Manchester, VT – Burr and Burton Academy math teacher and head varsity football coach Matthew Kujovsky was a wedding guest sitting at a table ten years ago when the unthinkable happened:  another guest collapsed, hit the back of Kujovsky’s chair and lay unconscious with his head resting on the future coach’s feet.  Suffering an apparent heart attack, the shocked guests called 911 and waited….and waited.  “I didn’t know what to do.  No one knew what to do.  We just stood there and waited for the ambulance to arrive.  The man later died and I vowed that day to never again be in a position of helplessness.” 

Fast forward to a Monday afternoon junior varsity football game October 15 at Springfield High School.  In the game’s closing minutes, Kujovsky is standing on the sideline near the fifty-yard line when he sees official Gary “Moe”  Haskell drop on both knees and hit the field face first without ever raising a cushioning hand.  According to the Coach, the next series of events happened so fast they are a bit of a blur.

“I just started sprinting toward Moe…I don’t know how long I took and I was kind of in shock but when I got to him my training just kicked in.”  Kujovsky, along with BBA jayvee Coach Gary Grabarz and Rona McColl-Verdier, a player parent (and nurse) who ran out of the stands, all performed what turned out be life saving CPR on the unconscious official.  Unlike that day of regret and guilt a decade ago, this time Matt helped to save a life.  According to the coach, who remains very emotional about the experience, the difference was the training he received including the most recent he received through the aptly named Save A Life Foundation. 

Kujovsky was part of the Foundation’s first ever attempt to train the students and faculty of an entire high school in Vermont.  The SALF is an Illinois-based philanthropic organization led by emergency medical service professionals that provides students basic Life Supporting First Aid skills training intended to help them to save lives.  It was founded by a woman who lost her daughter to a 1992 fatal car crash when none of the bystanders knew basic first aid techniques.

The training completed at Burr and Burton just this past June, included information on how to stop bleeding, treat burns, and perform the Heimlich maneuver and CPR.  The Foundation was brought to Vermont by John Donleavy, President and CEO of Vermont Electric Power Company, whose teenage daughters attend the Academy.  “Students and faculty are frequently bystanders at emergency scenes and, given Vermont’s rural nature, when trained they can help sustain life until help arrives.  They can serve as a ‘medical care bridge’ in time of need”, said Donleavy. He added, “Even though I know that and believe it, every time I hear about Coach Kujovsky’s experience it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.”   

Donleavy and the Foundation have reached out to Vermont’s Washington delegation for resources to help provide training to more Vermont schools.   “In times of need, Vermonters are good neighbors, quick to act.  In this instance, the quick reaction and medical training of Matt Kujovsky saved a life,” said Vermont's U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, a strong supporter of first responders and first-aid training programs.  “When it comes to preparedness in our communities, it's been said that chance favors those who are prepared.  This inspiring example can help encourage more Vermonters to be prepared for a time when they may have the chance to help someone in need.”

Encouraging others to take this training is why Coach Matt Kujovsky, who believes he received that exceedingly rare gift of redemption, is willing to discuss his experience publicly, “I truly hope no one has to go through what I did.  But the fact is they will.  If by spreading the word I encourage others to take the time to get trained it’s more than worth it.  Seconds do count and saving a life changes your life.” 

ABOUT SALF: Save A Life Foundation (SALF) is a national leader in providing age appropriate training to develop child bystanders as volunteers equipped with basic Life Supporting First Aid (LSFA) skills to sustain life until professional help arrives. SALF promotes community awareness and education through partnerships with federal, state and local elected officials and agencies, schools, hospitals and emergency response agencies to deploy local certified emergency medical services (EMS) professionals as instructors in America’s classrooms.  Since its founding in 1993, more than 1.643 million children have participated in SALF programs.  Contact:  Joshua E. Robbins (312) 943-1955.

Burr and Burton Academy is an independent, coeducational New England secondary school that serves as the school of choice for students from Manchester and several surrounding communities. Burr and Burton offers a broad and challenging curriculum that seeks a balance between science and the liberal arts. Faculty members strive to instill in their students a love of lifelong learning through their examples and their guidance. The school actively promotes good citizenship, personal responsibility, and service to the wider community. Contact:  Charles Scranton (802) 362-1775

VELCO is Vermont’s transmission system reliability resource that delivers electricity to the consumer utility companies throughout Vermont.  VELCO has begun construction on a system wide upgrade to address reliability concerns in the state. For more information please contact:  Kerrick Johnson, VELCO Vice President of External Affairs, (802) 770-6166 or via email at: kjohnson@velco.com;