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Carnegie Hero Fund Commission
  • Heroes
    • Latest Award Announcements
      • Award Announcement Archive
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      • Two-time Carnegie Medal recipients
    • Search Heroes
    • Resources for Heroes & Families
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      • Update Contact Information
    • Request More Information On A Hero
  • Nominate
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    • Award Nomination Form
    • Case Status Inquiry Form
  • About
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    • Deed of Trust
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  • News
    • Impulse Archives
    • Impulse Index
    • Other Press Releases
    • Media Coverage
  • Resources
    • A New Century of Heroes available through the Hero Fund
    • A New Century of Heroes
    • Power of One Archive: Hero Fund Awards 10,000th Carnegie Medal
      • Speeches from Power of One Event
    • Annual Reports
    • About Andrew Carnegie
    • European Hero Funds
    • Resources for Presenters
    • Centennial Archive
  • Contact
News
Officer John Smith, 2019 Awardee

Tag: board notes

Impulse 81: Board Notes

Posted on May 21, 2025 by Griffin Erdely

Carnegie heroes face situations that are surprisingly familiar to all of us, just vastly more dangerous. The latest batch of Carnegie Hero awards involve three rescues of children who survived …

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Impulse 80: Board Notes

Posted on February 19, 2025 by Griffin Erdely

I dislike “meta” articles. You know, where a writer writes about writing. That’s usually more interesting to the writer than the reader! But after turning out a lot of these …

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Impulse 79: Board Notes

Posted on November 25, 2024 by Griffin Erdely

I have the odd habit of paying attention to the lyrics of hymns. While the congregation is singing, immersed in the music and the sound, I’m thinking about the lyrics, …

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Impulse 78: Board Notes

Posted on August 29, 2024 by Griffin Erdely

I didn’t really need to drive to the Butler Farm Show ground to have a personal look. The pictures have been all over the news. A speaker’s platform draped in …

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Impulse 77: Board Notes

Posted on May 14, 2024 by Griffin Erdely

Most of these articles focus on the Carnegie heroes themselves, on the risks they take, and on the price they often pay for their heroic acts. That shouldn’t surprise anyone. …

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Impulse 76: Board Notes

Posted on February 29, 2024 by Griffin Erdely

Perhaps there are some everyday takeaways in the stories of the Carnegie heroes. Not something that will send you running into a burning building or plunging into swift, icy waters, …

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Impulse 75: Board Notes

Posted on November 9, 2023 by Griffin Erdely

If we are open to it, a minor administrative detail can give insight into an important issue. Just such a detail nudged me into thinking more carefully just what it …

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Impulse 74: Board notes

Mark Laskow

Posted on August 17, 2023 by Griffin Erdely

The Carnegie Hero Fund is blessed to work with a remarkable group of people, the rescuers whose deeds have earned them the Carnegie Medal. Many critically important nonprofit organizations deal …

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Impulse 73: Board notes

Mark Laskow

Posted on June 8, 2023 by Jewels Phraner

In your last Impulse, we discussed two Canadian fishermen who made a dramatic rescue in the turbulent December waters off Newfoundland. Now I’d like to take you to a stretch …

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Impulse 72: Board notes

Mark Laskow

Posted on March 10, 2023 by Jewels Phraner

Every Carnegie hero has earned the Carnegie Medal by making a choice that would define their life. Not an abstract decision, like “I like jazz music better than rock,” but …

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Impulse 71: Board notes

Mark Laskow

Posted on November 3, 2022 by Colin Cavada

It was 29 years ago that the late, great Tom Hilliard asked me to become a member of the Hero Fund Commission. I didn’t have a clear idea of what …

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Impulse 70: Board notes

Mark Laskow

Posted on August 11, 2022 by Colin Cavada

And so it goes …There are big changes underway at the Hero Fund. “Good governance,” complete with all associated “best practices,” has caught up with us. In June I completed …

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Impulse 69: Board Notes

clues

Posted on June 1, 2022 by Eli Lambiotte

A slight lull in the hectic life of your dedicated Board Notes essayist (that’s me) allowed me to retrieve from my inbox a special story that has been calling for …

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Impulse 68: Board Notes

clues

Posted on February 25, 2022 by Abby Marie

Here at the Hero Fund we enjoy the traditional classic Christmas move It’s A Wonderful Life as much as anyone. It’s a great movie, one of the best American movies. …

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Impulse 67: Board Notes

clues

Posted on November 17, 2021 by Abby Marie

These famous words of Andrew Carnegie — “My heart is in the work” — sweetly capture the vibrant energy that flowed through his business and philanthropic work. So, I was …

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Impulse 66: Board Notes

clues

Posted on August 19, 2021 by Abby Marie

I have a mental tic that kicks in when I’m working on Carnegie Hero Fund matters. When faced with a novel question, the question pops into my mind, “WWCD?” You …

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Impulse 65: Board Notes

clues

Posted on May 21, 2021 by Abby Marie

Vartan Gregorian is no longer with us. For a quarter of a century he has been the energetic center of the world of philanthropy created by Andrew Carnegie. The power …

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Impulse 64: Board Notes

clues

Posted on February 3, 2021 by Abby Marie

In this issue of Impulse, Editor Jewels Phraner takes you on a deep dive into the 1916 Cleveland Waterworks Tunnel Disaster which killed 21 and injured others. Phraner, a veteran …

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Impulse 63: Board Notes

clues

Posted on November 10, 2020 by Abby Marie

Is the Carnegie Hero Medal unconstitutional? Well, no, of course not, that’s preposterous. Yet at a time when Americans are focused on the Constitution and the Supreme Court, the question …

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Board notes: Individual actions speak louder than words

clues

Posted on September 2, 2020 by Jewels Phraner

By Mark Laskow, Chair Carnegie Hero Fund Commission “As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.” —Andrew Carnegie One hardly …

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