Red Cross to Honor Heroes of San Joaquin and Calaveras Counties

Everyday individuals performing extraordinary acts of courage

On Wednesday, April 10, the American Red Cross will honor 19 community members from San Joaquin and CalaverasCounties who have performed extraordinary acts of courage. These outstanding individuals will be recognized at the annual Heroes Breakfast at Wine and Roses in Lodi, beginning at 7:30am.

This annual event pays special tribute to local everyday heroes who have performed heroic acts. This year’s honorees were nominated by members of the community for such selfless deeds as spearheading a student community project, honoring fallen soldiers through volunteer efforts, donating bone marrow, performing life saving CPR, and much more.

Heroes being honored at this year’s event are:

Good Samaritan Hero (adult):

• Laura Chavarria of Stockton

Good Samaritan Heroes (youth):

• Kayla Houle and Candice Collum of Angels Camp

Good Samaritan Hero (senior):

• Richard Windfeathers Muniz of Stockton

Law Enforcement Heroes:

• Detective Karen Sangster and Sergeant Michael P. Jones of the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department

Medical Professional Hero:

• Al Duncan of Stockton

Military Hero (active duty):

• Jennifer McLean of Stockton

Military Hero (veteran):

• Ricardo McLean, Jr. of Stockton

Professional Rescuer Heroes:

• Kevin Culbertson and Eric Emmett of the Waterloo-Morada Fire District

Spirit of the Red Cross Heroes:

• John Kesselman and Andrew Long of Stockton
• Fred Gregory of Sacramento
• Robert Henning of Valley Springs
• Greg Garcia of Lockeford
• Aaron Morrow of Lathrop

Workplace Hero:

• Misty Doyal of Lodi

Hero of the Year:

• Ruth Briggs of Tracy

In addition to honoring local heroes, the Red Cross will also recognize the winners of the Hero Essay Contest – a contest conducted among local K-12 students in which participants wrote about their hero and what makes them heroic.

This year’s essay contest winners are:

• K-6: Isaiah Heryford, 3^rd Grade from Davis Elementary
• 7-12: Kaicie Messer, 11^th Grade from VentureAcademy

Tickets are available and may be purchased online at http://american.redcross.org/stocktonheroesbreakfast.

Proceeds from the breakfast will support the critical disaster relief services provided by the American Red Cross Capital Region Chapter as well as critical Red Cross training programs which help prepare our community members to respond in times of emergency or disaster.

Sponsoring this year’s Heroes event include News10 and Chase Chevrolet!