WASHINGTON – Tianna Sullivan, accompanied by her mother Donna Sullivan of Osage, visited with Senator Chuck Grassley recently during a visit to Washington, D.C.
Sullivan, a recent graduate from Osage High School and future University of Northern Iowa student, received the Wireless Foundation’s VITA Wireless Samaritan Award at the Wireless Foundation’s 14th Annual Achievement Awards Dinner on June 2, 2008.
The VITA Wireless Samaritan Awards are given to individuals who have used wireless to summon help in an emergency. Award winners exemplify the importance of putting safety first, as well as the crucial role wireless technology can play in emergencies.
"I enjoyed meeting with Tianna," Grassley said. "She deserves a big thank-you for being such a great humanitarian. Her actions were very courageous and show her compassion for others. I hope she enjoys seeing many of the sights in Washington while she is out here."
Sullivan was driving home, worried about breaching her curfew, when she came across an 88-year old woman in the middle of the road wearing only a hospital gown while the wind chill was 25 degrees below zero. Sullivan dialed 9-1-1 for help on her cell phone and got out of the car to help the woman. Within 5 minutes, while trying to get the woman into her car, Sullivan received help when a police officer arrived on the scene. After the elderly woman was taken to the hospital, the police officer on the scene said Sullivan most certainly saved the woman’s life by stopping to help.
