It was a hot summer afternoon at the pool in Mount Kisco when lifeguard and swim instructor Valerie Kaplan swiftly turned a potential crisis into a life saved.

Kaplan was teaching a private swim lesson last June when she noticed a child floating face down in a crowded pool. Expecting the child to respond when tapped, she quickly realized something was terribly wrong. The child was unresponsive and not breathing.

Drawing on more than a decade of Red Cross training, Kaplan immediately took command. She called for someone to dial 911 and clear the pool, directed her student to safety, and pulled the child to the pool’s edge. Once on dry ground, she began CPR. After four rounds of compressions, the four-year-old child expelled water and began breathing again. Emergency responders from Mount Kisco Emergency Services arrived shortly after and resumed care.

For her actions, Kaplan was formally honored with the American Red Cross Lifesaving Award for Professional Responders.

At a ceremony held at Mount Kisco Village Hall, Mayor Michael Cindrich offered heartfelt remarks—not only praising Kaplan’s courage, but also sharing his own family’s deep connection to lifesaving work. He spoke of his mother, an ocean lifeguard at Rockaway Beach and Long Island; his wife, a former lifeguard and water safety instructor who once received a prestigious Red Cross merit award signed by President Ronald Reagan; and his four children, all of whom served as municipal lifeguards, with three becoming water safety instructors.

The Mayor, a retired police officer, praised Kaplan’s courage and the power of preparedness.

“Valerie, you’ve distinguished yourself,” he said. “Training isn’t just about skills—it’s about the confidence to act when the emergency hits. I’ve seen firsthand, through my own family, how vital that confidence is. What you do to educate the public and teach people how to swim is truly commendable.”

Stephanie Dunn Ashley, CEO of the American Red Cross Metro New York North Chapter, presented the award—the highest honor the Red Cross bestows to professional responders. “Valerie’s swift, skilled response helped save a life—and that’s exactly what Red Cross training empowers people to do,” she said. “She is a true lifesaver and a shining example of courage in action.”

Kaplan credited her years of training for her ability to respond without hesitation. “If it weren’t for the training, I don’t know if I would have known what to do,” she said. “With all of the knowledge I’ve gained over the years, it was tunnel vision—just get the job done.”

Red Cross training gives people the knowledge and skills to act in an emergency and save a life. A variety of online, blended (online and in-person skills session) and classroom courses are available at redcross.org/takeaclass.

If you or someone you know has used skills and knowledge learned in an American Red Cross Training Services course to help save or sustain the life of another individual, visit LifesavingAwards.org to nominate, recognize or be inspired.