Adam Quiles Jr., Honolulu

Adam Quiles Jr., a mail handler equipment operator at the Honolulu Processing and Distribution Center, recently rushed to the aid of an injured co-worker.

The man had blacked out and gashed his head open when he hit the floor.

Quiles applied pressure to slow the bleeding, told bystanders to get additional help and continued to render first aid until emergency medical technicians arrived.

“I appreciated that Adam was able to relay to the first responders that I was exhibiting seizure-like symptoms,” said the injured employee, who recovered from the incident.

“Adam didn’t wait to be asked or told. He took control of the situation and remained calm, giving others instructions during the tensest moments,” said Acting Sr. Plant Manager Daniel Hirai.

Quiles said his calm demeanor in a medical crisis was profoundly shaped by a boyhood experience at the group home his family operated: At the age of 12, he successfully performed CPR on a disabled resident when no one else was available.

“He is really a superstar,” Hirai added

Michael Fox, Cheektowaga, NY; Mary Martinez, Phoenix; Michelle Ramer, Muscatine, IA

Postal Service employees recently came to the aid of a customer, a co-worker and a child in moments of need.

Cheektowaga, NY, Letter Carrier Michael Fox was concerned that a disabled customer’s mail was piling up over several days. He alerted his manager, who contacted authorities. When they checked on the woman, she was in distress, suffering from an adverse reaction to a change in her medication. She has since recovered, and authorities were thankful for Fox’s attentiveness.

Arizona District Address Management System Technician Mary Martinez was quick to respond when a co-worker started choking while eating. She performed the Heimlich maneuver until the piece of food was dislodged.

Michelle Ramer, a rural carrier in Muscatine, IA, was delivering mail when she heard a child crying across the street. She saw that it was a toddler alone outside a residence, clothed only in a T-shirt and diaper on a frigid day. Ramer knocked on the front door but got no answer, so she alerted her supervisor and sat with the child in her warm vehicle until authorities arrived.

Joshua Hefta, Grafton, ND

Grafton, ND, Rural Carrier Joshua Hefta knew that a 95-year-old postal customer lived alone in the countryside, and he worried about the safety risk of her making the trek outside to her mailbox.

He’d gotten into the habit of taking her mail to her house, but one day recently, she didn’t meet him at the front door as usual.

When Hefta knocked, the woman called out for help, and he soon discovered her lying on the floor.

The customer asked Hefta to call her granddaughter, which he did, and he stayed there until she arrived.

Employees featured in “Heroes’ corner” also receive letters of commendation through the Postmaster General Heroes’ Program. The nomination form is available on Blue