Wheaties may be the breakfast of champions, but the breakfast of heroes was in the spotlight on March 27 at Seattle’s Washington State Convention Center as the American Red Cross recognized King County individuals who have gone above and beyond the duties of the everyday citizen.

Stephanie Schoo, regional communications director for Red Cross, said people were honored for a number of different things, but their actions all personified the Red Cross’ mission: neighbors helping neighbors when they need it most.

“Some are pretty dramatic and literally life saving and some are working day in, day out to help make our community a safer, stronger place,” she said about the acts and individuals who were honored at the 16th Annual Heroes Breakfast. “They’re doing it selflessly. They’re not doing it for themselves. They’re doing it to help other people.”

At the event — which was also a fund-raiser for the Red Cross — Redmond Fire Department (RFD) assistant fire marshal Todd Short of Kenmore received the Medical Rescue Award.

OFF-DUTY CALL

Short was at the Great Harvest Bread Company in Redmond when a man on a cell phone entered the bakery demanding the address. Short said the other man was aggressive and something about the situation didn’t “settle well” with him. So Short looked out to the parking lot and saw the man on the phone and a woman standing outside of a car with an open driver-side door. Inside was a man slumped over the steering wheel.

Short rushed outside and immediately began assisting the unconscious man, who was Don Trombly of Issaquah. The woman was his wife, Dixie Trombly. Once Short and the other man, who had been on the phone with a 911 dispatcher, got Don out of the car, Short began chest compressions. Within a minute, Don began regaining consciousness, which was a great sign as it usually takes longer, Short said.

Although Short now works on the fire prevention side of the RFD, he began as a firefighter and has maintained his medical training, which he said just kicked in while assisting Don. Within minutes, an ambulance arrived and Don was taken to the hospital, where he underwent triple bypass surgery.

Before the breakfast, Short had spoken with the Tromblys on the phone and met them once before while shooting a video for the event. He said before meeting the couple, he didn’t feel he deserved the title of “hero.” It was just a case of being in the right place at the right time that Friday morning, which was pure chance as Short usually doesn’t work Fridays. He said he was in Redmond because he went into work briefly for a meeting and had been off duty when he assisted Don.

Short said this feeling of outside factors controlling the situation was a common sentiment among the other honorees at the breakfast.

“We didn’t do anything that anyone else would’ve done,” Short said.

However, once he met the Tromblys and saw how his actions had impacted the couple, Short began to understand things from their perspective. During his speech at the breakfast, he said the reward and satisfaction he has experienced “runs deep and is lasting.”

A WORTHY CAUSE

Short said after attending the breakfast he was impressed by the Red Cross and all the organization does. One thing he pointed out was how 91 cents of every dollar donated goes to people who need it — the remaining 9 cents goes toward administration and overhead, which he said is commendable for such a large organization.

Schoo said one of main services the Red Cross offers is local disaster relief. These disasters are usually house fires and she said while donations have remained at about the same level, the level of support people need has increased due to the down economy.

The money from the breakfast, which usually brings in about 800 people, goes toward general Red Cross programs and services, which in addition to disaster relief, include first aid, CPR and lifeguard training. This year’s breakfast brought in $397,000.

Schoo said her favorite thing about the event is listening to all the inspirational stories, which remind her that there are good people out there, despite how negative the news can be.

“It’s all a good cause,” she said about the Red Cross’ different events. “But this is the one event I leave where I feel good.”