The story behind the medal
Robert P. Connelly, 34, a member of the Kiwanis Club of Lisle, Illinois,
lost his life September 23, 1966, in an attempt to rescue a disabled woman
who had fallen in the path of an on-rushing passenger train.
The act of heroism took place during the annual Kids' Day Peanut Sale.
The club had assigned a number of its members to the railroad station because
Lisle is a suburban community of Chicago where commuter traffic is heavy.
Suddenly, a young woman with artificial legs lost her balance and fell
to the tracks directly in front of an approaching train. Robert, who was
selling the peanuts on the station platform, rushed to the aid of the stricken
woman. Before he could pull the woman from the tracks, the train was upon
them, and both were killed.
Kiwanis memorialized Robert P. Connelly's heroism
The first Robert P. Connelly Medal of Heroism was awarded posthumously
to Robert P. Connelly at the 52nd Annual Kiwanis International Convention
in Houston, Texas (1967) with this statement—“By his unselfish
action he put tremendous and dramatic meaning into the phrase ‘personal
involvement,’ which is so much a part of Kiwanis philosophy. This
man was the epitome of all that Kiwanis strives to be.”
The Kiwanis International Board of Trustees established the Robert P.
Connelly Medal "for service beyond the call of duty."
The Medal
Recipients receive a bronze medal displaying Robert P. Connelly’s
likeness, mounted on a walnut board with the inscription “for service
beyond the call of duty.” The recipient’s name is engraved
on a metal plate. Connelly recipients may receive a financial award along
with the medal.
The medal is to honor those who risk death or physical harm when "they
might just as well have passed along the way." There are more than
600 Robert P. Connelly Medal recipients. A complete list of medal recipients
is maintained at the Kiwanis International Foundation office in Indianapolis,
Indiana.
How it is awarded
The Connelly Committee of the Kiwanis International Foundation receives
all nominations and presents them to the Foundation Board of Trustees for
consideration.
The choice to grant a medal is the responsibility of the Kiwanis International
Foundation Board of Trustees. The Board has complete latitude in the selection
of recipients in a concerted effort to maintain the award’s integral
meaning. The Board’s decision is final.
The Kiwanis club is notified immediately if its Connelly candidate is
selected and sent a special five-minute DVD explaining the award for
use during the presentation. The International Foundation Board asks that
the medal be given at a special club meeting or at a district function.
It is recommended that a member or past member of the International Board,
the International Foundation Board, or your district governor present the
award.
Qualification and nomination procedures for recipients
A nomination form
is available for download.
Nominees must:
- Be nominated by a Kiwanis club.
- Face actual risk of death or physical harm
by accepting self-imposed personal responsibility in the effort to
save the life of another.
- Have no official responsibility for the person rescued.
- Perform the act
of heroism in a non-official capacity (exception: a military person
on leave voluntarily risks his or her life or health to save
a person from harm).
- Not be closely related to the person rescued.
- Be nominated within five
years of the incident.
- Nominees do not have to be a Kiwanis member.
The Medal of Valor
The nomination of an individual(s) for the Robert P. Connelly Medal who,
in the opinion of the Kiwanis International Foundation Board of Trustees,
does not meet any or all of the requirements for the medal will be considered
for the Medal of Valor. The decision of the Board is final.
All nominees who do not qualify for either the Connelly or the Valor
medal receive certificates of courage sent to the nominating clubs by
the Kiwanis International Foundation.
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