The timing couldn’t have been better.

Coinciding with the open nomination period for the Red Cross Greater Cleveland Hero Awards, was an advance screening of the full-length feature film THE FINEST HOURS, a story about real-life heroes.  Allied Integrated Marketing, publicists for the movie, graciously invited us to promote the Hero Awards at the screening on January 26 at the Capitol Theatre,  and we were delighted to accept the offer.

Tim O’Toole, Regional Disaster Officer for Northeast Ohio, spoke to a nearly full theater of guests to the advanced screen. Tim described the Hero Awards program, and the kind of people who have been honored in the past.  Honorees like Cleveland Firefighter Jim Norman, who helped rescue two children from a burning home in 2013.  Jim was in attendance, as were several members of the United States Coast Guard.

The movie, THE FINEST HOURS, depicts what many people believe was greatest small craft rescue at sea in the history of the Coast Guard.

Sara Shookman, news anchor at WKYC Channel 3 took part in the presentation as well, introducing Tim and gamely asking trivia questions prior to the start of the movie.  Sara has agreed to host the Greater Cleveland Hero Awards on Friday, March 11 at the Cleveland Convention Center.

Cleveland Firefighter and Past Hero Award honoree Jim Norman, Sara Shookman of WKYC Channel 3 News, and Tim O’Toole, Red Cross Regional Disaster Officer

Three Red Cross volunteers: Toni-Kay Attanasio, Stephanie Naumovski Stevoff and David Schindler helped stage the event.  As Tim O’Toole noted, our volunteers perform heroic deeds every day, by helping people who suffer home fires and other disasters.

Northeast Ohio Red Cross Volunteers Toni-Kay Attanasio, Stephanie Naumovski-Stevoff, and David Schindler

You can become a Red Cross volunteer by logging onto redcross.org/neo, and clicking on the “Volunteer” tab in the left margin.

And you can nominate a hero, through February 1, by visiting clevelandheroes.com.