Alliance Schools receives AED for Rockhill field house

Alliance Review
·2 min read
Cintas, the leading supplier of automated external defibrillators in the United States, has donated one to Alliance City Schools' Rockhill Soccer Field House. On hand for the donation event were, front row from left, Nick Samberg, Cintas service manager; Ellie Grescovich, Cintas HR manager; Suzie Dennis, president of Alliance City Schools Board of Education; and Hannah Hamby, Cintas service supervisor; and, back row from left, Olivia Patacca, Cintas sales manager; Mike Smith, Cintas general manager; Nick Cowles, Alliance City Schools' director of operations; Rob Gress, Alliance City Schools superintendent; Bill Koch, Alliance City Schools Board of Education member; and Tyler Kinser, Alliance City Schools Board of Education member.

Though it’s not yet ready for use, those who compete on the Rockhill soccer field house can feel safer after a donation from Cintas.

The leading supplier of automated external defibrillators has donated one to Alliance City Schools for use in the field house, once it’s constructed.

AEDs are portable devices used to deliver an electric shock to restore a normal heart rhythm during sudden cardiac arrest. Every week, statistics show one life is saved by a Cintas AED in the United States.

“We hope that you never use it,” Michael Smith, regional general manager for Cintas, said. “But if it’s there, we hope you can save someone’s life and help impact them.”

In November 2022, the Rockhill field house caught fire and its AED inside was lost. Nick Cowles, director of operations at ACS, explained the situation to Cintas.

“Thank you for the donation,” said Tyler Kinser, ACS Board Member. “We hope we don’t have to use it, but it’s reassuring that if we need it for an athletic participant or a fan, that we’ve got it.”

A person of any age can go into cardiac arrest for a number of reasons. On average, 300,000 individuals in the U.S. will go into cardiac arrest each year. Having access to an AED can help to save their lives. ACS staff experienced this firsthand and their quick action and the life saving AED had a tremendous impact in recent years.

Stephanie McKnight, a former Cintas trainer and current sports medicine teacher at Alliance High School, knew just what to do when a staff member went into sudden cardiac arrest nearly a decade ago. She was able to use an AED to save the person’s life. Cintas spotlighted McKnight in videos that explained her use of the device.

“We appreciated, not only what you’re doing today, but what you’ve provided in the past,” Rob Gress, superintendent of Alliance City Schools, told McKnight during the AED donation ceremony. “You made a big impact by saving two near and dear lives to us - one student and one staff member. We are proud we were able to react and respond to those emergencies. We wouldn’t have been able to do that without your help.”

Construction on the Rockhill Soccer Field House will begin soon. Once completed, Cintas will return to assist with installing the device in the building.

This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Alliance Schools receives AED for Rockhill soccer field house