Nathan Hale Award
The Nathan Hale Award was presented to the District by the Cal-Nev-Ha Foundation in 1976 to be given to the young man or woman, under the age of twenty-six, who has demonstrated by action and conduct unselfish devotion and extraordinary and outstanding service to the nation, state or community. The criteria are acts of courage and/or personal involvement and dedication beyond the ordinary call of citizenship responsibility.
The award is not a contest and there is no limit to the number of individuals who may be voted the award in any one year. Nominees are submitted by July 31st to the Board of Directors of the Foundation by clubs, Divisions or the District itself and the presentation is made at the District Convention or other function to be determined by the Board.
The first award was presented at the 1976 Convention to nineteen year old John Conrad of Tulare by Wesley Short, Past Kiwanis President and currently Fire Chief of that city. On December 2, 1975 at great risk for his own life, John entered a small blazing house and endeavored to rescue an elderly man already unconscious from the heavy smoke. The inhalation of this smoke almost also overcame John as his rescue effort failed just when the fire department arrived. The citation concluded that John "made this effort in simple courage and clear-headed thinking in a very dramatic situation."
The second winner was Brian Cox of Costa Mesa, chosen by the Foundation from seventeen candidates submitted by local clubs. On January 19, 1977 Brian responded to a neighbor's call, and disregarding his own safety, pursued a burglar suspect by car and on foot and successfully captured him and held him until police arrived. The citation "recognized his act of outstanding courage in the interest of safeguarding his community and to aid in the safeguarding of the property of that community."
Bob Tuttle of Sparks, Nevada, was the third winner. On December 10, 1977 he was out riding with his family and saw Chris Anderson, a young boy, on a Sierra Power Company pole supporting wires carrying 24,000 volts. The citation said that "without any hesitation, he left his car and climbed the pole and got the boy free. Although Bob dislocated his shoulder in the process, Chris is alive and well today because of the heroic action of Bob Tuttle."
The fourth award was presented at the San Diego convention to Otto Giuliani, a member of the Greater Hayward Kiwanis Club and an officer of the Police Department of that City. In the early morning hours of November 27, 1978 Everett Krayenhagen lost control of his pick-up and went through the fence and onto the BART tracks about the time a train was due at that spot. He was dazed, cut, bleeding and in a helpless condition and the pick-up door was jammed.
Otto saw the pick-up at a forty-five degree angle and the citation said that "without any thought of his own life, he rushed across the BART tracks and the live rail and forced open the door, and just as he got the man out and dragged him out of the way, the train came along and completely demolished the truck."
Past winners have been:
| Year | Winner | Winner | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980-81 | Ovid Jones | ||
| 1981-82 | John McWhorter | Mike Dunn | Lisa Santina |
| 1982-83 | David Seaborn | James Nolind | |
| 1983-84 | Fred Avila | ||
| 1984-85 | Scott Howard | ||
| 1985-86 | Ranelle Wallace | Latie Louise Saldana | |
| 1986-87 | Steven Dieterle | Tracey Benscoter | |
| 1987-88 | Nathan Newton | Bill Davis | |
| 1988-89 | Molly Hernandez | ||
| 1989-90 | James R. Wattenburger | ||
| 1990-91 | Jessica Esquivel | Reeve Rickard | Dave Decker |
| 1991-92 | Monte Bratcher | ||
| 1992-93 | David Copada | Randy Dominquez | |
| 1993-94 | Officer Mary Beachie | ||
| 1994-95 | Craig Bradford | ||
| 1995-96 | Scott Miller | Nicholas Andrew Cauthen | |
| 1996-97 | Grant Peacock | ||
| 1997-98 | William Brooks | ||
| 1998-99 | Robert Ahu | John Morgan | Ray Randal |
| 1999-00 | Charles Maldanado | Dwain Barcklay | Curtis Tammer |
| 2000-01 | Kelly Bennett | Michelle Houde | |
| 2001-02 | Sergeant Paul C. Page | ||
| 2002-03 | Jonathan Griswold | Clayton Gheza | |
| 2003-04 | Matt Wilson | ||
| 2004-05 | No applications submitted | ||
| 2005-06 | C. J. Fillipucci | ||
| 2006-07 | No applications submitted |
Menu
