Countywide : Cable Workers Prove to Be 1st in First Aid

They squared off at high noon in Irvine to see who was the fastest slinger in Orange County. And when all the slings had been slung, it was a team from San Juan Capistrano that came away battered but unbowed.

The occasion was the first Put Your Boss in a Sling Day competition sponsored by the Orange County Chapter of the American Red Cross. The lighthearted event, held Friday at Western Digital Corp., celebrated Red Cross Month by testing the emergency response skills of 12-person teams from a dozen local companies.

After watching a Red Cross demonstration on the right way to put someone in an arm sling, the corporate employees took on their task with zeal.

“It looks like the aftermath of a punk rock concert,” quipped emcee Leslie Koehn as she surveyed the corporate “carnage” in the Western Digital parking lot. More than 100 “victims” had been hurriedly placed in arm slings by their co-workers, and now awaited the official results.

Tension heightened when it was announced the event would wrap up with a “sling off” between the fastest teams. Dimension Cable edged out Southern California Edison in the first-aid contest.

Red Cross public affairs director Judy Iannaccone said that although the corporate competition was designed to be fun and somewhat frivolous, there was a serious side to the event.

“What it’s about is being disaster-prepared in your workplace and your home,” Iannaccone said.