Whelen Help Us Find Our 2023 Whelen Everyday Champion!
It’s that time of year again and the search is underway for our 2023 Whelen Everyday Champion! Each year our Everyday Champion program honors an individual or group that has shown bravery during an act of exceptional valor or works tirelessly each day to make their community a better place to live.
If that sounds like someone you know please visit www.whelen.com/everydaychampion to fill out a short submission form and tell us all about them. We’re accepting submissions until October 27, 2023. Past winners have included police officers, firefighters, a multidisciplinary paramedicine team, and even a tow truck driver who made a daring rescue while returning from a call!
Our 2023 Everyday Champion will be honored at a special ceremony in January 2024 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they’ll receive an award of distinction in the Whelen Hall of Champions. This special exhibit inside the Hall of Fame inspires visitors by highlighting stories of heroism, bravery, and honor.
Honoring Those Who Protect and Serve
“We look forward to the Everyday Champion program every year,” says Peter Tiezzi, General Manager of Motorsports at Whelen, and retired 35-year veteran of the Chester Hose Company in Chester, Connecticut. “Supporting first responders is at the core of everything we do and an important part of our company culture,” Tiezzi added. “It’s an honor for us to bring well-deserved recognition to these unsung heroes in our communities,” he finished.
The Everyday Champion award is a small way for us to say, ‘thank you’ to the heroes in uniform, whose acts of selflessness often go unnoticed. Many of our employees are first responders themselves and understand the courage and commitment it takes to fulfill that role and are proud to support their brothers and sisters in uniform.
Past Champions
In 2022, the Lexington Fire Department Community Paramedicine Team was named the Everyday Champion. The multidisciplinary team in Lexington, Kentucky uses traditional EMS resources in a non-traditional manner to meet the needs of the community. The team works to connect the dots between struggling community members and the resources available to help them like dispatching paramedics, but not ambulances, to patients who frequently call 911 for non-emergent reasons because they don’t have anyone else to call.
The small team, formed in 2017, impacts hundreds of individuals in Lexington each year. In 2022 they served more than 468 unique individuals and followed up with more than 1,300 people suffering from non-fatal overdoses. “Community paramedicine is a win for everyone, especially the citizens whose quality of life is often improved through the services,” Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton has said in the past. The team is available seven days a week and provides training and guidance to other local first responders including firefighters, paramedics, and police officers on available resources to help the individuals they respond to.
Sergeant Jeremy March of Mobile, Alabama was named the 2021 Everyday Champion. Sgt. March was recognized for his tireless efforts in building positive relationships between law enforcement officers and children in his community. Affectionately known as ‘The Dancing Cop’ from his enthusiastic participation in community events, March spreads joy and inspires connection between police officers and the youth of Mobile. Community members describe him as a selfless and compassionate human, living a life of service to others. March truly embodies the spirit of an everyday champion, founding the nonprofit organization Cops for Kids and devoting countless hours of his personal time to attending charitable events that benefit children in his community.
Previous champions also include tow truck operator Andre Harris of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Trooper Jay Farmer of the Washington State Patrol, firefighters Rich Petras, Ron Vargo, and David Shantery of the Cleveland Fire Department; Assistant Fire Chief Darren Ware and Deputy Fire Chief Tyrone Wells of Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department; Officer Brandi Kamper of the Fort Worth, Texas Police Department; Fire Captain Darin Peterson of the St. Charles Fire Department, and Paramedic Eric Watkins of the Plainfield Fire District.
Learn more about all our champions HERE.
Who Will Be Our 2023 Champion?
It’s up to you to help us find our 2023 Champion! Please join us in bringing recognition to those who make our communities better by nominating a hero today. And don’t forget to spread the word by sharing this with your friends and family on social media, and with anyone else you think may be interested!
Hurry! Nominations end on October 27, 2023.
