Being a good neighbor: Employee honored for helping woman in need of medical attention

Great River Energy’s Logan Bell, relay technician and electrician, was driving on County Road 12 near one of the cooperative’s substations on an icy January morning when he came upon a car that slid off the road and rolled into a pine tree.

He stopped to check on potential occupants in the vehicle and found a pregnant woman inside. Bell called 911, controlled traffic in the area until the ambulance arrived and then helped extricate the driver.

Bell has been a volunteer firefighter on the Scandia Valley Fire and Rescue Department for three years and has received medical training. He said the department often trains for situations like the one he found himself in earlier this year. Due to the vehicle’s position, Bell and others had to move objects out of the way and remove the woman through the passenger side of the vehicle. 

“The training I received from the fire department helped with how to control the scene, contact the proper authorities and get her the help she needed,” Bell said. 

Bell said the local fire department in the area was responding to four other accident scenes that morning due to the icy roads and didn’t know how long it would take to respond. 

“I have been on quite a few scenes like this,” he said. “The one thing about responding to calls is oftentimes we never know how the victim turns out after they leave the scene.” 

Because of his heroic efforts and going above and beyond in an emergency situation, Bell was recognized with the Good Neighbor Program’s Award of Merit. The Good Neighbor Program is a volunteer community service program at Great River Energy that recognizes individuals who offer a helping hand in the communities the cooperative serves.

Great River Energy’s Priti Patel, vice president and chief transmission officer, recently presented the award.  

“Logan’s response is a great example of how we encourage employees to make use of their skills for the good of the general public,” Patel said. “We all want more Logans in our communities.”