For 16 years, the Red Cross has celebrated extraordinary acts by ordinary people who have saved lives; made significant positive differences in their community in the areas of emergency response, disaster preparedness, and prevention; or exemplified the Red Cross mission in some other way.
The heroes being honored this week are all different people, with diverse personalities, ages and abilities. Different except for one uniting factor – something inside pulled them forward to help another person in need. Heroes, like Richard Montejano, who braved danger himself to save the life of a complete stranger. On Sept. 8, 2021, Margarita Medina was driving home, when she slammed into a propane tank filling station, which exploded into a fire and trapped her in her car. Montejano, who was Red Cross-trained, along with other courageous bystanders acted quickly and found a way to get Medina out of the car, saving her life.
“We are living through a time when the average person is being called upon to carry out acts of great heroism,” said Amy Papageorges, Executive Director for the American Red Cross Greater Long Beach and South Bay Chapter. “We are one community together – living and protecting one another. We are excited to honor some of these individuals this Thursday.”
The awards luncheon is made possible by the generosity of sponsors including Marathon Petroleum, AES Corporation, BRAGG Companies, Total-American Investment Company, Toyota, AALRR, Acrisure-Busby Stone Risk Management, Braden Phillips, California Resources Corporation, Fast Lane Transportation, Jean Bixby-Smith, JHS CPAs, NRG, Phillips 66, Port of Long Beach, Scaffold Solutions, SoCalGas Company, Watson Land and Wesco.