Mayor Sam Katz didn't have a medal suitable for honouring the two passersby who rescued Lisa Klassen after her SUV plummeted to the Red River last winter. So he created a new medal.
When Katz decided to honour both Dale Kasper and Toby Tutkaluk, who were credited with saving Klassen's life, he discovered the city did not have an award that recognized the bravery of people who did not actually live in Winnipeg.
Dale Kasper (left) and Toby Tutkaluk receive first-ever Mayor’s Medal of Valour for saving Lisa Klassen, whose SUV crashed onto the Red River (below) after rolling off a bridge in February.
While Tutkaluk, 40, hails from Transcona, Kasper, 47, is a resident of East St. Paul and therefore was ineligible for any civic honour.
So, Katz commissioned a medal to make heroic things right and at a city hall ceremony Monday, he made Kasper and Tutkaluk the first recipients of the Mayor's Award of Valour.
"I believe that both of these men, who gave a young woman with a vibrant future ahead of her another chance at life... are valiant heroes and deserve to be honoured," Katz told a small audience made up of Kasper, Tutkaluk and Klassen family members.
"Because a hero is a hero," Katz continued, "no matter where they get their mail."
Kasper and Tutkaluk said they were pleased at Klassen's recovery. Tutkaluk had not met with Klassen, the sister of Cindy Klassen, the Olympic gold-medal-winning speedskater, since the accident.
He told Klassen the memory of the day continues to haunt him.
"I drive by (the scene of the accident) and shake my head," Tutkaluk said to Klassen as photographers' cameras clicked.
The award is a silver medal bearing the city crest and ringed with the words, Mayor's Award of Valour. The name of the winner is inscribed on the back.
joe.paraskevas@freepress.mb.ca
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