Merit Awards

There are heroes among us. You could be one, too, because every employee who learns first aid/CPR is a potential hero like these recent Asplundh Silver Merit Award recipients. Read their stories and be proud of their generous, caring and quick actions!

CPR Works!

On October 17,1999, Foreman Dan Cannon and Crew Member Justino Ortega of the Pat White Region were among the hundreds of Asplundh employees helping Florida Power & Light (FP&L) restore electricity after Hurricane Irene knocked out power to over 1.7 million customers in South Florida. A fellow employee, Shane Tackitt, slipped while pulling some brush and accidentally came in contact with an energized conductor on the ground.

After quickly calling FP&L to shut off the line, Dan and Justino immediately saw that Shane wasn't breathing and didn't have a pulse. They began CPR while other crew members called 911. Fortunately, Shane's heart and lungs responded and a helicopter soon transported him to the hospital where he eventually fully recovered.

In a letter from Flight Nurse Deborah Armstrong, who accompanied Shane in the helicopter, she wrote, "Their ability to take charge and accurately assess the situation led to giving Mr. Tackitt the ultimate chance for survival after a potentially deadly accident." Great job, guys!

Fire Fighting Tree Workers

It was a dry, windy afternoon on March 7 when General Foreman Dorsal Holland and two Asplundh crews from the Larry Kirk Region were leaving East Lynn, West Virginia to park their vehicles for the night. On the way, they saw two elderly women fighting a brush fire that had gotten out of control.

Immediately stopping their trucks, the men grabbed every tool they could find to clear a ring around the fire. While it was being put under control, Foreman Jerry Coburn administered first aid to one of the ladies who had suffered a burn. Just as the crew finished putting out the fire, a local volunteer fire department arrived.

East Lynn Fire Chief Steven Vernick expressed his special thanks to the crew because his volunteers had been working another fire and were exhausted. We at Asplundh say thank you, too!

Meter Reader to the Rescue

You just never know what you might encounter while reading meters -- dogs, bee hives and sometimes injured people!

On May 8, Joseph Stone, a meter reader for Utility Meter Services, Inc. (UMS), an Asplundh subsidiary, entered a property to read a meter for Alabama Power Company. As he headed for the meter, he was surprised to see a man lying on some steps nearby, barely conscious. Immediately, Joseph tried to talk to the man to determine what kind of care he needed and then called 911 to describe the situation.

Joseph kept the man calm until emergency help arrived and because the man had fallen while going out to feed his dog, he matter-of-factly retrieved the dog and fed him! Paramedics reported that if the man had not gotten help within the next hour, he would have died. Joseph's calm, cool and collected actions saved a life!

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