Carnegie Hero Fund President Eric Zahren presented the Carnegie Medal to Matthew Duffiney and Jack France at a ceremony held at the Cheboygan Carnegie Community Center in Cheboygan, Michigan, on March 21.
Duffiney and France were awarded the medal in September 2025 after they rescued a local man from drowning on March 10, 2025.
Charles Grenier, 73, was riding a powersports vehicle across thin ice on the Black River when it broke through the ice and sank 13 feet to the bottom. Grenier unbuckled his seat belt, swam to the water’s surface where he clung to the ice, and shouted for help in the frigid water. Matthew Duffiney and his friend, Jack France, both 28 of Cheboygan, were ice fishing on the other side of the river when they saw Grenier plunge through the ice.
Both men jumped on France’s powersports vehicle and raced over to Grenier. They parked on thick ice, ran, and then walked, across increasingly thin ice as they approached Grenier. Duffiney crouched down and crawled on the ice before he reached out to grab Grenier’s hands. The ice soon broke under him and he tumbled into the water head first. France also plunged into the water, and both men then moved to either side of Grenier. They grabbed his arms and tried unsuccessfully to lift him onto the ice. Pushing himself up on the ice, Duffiney spread out on the ice on his belly and pulled Grenier toward him by his arm. Simultaneously, France pushed on Grenier from behind and the two men pulled and pushed until he got onto the ice. Duffiney dragged Grenier to safety on thicker ice while France clawed his way up from the water. All three lay nearly exhausted on the ice, but no one was injured.
Zahren spoke about the mission of the Hero Fund and how fostering a care for others allows for brave action to take place.
“Before heroic action, there must be care and concern for others, there must be awareness of their plight. It’s first about community. Only then does bravery and valor emerge. The essential message of the Hero Fund is that we are all in this together, no matter how bad it gets,” he said.