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Kiwanis clubs to honor county heroes
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More from County NewsSeveral Kiwanis clubs will honor firefighters and citizen heroes from across Ventura County at a banquet Friday night.
Richard Rush, president of CSU Channel Islands in Camarillo, will be the keynote speaker at the fifth annual Fire Services & Heroes Celebration at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel in Ventura.
Every year, the clubs give heroism awards to people who have placed their lives in jeopardy to save another human life, and Samaritan honors to people who have risen beyond the call of duty to try to save a life. The awards were initially created as a way to honor public safety and citizen heroes killed in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Those being honored this year include Tim Barry, who died in December while trying to save his grandniece from drowning off Ventura's Pierpont beach; brothers Edgar and Rene Herrera, who in July helped two people escape a burning plane that crashed in Somis; Daniel Harnes and Claudine Birgy of Thousand Oaks, who entered a neighbor's burning house in January to rescue an infant and the family pet; and Nathan Abruzzese of Ojai, who at the age of 7 called 911 and saved his mother's life last year when she had an allergic reaction to medication.
The Ventura Kiwanis Club is sponsoring the event. The Kiwanis clubs of East Ventura, Ventura Suburban, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks are co-hosts.
The 6 p.m. event is open to the public. Tickets are $35 in advance or $40 at the door and include dinner.
For reservations, call Gloria Casas at 642-0179.
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