Corporate Spotlight
Elbeco winners announced
elbecocontestwinner.jpg Front, left to right, David Lurio, President of Elbeco; Officer James Quensenbery, Columbus Police Department; Alan Sprunk, Elbeco Sales Rep; Bill Kessler, Owner of US Uniform and Supply. (Back L to R) Tyler Janney, US Uniform and Supply; J.D. Devine, Director of Sales and Business Development Elbeco; Chris Clapp, US Uniform and Supply.

Elbeco has just announced the winners of its "Every Elbeco Uniform Tells a Story" Contest, which attracted entries from around the country. The contest invited public safety professionals to submit stories describing a particular incident in which their actions in the line of duty may have made a significant difference in a citizen's life.

"We were thrilled with the quality of the responses we received from the professional community," said David Lurio, president of Elbeco. "We're honored that these selfless and courageous men and women shared their stories with us, and we're honored to be part of this community."

Five monthly finalists were chosen from entries submitted online September through December. The 20 finalists each received a $100 retail credit to use at their local Elbeco retailer, an Elbeco mug, cap, pen and UFX Performance T-Shirt. From these 20 finalists a Grand, Second and Third prize winner was selected.

The Grand Prize winner received a check for $5,000. The Second Prize winner received a check for $2,500 and a $1,000 credit for his department for Leon Uniforms in St. Louis, MO. The Third Prize winner received a check for $1,000 and a $500 retail credit for his department for Roy Tailor's Uniforms in Columbus, OH.

All the finalists' stories and the Grand, Second and Third prize winner stories can be viewed at www.elbeco.com. Officer James Quesenbery of Columbus, IN, received the Grand Prize for his rescue of a passenger from a burning vehicle. Quesenbery, a member of the Columbus, IN, Police Department, had little time to react when he arrived at the scene of an accident on a local highway. "In situations like this you just act on instinct," Quesenbery recalls. "It was a difficult situation, and working together as a team we did what we had to do."

Elbeco awarded the Second Prize to the Alton, IL, Fire Department's Technical Rescue Instructor Bernie Sebold. Officer Sebold's story recalled how he was summoned to the scene of a suicide attempt in the middle of the night. An 18-year-old woman had jumped from the top of a 160-ft. river bluff, but landed just 40 feet below. When fire crews found the woman screaming for help, they summoned Sebold. He and another firefighter were lowered down the rock face to the victim. They trauma packaged her in a Stokes basket, and then Sebold and the woman were lowered the remaining 120 feet to the road below. The young woman was transported to the hospital where she made a full recovery. "It's not everyday that you are part of a trauma like this," Sebold says. "I was part of a team who executed their jobs perfectly, and the result was a successful rescue."

Officer Edward Kontul of Ohio's Perry Township Police Department received the Third Prize for his story on what seemed like a routine traffic violation. A car made an illegal U-turn right in front of Officer Kontul, and when he stopped the driver, he found a confused elderly gentleman with no ID in a car registered to a woman residing in Florida. "The man was looking for his wife's friend's home and had become lost," recounts Kontul. "As it turns out, after I did some investigating, the gentleman was an Alzheimer's patient in an assisted living community right down the road. When I brought him back home, his distressed wife was incredibly thankful."