Several to be honored for extraordinary acts

One of the heroes saved a co-worker's life at the Canfield Fair.
BOARDMAN -- The Mahoning Chapter of the American Red Cross will host its third annual "Heroes of the Mahoning Valley" breakfast from 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 14 at Antone's Banquet Centre, 8578 Market St.
The event will honor local citizens who have performed "an extraordinary act of courage, donated countless hours to the betterment of our community and have shown unusual kindness and unselfish character through their actions," the ARC said in a news release.
Honors
These people are scheduled to be honored for their community contributions:
* Rayna Antol, who made cards for her father, an Army chaplain in Iraq, and 700 other members of his unit to send home to family members for holidays and special occasions. She has made more than 2,000 cards to date and continues her work, though her father is home.
* Scott Lewis, who organized volunteers from Greenford Christian Church in the "Big Reach" program, which donates clothing, school supplies, groceries, toys and other services to families in need.
* Angela Speece, creator of the Discover Youngstown Community Experience, a weekly program that targeted under-served Youngstown sixth-graders for exposure to hands-on art and community service projects for five consecutive Saturdays.
* Bruce Zoldan, who organized five local sites to collect water, food, canned goods, baby food and clothing to be sent to Louisiana and Mississippi for victims of Hurricane Katrina. In total, Zoldan, owner of B.J. Alan Fireworks, collected 17 trailer-loads of supplies from the Mahoning Valley.
* Billy Arnaut, who saved a co-worker's life at the Canfield Fairgrounds using an automated external defibrillator and his knowledge of AED procedures to resuscitate the colleague who had fallen lifeless at work.
* Sister Mary Dunn, principal of the Millcreek Children's Center, who has served as a city educator for more than 20 years and works to encourage parent-teacher relations with a tough but loving attitude.
* Gregory Michael Solomon, a Taft Elementary pupil, who heard a woman yelling for help from her car on his way to school and ran to get his parents, who called 911 and stayed with the woman until emergency services arrived.
* The pupils of Poland North Elementary School, who participated in several community appreciation and service projects last year, including a campaign that raised $5,600 to send a Struthers girl with a severe illness to Walt Disney World through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The pupils also wrote letters to military veterans in Pennsylvania and collected $3,800 for the American Heart Association through a jump-roping fund-raiser.
* Edwin "Sonny" Chinowth, Poland's fire chief emeritus who served at the volunteer department from 1959 to 1997 and returned after six months of retirement to volunteer and coordinate a federal grant to increase firefighter training.
The event is sponsored by The DeBartolo Corp. and JP Morgan Chase.
Tickets are $15. This includes a buffet breakfast and awards ceremony. For more information on any individual hero, or for reservations, call Vicky Gill at (330) 726-6063.