The Roanoke Times

File April Blacksburg police officers run on the Virginia Tech campus April 16. The Blacksburg force was among those honored during "A Real Heroes Breakfast" on Thursday.

BLACKSBURG -- The second annual "A Real Heroes Breakfast" celebrated those who responded to the April 16 Virginia Tech shootings and other local crises while raising money to alleviate future disasters.

Police and rescue groups, as well as individuals, were honored at Thursday's fundraiser for the Montgomery-Floyd Chapter of the American Red Cross held at the Custom Catering banquet hall off North Main Street.

Tech President Charles Steger gave the keynote address, thanking the Red Cross and various community groups for their help with counseling and other services after the shootings, which left 33 dead and more than 20 injured.

"This is part of the healing process," New River Valley Community Disaster Response Coalition President Dorinda Miller said of the breakfast. These and similar gatherings provide a place for first responders and others to "get together to celebrate but not be too intense," she said.

A two-year mental health response plan devised by Miller and the leaders of other local agencies is in full swing. There were many grim predictions about the aftermath, Miller added. But the communities in and around Blacksburg are showing remarkable resilience.

"We're working hard to beat the odds here," she said.

Thursday's honorees were nominated by community members, and the awards were decided by a volunteer committee. Most of the awards centered around the response to the shootings.

Montgomery County Emergency Services Coordinator Neal Turner and Blacksburg Rescue Squad member Brad Privett were recognized for their service. Privett was one of the first emergency response workers to enter Norris Hall after the shootings, organizers of the breakfast said.

The Blacksburg, Christiansburg and Virginia Tech police departments and the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office shared the law enforcement response award. The Blacksburg and Virginia Tech rescue squads received dual awards for emergency medical response.

The staffs of Montgomery Regional Hospital and the Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center were also recognized for caring for April 16 victims and their families.

Joyce Robinson and Bonnie Albert, both of Blacksburg, were named good Samaritans for their response to a different tragedy. The Landsdowne Street neighbors were honored for trying to rescue two victims of a fatal gyrocopter crash in Robinson's back yard in October.

The aircraft's passenger, 43-year-old Judy Diane Albert, was killed in the fiery crash. The pilot, Randy Pelt, survived but was severely injured. He was freed from the wreckage when Robinson and Bonnie Albert summoned other neighbors to help. Pelt attended the breakfast and was recognized during the awards ceremony.

Last year's breakfast raised about $2,000 for the local Red Cross, which provides disaster response, health and safety services and assistance for military families, among other programs, Executive Director Margaret Sawyer-Cash said.

No state or federal money supports the local chapter, she added. "We depend on local dollars to help us operate."

Fundraising totals were not yet available for this year's event, but Sawyer-Cash said the number of sponsors increased from 2007. About 250 people attended the breakfast.