[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 52 (Thursday, March 26, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E787]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING RECIPIENTS OF THE IGOR I. SIKORSKY AWARD FOR HUMANITARIAN 
                                SERVICE

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                         HON. RAUL M. GRIJALVA

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 26, 2009

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the recipients of 
the 2009 Igor I. Sikorsky Award for Humanitarian Service. The 
recipients of this award have exhibited bravery in the face of grave 
danger during an event in my home state of Arizona.
  Last August, during the summer monsoon season in Arizona, Havasu 
Canyon suddenly flash flooded, and as the canyon flooded, nearly 400 
people had to be evacuated from the area. Havasu Canyon, which leads 
into the Grand Canyon, is a popular daytime stop-over site for rafters 
floating the Colorado River. At that time, sixteen boaters on a private 
rafting trip became stranded on a ledge above the raging floodwaters.
  The rescue team, consisting of a Grand Canyon National Park ranger, 
five members of the helitack crew, and a pilot from the Papillon Grand 
Canyon Helicopters, using a special short-haul technique, transported 
the stranded boaters to the Colorado River bank where they could be 
airlifted to a rescue center.
  The Igor I. Sikorsky Award for Humanitarian Service is sponsored each 
year by Sikorsky Aircraft in honor of its founder and is presented to 
those who best demonstrate the value of civil rotorcraft to society by 
saving lives, protecting property and aiding those in distress. The 
award can be made for a particular mission, or for a consistently 
outstanding manner for a period of time.
  I commend the recipients of the award this year for their tremendous 
bravery in the face of an extremely dangerous situation. I know that 
those who were rescued that day, along with their families, will be 
grateful to them forever for their actions that day.
  The recipients of the award were: Jay Lusher, John Yurcik, Sean 
Naylor, Nate Becker, Ali Ulwelling, Brandon Torres, and Bryce Barnett.

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