The actions of six area residents will be honored later this month at the Red Cross of Central Missouri's Heroes Dinner.
The April 21 event will be at the Capital West Event Center. Tickets are $20, and $5 for children 10 and younger.
"This is unique to any other events we have here in Jefferson City," said Dave Griffith, executive director of the American Red Cross of Central and Northern Missouri. "This is where we spend one evening recognizing people who have made a significant difference in the lives of citizens and the community they live in."
This is the 17th year for the event and the fourth for Griffith. It has previously been called the Heart of the Hero awards and the Life Savers awards, but Griffith changed it to prevent confusion for people wondering about the event's sponsors, he said.
The event honors the actions of six people in six categories: emergency medical, military, good Samaritan youth, firefighter, law enforcement and health care professional.
"These are the kind of people that are generally behind the scenes," Griffith said. "If you were to ask each one of them they would not consider themselves a hero, but in the eyes of the Red Cross and the communities they are."
The winners are:
Emergency medical
Debbie Jaegers, registered nurse for SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital, is being honored as the emergency Red Cross 2015 medical hero for her quick actions in saving someone's life.
Jaegers was at the Linn Drug Store when a customer alerted the cashier that she was calling 911 for another shopper. Jaegers acted quickly and decided to investigate just in time to see a man collapse. He was not breathing, and she could not find a pulse. So Jaegers immediately started CPR. Soon after the Osage County Ambulance arrived, the man was transported to St. Mary's Emergency Department.
When he reached the emergency room he had a pulse, and later made a full recovery. Jaegers made that recovery possible by administering CPR on the spot.
Military
William (Bill) McAnany Jr. was 17 when he joined the U.S. Navy during World War II.
He was trained to be in the hospital corps, and five weeks into his naval career he was serving aboard a new hospital ship in Pearl Harbor. After the attack on the harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, McAnany treated the injured and helped clean up the wreckage from that attack. In May 1942 he shipped out aboard the USS Solace to follow the Pacific fleets. Solace medical crews treated casualties from the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Coral Sea and helped evacuate casualties from the Solomon Islands, which was part of the Guadalcanal campaign.
After his service on the Solace, McAnany was assigned to the USS Samaritan, where he saw the invasion of Saipan, Guam, Palau, Okinawa, Iwo Jima and Tokyo Bay. He saw some of the most horrific battles of World War II before he was 20 years old. Before he completed his service, he also served in Korea. Later he started his career as a medical equipment supplier for hospitals.
For his long and dedicated military service to this country, McAnany is the Red Cross 2015 Military Hero.
Good Samaritan youth
Sam Santhuff was young when he died, but in his short time he proved himself to be charitable, brave and heroic.
Santhuff was diagnosed with cancer in 2013. When he was seven years old he had 72 chemotherapy treatments, 20 nuclear therapies and countless blood and platelet transfusions in just over a year. During these treatments, he didn't complain and he concentrated on ways to help other sick children feel better.
He also started a drive to collect blankets and stuffed animals for "comfort packs" for hospitalized children. In 11 months, project supporters had collected more than 550 comfort packs containing a soft blanket, stuffed animal and DVD. Santhuff died before he could see all his Comfort Packs distributed, leaving a legacy of selflessly comforting the afflicted. For his dedication to other sick children, Sam Santhuff is the 2015 Red Cross Good Samaritan Youth Hero.
Firefighter
Fire Capt. Steve Holtmeier of the Jefferson City Fire Department is a trained paramedic with more than 15 years of experience. Last summer, while eating with his family at a local restaurant, he noticed a family frantically trying to help their child breathe. After explaining he was a firefighter, Holtmeier performed abdominal thrusts and cleared the child's airway.
He insisted he was only doing his job and refused any special recognition. But, to the family, Holtmeier is a hero who may have prevented a tragic outcome for them. Because of his actions, Holtmeier is the 2015 Red Cross Firefighter Hero.
Law enforcement
In early 2014 Deputy Rebeka Rusk of the Cole County Sheriff's Office received a call about a suicidal man threatening to set himself on fire. Upon responding to the call, Rusk found the man had doused himself with lighter fluid. He was holding cigarette lighters in each hand. The distraught man refused to drop the lighters and instead tried to proceed with his plan.
Rusk then used the fire extinguisher from her patrol car and sprayed the man down. When he tried a second time to ignite the lighters, the deputy again soaked the individual. After another officer arrived, Rusk was able to take the man into custody for a medical and mental evaluation.
Rusk's determination to protect the man from himself is why she is the 2015 Law Enforcement Hero.
Health care professional
Nicole Oneill-Judd is a student technologist in imaging for the Jefferson City Medical Group.
After hearing a patient's distressed mother, she responded immediately. She ran down the hall and found the young child not breathing and turning blue. Oneill-Judd quickly performed CPR and revived the child, who was then taken to the hospital. Later the child made a full recovery.
For her immediate and life-saving response she is the 2015 American Red Cross Health Care Professional Hero Award winner.