KINGSLEY -- Matt Schelich and Matt Nausadis stood in Kingsley High School's gym where students and staff were gathered in their honor.
Nausadis, the school's principal, and Schelich, a physical education teacher, helped avert a community tragedy last month when they rushed into the home of Bruce and Aerin Graves on Oct. 12 and pulled the couple and their two young sons to safety. The family had been rendered unconscious by carbon monoxide poisoning.
At Friday's school assembly, local police, fire and school officials -- along with the Graves family -- praised Nausadis and Schelich for their life-saving actions. Each was given a citizens' valor award from the Grand Traverse Sheriff and Grand Traverse Rural Fire departments for their efforts in saving the family.
"They did this because they cared enough for their friends and family to act when their intuition told them something was wrong," Grand Traverse County Sheriff Tom Bensley told the crowd of students and staff.
The awards are nice, the pair said, but it's especially rewarding to see the Graves family in good health and spirits.
"What a wonderful closure to this whole event to be acknowledged in such a way and to have the Graves family here alive and well," Nausadis said.
Bruce Graves co-teaches a class with Schelich at Kingsley, and his wife teaches at a Munson Medical Center day care. Schelich and Nausadis went to the Graves' home after Bruce didn't show up to school and Munson called the school looking for Aerin.
They went in the home and found theRecord-Eagle/Jodee Taylor
Debbie Wilson, top left, and her family eat tacos at a handcrafted table they received from Love INC. Graves and their two young sons, Owen, 6, and Ely, 3, and took them to safety.
The community rallied behind the Graves in the weeks following the incident. Fellow teachers and community members banded together to install a new furnace and insulation at the Graves' home. They also cleaned up around the house and raised thousands of dollars for medical expenses.
Bruce Graves thanked Nausadis and Schelich, along with the entire student body and community.
"I want to say thanks to all of you and all of your families," he said as his two sons and wife stood by his side. "It's pretty amazing what this community did for us ... I'm proud to be in Kingsley."
Kingsley Area Schools Superintendent Lynn Gullekson encouraged the crowd of students to learn from Nausadis' and Schelich's actions.
"It just goes to prove that any one of us is capable of heroic actions," he said.
Tyler Croton, a Kingsley High School junior who has Graves for a teacher, is glad to see him back in the classroom.
"It's nice to know he's okay," Croton said after the assembly. "It's real fun having him back teaching."
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