Four local residents were honored for their bravery in a time of crisis and called “heroes” by Boone County Sheriff Ken Campbell at an awards ceremony at a Thursday, March 15, Kiwanis lunch at Ulen Country Club.
The four honored — Boone County Deputy Sam Scott and wife Rachel Scott, Jail Corrections Officer and Special Deputy Justin Fuston, and Toni Reynolds — were on the scene of the Indiana State Fairgrounds stage collapse prior to a Sugarland concert Saturday, Aug. 13, 2010. All four rushed into the chaos to help, and have continued relationships with people they aided or with the families of the deceased, acts that brought Campbell nearly to tears in his presentation.
“I could not be more proud of them,” he said. “We know they made a difference that day.”
Deputy Scott thanked his wife, who gave him “a lot of courage and extra strength that night,” he said. He also thanked the Boone County Sheriff’s Office for its extensive training program. Without that training, he said, things might have turned out differently that night.
The Scotts made friends with a woman they helped that night. She is making good progress in recovery, Scott said, though she is now in a wheelchair.
“And we will stay in contact,” he said.
Reynolds said she has visited the family of a woman who died in the tragedy.
“They appreciated knowing that their daughter wasn’t alone,” she said.
Fuston echoed a comment Reynolds made — “I don’t think I did anything different than anyone else.”
“I hope they get appreciated as much as I do,” he said.
Fuston and Deputy Scott were awarded the Medal of Bravery for “actions above and beyond and at great personal risk to their lives, all the while being off duty and in another jurisdiction.”
Reynolds, a nurse, and Rachel Scott, a nurse assistant, were awarded a Certificate of Outstanding Performance.
All four were given a certificate, a medal and a challenge coin. Fuston and Deputy Scott were also given a bravery pin to wear on their uniforms.
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