'Let's Make 2014 the Year of the Hero,' Mayor Says

After presenting a Madison resident with the Mayor's Award for heroic effort for helping a woman who fell across train tracks at the Madison Train Station, borough Mayor Bob Conley discussed extraordinary and everyday heroism in his 2014 address.

He said extraordinary heroes are not just in the right place at the right time.

They're "the right person in the right place at the right time," he said.

"We don't know what we would have done if we were the person there at the right time," he said. "Would we jump onto the tracks, climb a ladder, give endless hours of volunteer work?"

While not everyone has the chance to be an extraordinary here, "we can be everyday heroes," he said.

He said fireman Kyle Wickman sounded the horn at Hartley Dodge Memorial to ring in the new year in honor of first responders. Conley also mentioned two retired police lieutenants who died in 2013 who were everyday Madison heroes: Anthony "Zeke" DeVincenzo and Vincent Carey.

Everyday heroes also serve in other ways, such as by volunteering on committees and boards, working for Project Community Pride, and can be found in schools, community groups, service clubs and neighborhoods.

"You will realize we are surrounded by everyday heroes," he said. "Not many of us will have the opportunity to be a extraordinary hero, buy most of us can be an everyday hero, and all of us can thank a hero. So let's make 2014 the year of the hero."