Comedian Jon Stewart, first responders recognized
Daily Show comedian Jon Stewart, firefighters Ray Pfeifer and John Feal, and businessman Stew Leonard, Jr. were honored for their bravery and contributions to society at the Nassau County Firefighters Museum and Education Center’s annual Badge of Courage gala on Oct. 14.
According to Firefighters Museum Executive Director Alana Petrocelli, the yearly event is a way of highlighting first responders and community members who go above and beyond the call of duty in a line of work that already emphasizes heroism as its calling card.
“Tonight is our annual Badge of Courage gala, and the event is held every October during Fire Prevention Month,” she said. “It’s our annual fundraiser where we recognize firefighters and citizens who have done a lot for the firefighting community.”
The impressive lobby of the adjourning Cradle of Aviation Museum—adorned with actual decommissioned fighter jets hanging overhead—was transformed into a banquet hall for the lavish dinner and awards ceremony, and was attended by hundreds of proudly uniformed first responders, all of whom came out in force to cheer on the evening’s respected honorees.
Jon Stewart is the former host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show and was the co-recipient of the Firefighter Humanitarian Award that evening. Stewart, along with two of his fellow honorees that evening—John Feal and Ray Pfeifer—have tirelessly helped to petition Congress for a successful 75-year extension of the Zadroga Act, which provides vital health benefits for people who have 9/11-related illnesses as a result of working at Ground Zero and other locations affected by the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.
“John Feal is a pain in the ass, and Ray Pfeifer is like an angel…it’s those two different polarities together that helped make this happen,” Stewart said upon accepting his award. “When I first heard about the firefighters’ plight with the Zadroga Act, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing—that Congress wasn’t going to give health benefits to the first responders of New York City on 9/11. I felt this was an important fight to get involved in because when trouble is happening there’s one group of people that runs away from it—that’s my group, we run away—and another group of people who run towards it. That’s firefighters, police…we can’t take that for granted.”
Feal, a Nesconset resident and co-recipient of the evening’s Firefighter Humanitarian Award, is head of the FealGood Foundation and a former demolition expert whose foot was crushed by falling debris at Ground Zero while aiding in cleanup efforts. After witnessing first-hand the indifference exhibited by insurance companies and the government over his plight and the plights of other first responders, he created the FealGood Foundation to help successfully advocate for the passing of the Zadroga Act on their behalf, working hand-in-hand with Jon Stewart and many other supporters along the way.
Upon receiving his award, the outspoken Feal emphasized that getting the Zadroga Act passed and extended was a team effort.
“I want to thank the museum and its board for giving me a humanitarian award, but I’m no more of a humanitarian than anyone else in this room,” he said. “What I take pride in is challenging people on their humanity and their empathy, and if you could meet my standards on that, then you’re my kind of person.”
Retired firefighter Pfeifer of Hicksville is heroically battling stage 4 cancer that he contracted after exposure to the toxic environment around Ground Zero and has served for several years as what he refers to as the “poster boy” for the support movement surrounding the Zadroga Act.
“Many of you in this room called, emailed and texted Congress and Senators after a prompt from us to get this done,” he said, standing up from his wheelchair to make his acceptance speech for the Francis X. Pendl Firefighter Award. “It was a hard fight…they hate us down there in Washington. Jon Stewart would go down there and berate these men for withholding the funds from us, and then I would have to clean things up. I was supposed to be for the movement, but a lot of people did the real work and we all pitched in to make this happen.”
In addition, Stew Leonard, Jr.—president and CEO of the well-known Stew Leonard’s chain of food stores, including a location in Farmingdale—was presented with the Firefighters Leadership Award in recognition for his support of firefighters, which begun shortly after Leonard and his wife experienced a personal tragedy.
“My passion is water safety…my wife and I lost our little son to drowning, and as a result we sponsor underprivileged kids every year with swim lessons,” he said. “We also wrote a little book on water safety that we distribute all over the country, and thanks to fire departments passing this book out it has drastically reduced drowning in those areas, which I’m very proud of. So I’m very proud to see all these uniforms and badges here tonight, and I applaud you for what you do for us.”
