By Pete Prunkl

Following the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, the late Ernest Curtis thought it appropriate that his civic club, the Civitan Club of Salisbury, honor our local heroes. To accomplish that goal, Curtis endowed an award for Rowan County residents who displayed heroism through an extraordinary, spontaneous act of bravery or courage, motivated by service to others. Each year at the meeting nearest the 9/11 anniversary, the Civitan Club of Salisbury names a Rowan county resident as a community hero. This year the award was presented to Sara Bradley of China Grove.

Ms. Bradley was nominated by Michelle Patterson of Patterson Farms. In May 2015, while working at the Patterson Farms retail store, Bradley administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to a customer who had collapsed. Bradley had learned CPR at Novant Health Julian Road Surgery Center. She worked for 11 minutes to save the stricken customer who was suffering from late stage cancer. The customer lived for a week after he was transported to the hospital. In her nomination, Patterson said, “It is one thing to know how to do CPR and another thing to step up and do it. In our opinion, this truly makes her a hero.”

Attending the presentation were Sara’s parents, Vanessa and Ken Bradley and Michelle Patterson. On the day of the presentation, Sara mentioned that her grandfather and Ernest Curtis were hunting buddies.

For more information on the Civitan Club of Salisbury, contact Pete Prunkl at 704-633-9641.