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| Local residents to be honored at heroes breakfast |
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| Written by Jonathan Partridge | Patterson Irrigator | |
| Friday, 30 May 2008 | |
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At a glance
WHAT: American Red Cross Heroes BreakfastWHEN: 7:30 a.m. Wednesday WHERE: DoubleTree Hotel, 1150 Ninth St., in Modesto COST: $30 per person INFO: 523-6451 The American Red Cross Stanislaus County Chapter will recognize several of the heroes in our midst during a special breakfast next week, including three Patterson residents. Patterson High School teacher and football coach Rob Cozart, Patterson Fire Department engineer Mike Ambrosino and volunteer Capt. Jeff Fijman will all be honored at the Red Cross Heroes Breakfast. Cozart has been designated an education hero, while Ambrosino and Fijman were both named as heroic professional rescuers. This is the second year that the Stanislaus County chapter has had such an event. A selection committee picked winners in 12 categories from a list of 23 nominees that the Red Cross received from county residents. Among others, honorees include a group of people who helped a Modesto police officer who was wrestling with a suspect over his gun, possibly saving his life in the process. And trucker Damon Gordon will be named Hero of the Year after he angled his truck in front of another to stop it after its driver had blacked out while driving on Highway 99 near Salida, saving the trucker and others. Videos showing the efforts of each winner will be on display at the breakfast. “It’s a pretty incredible morning,” said Rebecca Ciszek, executive director of the Stanislaus County chapter. A community hero Cozart might not have literally saved people’s lives like some nominees, but he is a hero to the community after spearheading a $1.6 million project to renovate Patterson Community Stadium, according to Red Cross officials. “It started as a simple idea; a shot in the dark,” Cozart said of the renovation project. Momentum snowballed as the community got behind the project, and the effort — from the planning and funding stages to construction — was completed in less than a year.  Cozart In addition, local volunteers worked on the project during the weekends, and about 200 people showed up one weekend to install plastic foam for the new field. “Nothing we do has been a one-person deal,” Cozart said. “It’s always been the community, and support has come from the community and family and friends.” Leo Reynoso Jr., a Patterson High School football player who graduated from the high school Thursday, nominated Cozart for the award. The nomination included newspaper clippings and an essay. “It was beautiful,” Ciszek said. “It was so sweet that he went through all that work.” Cozart said he had no idea he was even nominated when he was notified that he had won. “It was a definite surprise,” he said. Coach Mike Glines, the recently retired football coach of the Central Catholic Raiders, also will be honored at this year’s breakfast with the Spirit of the Red Cross award. Glines and his football team helped raise more than $6,000 in money and material goods for a single mom of four children whose home had burned down. The team also helped move items from the Modesto estate of a Roseville woman’s late father, as the woman wished to donate them to the Red Cross. Cozart laughed at the irony that both coaches were being honored, noting that Glines received both his 200th win and his final championship game last year at Patterson’s expense. “Everywhere I go, there is Mike Glines,” he said. Ciszek commended both Cozart and Glines for their work in the communities where they serve. “They’re really good examples of what coaches do for kids,” she said. Day-in, day-out heroes  Ambrosino In December 2006, their work made a huge difference for the late Betty Parr, who was in a semi-comatose state as a result of her diabetes. Parr’s sugar level had dropped significantly by the time the two firefighters arrived, and she was incoherent. The firefighters restored Parr to a stable condition and took time to coach Parr’s daughter, Debbie Parr-Noblitt, on the proper use and maintenance of her glucometer, which was not working correctly. “To us, it was almost like a routine situation,” Ambrosino said. “But to the family, naturally it was a whole lot more.”  Fijman Both Fijman and Ambrosino expressed enthusiasm about the award, saying it was wonderful to be appreciated. Still, they aimed to deflect the spotlight off themselves and place it on the Patterson Fire Department as a whole. “Mike and I just happened to be there at the right time,” Fijman said. “It could have been any of us at the fire department (who responded).” Next year’s heroes Ciszek said the Red Cross will take nominations in July with a cutoff date in February for the 2009 heroes breakfast. “It’s an open nomination process, so you never know what you’re going to get,” Ciszek said. To reach Jonathan Partridge at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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