Scott Olsen has been certified to perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) for fifteen years as a requirement for his job on the Wilmot Ski Patrol. Every year he faithfully signs up to take the course at a local organization. He gets a 100 on the test every year and knows the skills by heart.

On a normal morning in February, Olsen began his workday in Racine by plowing the parking lot. A commotion across the street caught his attention and he glanced up to see a crowd gathered around one of the residents from a local apartment complex.

“I heard one of the people in the street say, ‘No he just fell over,’” Olsen remembers.

All the training Olsen knew by heart kicked in, and he started running through the checklist in his head. He had one of the bystanders call 9-1-1 on his cell phone and checked the man for breathing and a pulse. He had neither, and 15 years of training turned into minutes of life-saving action.

“I gave him breaths and did the whole cycle of compressions and breaths.” After three cycles of CPR, local emergency medical technicians arrived. By the time the ambulance reached the hospital, the man had a pulse and was breathing. A week and a half later, the man was able to walk into Olsen’s shop and say thank you. Nothing in years of training could prepare him for that moment.

“I was surprised,” Olsen says.

Though many aspects of the incident surprised Olsen, he remained calm and used his training and values. “You just have to be a friend,” he says.