People, groups honored at Northwest Wisconsin Heroes Breakfast

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - Thursday morning, the Northwest Wisconsin Chapter of the Red Cross handed out awards to several local recipients at its annual Heroes Breakfast.

“It’s an uplifting morning. It’ll make your day. It’ll make your week. We talk about it all year. We look forward to the Heroes breakfast because we take a step back, we sit down and share a meal together and we celebrate people who are quite humble,” says Northwest Wisconsin Chapter Executive Director Mary Jane Thomsen.

Among this year’s honorees were Barron County Sheriff’s deputies Erik Sedani and Heather Hughes, who risked their lives to save a snowmobiler who had fallen through the ice last March. Both Deputies ended up falling through the ice themselves in the process of rescuing the snowmobiler.

“We were just doing our job. I mean, that’s why most people get into law enforcement is to help people,” says Hughes, who was hospitalized for hypothermia following the rescue.

March is Red Cross Month and Thomsen adds that nothing makes her feel better than honoring others.

“The Red Cross mission is to prevent and alleviate human suffering. Our heroes’ stories tie back to the mission, tie back to what we do in the community, and we couldn’t be prouder of our heroes or happier to honor them in this way each and every March.”

Copyright 2023 WEAU. All rights reserved.