Carnegie Medals Awarded To 20 For Acts Of Extraordinary Civilian Heroism

PITTSBURGH, March 31, 2015 /CNW/ -- In its first award announcement of 2015, the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission today named 20 individuals as recipients of the Carnegie Medal.  The medal is given throughout the United States and Canada to those who risk their lives to an extraordinary degree while saving or attempting to save the lives of others.  Three of the awardees died in the performance of their heroic acts.

The heroes announced today bring to 9,757 the total number of awards made since the Pittsburgh-based Fund's inception in 1904.  Commission Chair Mark Laskow stated that each of the awardees or their survivors will also receive a financial grant.  Throughout the 111 years since the Fund was established by industrialist-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, $36.9 million has been given in one-time grants, scholarship aid, death benefits, and continuing assistance.  The awardees are:

Kyle Christensen	Perry, Utah
Patrick J. LaRose	Brooklyn, N.Y.
Charles David Jordan	Houston, Texas
Dean Ronald Nelson	Mondovi, Wis.
Matthew R. Ward	Westfield, N.Y.
Jonathan Michael Davis, deceased	South Euclid, Ohio
Titiana L. Portis	Cleveland, Ohio
Michael Elgas	Henderson, Nev.
Terry Brown	Brookings, Ore.
Michael D. Bates	Durand, Ill.
Philip Scholz, deceased	Pleasanton, Calif.
John Reed, Jr.	Seminole, Fla.
Jason William Gingras	Seminole, Fla.
Peter David Woit	Carlos, Minn.
Matthew Ray Hattaway, deceased	Bossier City, La.
Christine Alicia Wilson	West Henrietta, N.Y.
Luz A. Jimenez	Hackettstown, N.J.
Neil Crass	Harriman, Tenn.
Hunter O'Neil Crass	Harriman, Tenn.
Kyle V. Gibbs	Morenci, Ariz.

Resumes of the acts can be found at http://carnegiehero.org/awardees.  Fuller information on the Carnegie Medal and the history of the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission can be found at www.carnegiehero.org.  Find us on Facebook:  facebook.com/carnegiehero

Contact: Douglas R. Chambers
Toll free: 1-800-447-8900

SOURCE Carnegie Hero Fund Commission