Heroism gets Springs boy a trip to the Oval Office

It happened so quickly — a May afternoon stroll turned dangerous by a sudden windstorm, and then Eric “Jordan” Evans’s grandmother was pummelled into the dirt by a falling tree.

“That was the worst feeling I’ve felt ever in my life,” said Jordan.

While he’s only 11, you could probably argue Monday night will rank among the best in his life.

At a meeting of the Boy Scout Troop 187 Monday night at the Calvary Worship Center, it was announced that Jordan will be among 9 Scouts –  there are 2.5 million Boy Scouts nationwide – to deliver the Report to the Nation next month, a trip that involves meeting President Obama and the leaders of Congress.

He was chosen for his heroic actions on May 24, 2010, that probably saved his grandmother’s life.

Along with cousin Summer Reifschneider, then 10, and two younger siblings, they were walking in Fountain Creek Regional Park when the wind kicked up.

 
The tree that hit their grandmother left a four-inch gash in her head. Jordan took charge, sending the two younger kids to bring the emergency officials after Summer called 911. Jordan used his shirt to stem the bleeding.

Ann Parker survived, with 10 stitches and 30 staples.

“Jordan, he’s an amazing kid, in terms of leadership and courage,” she said. “He just took charge and did what had to be done.”

“If somebody hadn’t been there with me, I don’t know that I would have gotten back to the house.”

“I didn’t think about feelings that day. It was kind of a fight-or-flight reaction and I did what anybody could do and what anybody would have done,” said Jordan.

The honor was supposed to be a secret, but it wasn’t. Everyone knew Jordan was receiving a heroism award from the local Boy Scouts of America council, and that the national organization had seen his application and picked him for the Report to the Nation.

A steady stream of local officials, from Mayor Steve Bach to police, showed up to praise Jordan.

“Not only did they have to respond to aid someone, they had to aid their grandmother. I don’t know how many of you could do that,” said Colorado Springs Police Sgt. John Taylor.

Scouts have been making the presentation to the nation’s leaders for more than 100 years. Jordan, with public-speaking poise rare for an 11-year-old, is up to the task.

“I’m looking forward to representing all my brothers in uniform,” Jordan told the audience.

So what will he say to Obama when he meets the president next month?

“I’m a big fan,” he said.

And he just might challenge the commander in chief to a game of basketball.