May 05, 2025 -- When Deputy April Fleming of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office was injured, she faced a challenging road to recovery. But she didn’t have to walk it alone. Her neighbor, Brandi Slauter—a dedicated teacher at Olde Orchard Elementary School—stepped in to help. Brandi not only offered support but personally drove Deputy Fleming to her medical appointments, ensuring she got the care she needed during a difficult time. That small gesture came to mind when it was time to nominate someone for the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Citizen Star Award.
“It’s the simple things,” Fleming said. “She was there for me when I really needed it.”
Sheriff’s deputies nominate community members in Franklin County who demonstrate exceptional acts of service and kindness toward others. Slauter received the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Citizen Star Award in February from Sheriff Dallas Baldwin, who said her kindness goes far beyond helping Fleming.
Slauter has never hesitated to step up when it matters most. In 2021, her quick thinking made headlines when she performed the Heimlich maneuver on a choking student—just one of several times she’s saved a life. In fact, during her three years at Easthaven Elementary, Brandi used the Heimlich to rescue four students from choking. Her courage and calm under pressure earned her the Columbus City Schools Spirit of Success Award in 2018, after saving another child in the same heroic way.
“[Saving four lives] is incredible,” Baldwin said. “You can’t offer more safety to someone than saving their lives or the lives of their children.”
For Slauter, helping others comes naturally. Years ago, she recalled the first person she ever performed the Heimlich maneuver on was a teaching assistant at Shady Lane Elementary. In the past year, while driving by a frozen pond as two high-school aged youth were playing. When she saw the ice was cracking, she went near the frozen pond, reached out her hand and guided them off the ice. Following, she drove the youth home and talked to them about safety.
Such experiences have led to safety lectures becoming mainstays in her classroom.
“These are things I bring into my classroom,” Slauter said. “We always talk about the importance of not having objects in your mouth that are not chewable and safety things like that.”
Those same students who received those lessons witnessed her receiving the award. Slauter said the best part of receiving the award was having her students there to celebrate with her. She regularly teaches global citizenship and kindness in her classroom, and the award presentation showed her students how those values can be rewarded.
“[Kindness] always important and that’s something I want them to recognize,” Slauter said. “Even if you think nobody notices right there in the moment, you may be recognized for a good deed that you’ve done because you never know how you may have impacted someone.”
Slauter’s dedication to her students and community reflects the kind of everyday heroism the Citizen Star Award was created to honor. Whether she's stepping in during an emergency or modeling compassion through daily acts of kindness, she continues to make a lasting impact—both in and out of the classroom. CCS applauds Slauter for displaying and teaching Global Empathy-one of our Portrait of a Graduate attributes.
