19 at work. The virus spread among his family, and his father died. Guy now supports his family and is applying to be a police officer in Albany, NY.
A Celebration of First Responder Heroes featured music stars such as Billy F Gibbons (ZZ Top), Southside Johnny, Blind Boys of Alabama, Chris Janson, Lauren Alaina and Maddie & Tae. The gala also featured an all-star band led by Martin Guigui and virtual performances by Josh Turner, George Strait and Big and Rich. Select performances from the event will broadcast nationally across all iHeartMedia country stations during a one-hour special for Veteran’s Day on November 11.
First Responders Children’s Foundation presented its 2021 Corporate Hero Award to Rick Isaacson, CEO of SERVPRO, and honored Richard Dickson, President and Chief Operating Officer of Mattel as its Toy Express Corporate Hero.
