'CBS Sunday Morning' visits Hero Fund
to film segment on its history and work

CBS Sunday Morning, the long-running staple of the CBS television morning lineup, is featuring the HeroFund in a segment that was scheduled to air in late November. The network sent crews to Illinois andPittsburgh to document Hero Fund activities as part of a story on the history and work of the Commission,and central to the piece is recognition of the heroes who have been honored and supported through thevision of Commission founder Andrew Carnegie.

Correspondent for the segment is National Public Radio's Scott Simon, long-time host of WeekendEdition Saturday and acclaimed journalist, author, and guest contributor for CBS Sunday Morning. Theshow has an estimated six million viewers.

Filming began in late August over a three-day stretch at events in southern Illinois that includedpresentations of the Carnegie Medal to newly named awardees, interviews of medal recipients and thepeople they rescued, and a memorial event that honored past Carnegie heroes.

In September, the Hero Fund hosted Simon, producer Amy Wall, and the film crew at its offices inPittsburgh. The two-day visit and shoot included interviews with Mark Laskow, Commission chair;Walter Rutkowski, president, and Linda T. Hills, a member of the Commission who is also the great-granddaughter of Andrew and Louise Carnegie.

A location shoot followed in Springdale, Pa., at the memorial for the victims of the 1904 Harwick minedisaster, which, claiming 181 lives, remains one of the worst mining disasters in U.S. history. Rescueactivity during the disaster-only one miner survived-served as impetus for Carnegie's establishment ofthe Hero Fund in the months that followed. Grace Abbs of Pittsburgh, the granddaughter of the lonesurvivor, Adolph Gunia, was interviewed on site, giving her impressions of the tragedy, its heroes, and itsimpact on her family through the years.

Simon, Wall, and all others from the network involved in the filming showed great interest in theCommission's work and said they were inspired by the accounts of heroism documented in the HeroFund's files. Simon "Tweeted" to his 1.25 million followers of his experience, and Walls later made theeffort to nominate a candidate for recognition.

Linda T. Hills, Commission member and great-granddaughter of Andrew Carnegie, shares a momentwith correspondent Scott Simon in the Commission's offices during filming of a CBS Sunday Morningsegment.

Grace Abbs, granddaughter of the lone survivor of the 1904 Harwick mine disaster, was interviewed atthe disaster memorial in Springdale, Pa.

To watch the video, see:
Carnegie Heroes: A definition of selfless humanity(www.cbsnews.com/news/carnegie-heroes-a-definition-of-selfless-humanity/)

For more information on the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, see:
www.carnegiehero.org