Tennessee Letter Carrier Named 'Hero of the Year' For Saving Two When Truck Plunged Into Lake

9/2/2003

From: Drew Von Bergen of the National Association of Letter Carriers, 202-662-2489 or vonbergen(at)nalc.org

WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 -- A Tennessee letter carrier who jumped into a lake and saved a married couple whose truck had crashed into the water was named today as National Hero of the Year by the 305,000-member National Association of Letter Carriers.

NALC President William H. Young will present the National Hero of the Year award to Rodger Parker at a special ceremony September 17 in the nations capital at the Washington Court Hotel on Capitol Hill. Parker, 37, a resident of Cordova, Tennessee, is a member of NALC Branch 27 in Memphis.

Parker, who has delivered mail for two years out of the Germantown, Tennessee post office, was on his way home last October when he saw a truck veer off the road into a large lake and begin to sink, with water quickly filling the cab. The Navy veteran sprung into action and jumped into the lake along with two others. He first freed Betty Byington and took her to shore, then returned to get her husband, Robert, who was trapped in the drivers seat with water up to his neck.

The union's annual National Humanitarian of the Year award will be presented to Norbert P. Teklinsky of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who has helped raise half a million dollars for diabetes research over the past two decades, including yearly fund-raising walks from Erie to Pittsburgh. Teklinsky, 54, is a member of NALC Branch 84 in Pittsburgh where he delivers mail.

In announcing the awards, Young noted that letter carriers regularly contribute much more to their communities than the mail they deliver.

"While driving and walking up and down the streets along their postal routes, letter carriers keep a watchful eye on the neighborhoods they serve," Young said. "They often abandon their own safety to come to the aid of those in need and the NALC proudly congratulates them on these heroic deeds."

Three regional heroes, a "Carrier Alert" award recipient, and Branch Service Award winner will also be honored at the September 17 event:

-- Elizabeth Myers of Columbia, South Carolina, a member of NALC Branch 233, was named Eastern Region Hero for attempting to save the life of an elderly man and his daughter on January 17 from a blazing house along her route in Columbia. After forcing open a locked door, she dropped to the floor and pulled the man out with the aid of another rescuer. Unfortunately, the fire claimed the lives of both the father and daughter.

-- Lawrence V. Swain, 49, a member of Branch 932 in Alexandria, Louisiana where he delivers mail, was named Central Region Hero for saving the life of a driver in a fiery van accident that he observed while on his route on June 10, 2002. Swain, a resident of Boyce, LA, opened a back hatch, climbed through the smoky vehicle and freed the driver with the help of others just moments before the vehicle was engulfed in flame.

-- Richard Reimer, 55, of Sherman Oaks, California and member of NALC Branch 2462, was named Western Region Hero for his actions while on the way home from work in March 2002, in capturing and holding a purse snatching thief who assaulted a woman. He also testified in court that led to the conviction of the thug and an accomplice.

-- Marilyn M. Bonacorso, 41, of San Jose, California and a member of NALC Santa Clara Branch 1427, was named the recipient of the Special Carrier Alert Rescue Award for her action in saving the life of an elderly man along her postal route in Cupertino, California. On a sweltering day in July, 2002, Bonacorso noticed the man had not picked up his mail, closed a garage door or turned off his stereo since the day before. She contacted a neighbor and they found the man on the floor, dehydrated and dazed.

-- Clearwater, Florida NALC Branch 2008 is the Branch Service Award recipient for conducting numerous community service projects, including a "Gong Show" to raise money for an Alzheimer's family aid group, putting forth a major effort in the annual NALC Food Drive, conducting a golf tournament for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and collecting Toys for Tots.

Judges were Jordan Biscardo, AFL-CIO Community Services liaison at United Way of America; Shelby Hallmark, Director, U.S. Labor Department's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, and Montgomery County (MD) Deputy Fire Chief Phil Guercio.

Editor's note: The awards will be presented at a special ceremony at 11:30 a.m. EDT September 17 at the Washington Court Hotel on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC