Bill Thrune, Refuge Operations Specialist and Calvin Gehri, Biological Science Technician, were awarded the Citation for Exemplary Act from Service Director Dale Hall.  The two were awarded this honor for their quick action and bravery in the rescue of a potential drowning victim in December 2005. 

It was a cold and blustery December day when the refuge received the call from the Wisconsin 911 Dispatch Center to request assistance in rescuing an individual who had fallen through the ice on Lake Onalaska, a major backwater of the Upper Mississippi River. 

Bill Thrune and Calvin Gehri quickly prepared the airboat, loaded survival gear, and drove to the landing where emergency vehicles and the news media were already present. 

Thrune and Gehri were briefed on the rescue efforts.  Four firefighters from the Town of Campbell outfitted in coldwater rescue gear, had already walked and crawled about 600 yards across the ice to the victim. 

Thrune drove the airboat to the scene where the firefighters had brought the victim out of the water.  The rescuers struggled to move the ice-encased victim onto the front deck of the airboat.  Two of the firefighters accompanied Thrune back to the landing with the victim.  At the landing, the victim was quickly loaded into a waiting ambulance and transported to the hospital. 

Thrune returned to the scene with the airboat to collect the remaining two members of the rescue team and returned to recover the victim's boat.  While Thrune operated the airboat, Gehri remained at the landing working closely with emergency response personnel and provided information to the media. Due to the efforts of many, the victim survived the accident and made a full recovery.